Jan. 17, 2008
Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings
“That was not a lot of fun. Games are intended to be fun, and we just didn’t give ourselves a chance. We had some opportunities to make it interesting, but each time we missed the shot. In any event, they played better than we did; they deserved to win.
“They were faster to the ball, and we have got key guys that have to perform well for us to have a chance in an environment like this, in a game like this. Some of our better guys were not having their better nights. It is pretty predictable that it could be this kind of result. And that had something to do with them. They did some things defensively that were problems.
“It looked like a game from last year, where we had no inside presence, particularly in the first half. They push up on the perimeter and the shots are a lot harder because they are really into you. The thing we have had going for us this year is an inside presence. The defense was forced to collapse a little bit, and we have a number of guys who can make them. We did not get a great night out of our team in post offense, so that made it a lot harder for us on the perimeter.”
Tennessee Head Coach Bruce Pearl
“It was a great atmosphere. You have to hold serve at home, and that is what we did. When you play an excellent team like Vanderbilt and disrupt them, it is encouraging.
“We keyed on A.J. Ogilvy. Wayne Chism indicated he is one of the best big defensive players in the country. His 18 rebound total tonight was the highest for a Tennessee player since the 1996 season. I think Chism had more rebounds tonight than he did during the entire month of December. We would not let Chism shoot the 3-pointers if he did not hit them so well in practice.
“To a man, our guards applied great pressure against Vanderbilt. Jordan Howell stayed with Jermaine Beal all the way. Vanderbilt is very good when they can overcome the pressure. They have one of the better offensive teams in the nation, and they lead the nation in 3-point shots. They made only 3-of-21 tonight, which I think was a tribute to good defense on our part. You let Vanderbilt run their offense on you, and they will chew you up. Defensive pressure was very important.
“Ramar Smith has not said one word about not starting, but he knows I have tremendous confidence in him. He was instrumental in our victory with the nine assists he had. As for Chris Lofton, the crowd wills every shot he takes to go, and he feels that. He also played outstanding defense.
“Friday we will do a walkthrough and stretch, which is all we will do physically. Ohio State will be the biggest team we have played all season, at every position.”