SportsLine.com Report
March 24, 2000

Sweet 16: Carolina overcomes Vols' late lead

AUSTIN, Texas -- Just when the Tennessee Volunteers appeared to be on their way to the Elite Eight for the first time ever, the North Carolina Tar Heels went small on them.

And the smaller, quicker lineup -- necessitated when UNC 7-foot center Brendan Haywood fouled out with eight minutes remaining -- got North Carolina going on its way to a 74-69 victory in the South Regional semifinal.

Tennessee established a seven-point lead with five minutes remaining, but UNC guards Ed Cota and freshman Joseph Forte spurred a rally that undid the Vols, who fell into a shooting hole in the last seven minutes of the game.

Eighth-seeded North Carolina (21-13), fresh off beating top-seeded Stanford in the South Regional, overcame a 59-53 deficit by holding the fourth-seeded Volunteers without a field goal for nearly the last seven minutes. The Vols missed eight consecutive shots in the stretch, while the Tar Heels were rattling home five of seven and hitting six consecutive free throws during the decisive 17-4 run.

Tennessee wasn't able to join SEC foe Florida in the final eight, but the Vols still had the best season in school history.

"Basketball is 40 minutes and we played 36," Tennessee coach Jerry Green said.

C.J. Black, who led the Vols with 17 points, said: "We didn't play good in the last four minutes. We kept forcing things while they started clicking."

The Tar Heels' winning rally kicked into top gear when Forte drilled a 3-pointer and Jason Capel hit a layup to get North Carolina within 64-62. Cota made a running jumper in the lane, then hit another floater over Ron Slay to make it 66-64 with 2:00 left.

Tennessee's scoring drought, which left them without a field goal since 7:15, ended with 13.6 seconds left when Harris made his first basket of the night, a 3-pointer. He made 1 of 10 shots, finishing with four points.

Tennessee, which set a school record for victories, reached the regional semifinals for the first time since 1981, back when it was a 48-team tournament.

How They Got There

Whereas the past two years were suspenseful, there was no drama about whether Tennessee would receive an NCAA Tournament bid this season.

As Georgia coach Jim Harrick said in February, just after the Vols had routed his team for their 20th win of the season, "When you win 20 before Valentine's Day, you're dancing."

Included in those 20 wins were several convincing victories over ranked teams, including Auburn, Kentucky and Florida (twice). Tennessee was nearly unbeatable at home (15-1) and had a solid record on the road. The Vols' national ranking rose as high as No. 5, and their RPI was No. 4 after their final regular-season game.

Starting Lineup

• PG Jon Higgins (6-3, 195, Fr.) 6.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg
  Higgins has not shot well in the tournament (4-for-15), but he's started 31 games, replacing injured starter Jenis Grindstaff after the first game of the season. Higgins, who came in with the reputation of a shooter, does much more than that, providing good defense, solid ball handling and some timely 3-pointers.
• SG Tony Harris (6-0, 165, Jr.) 14.9 ppg, 4.0 apg
  A consensus All-SEC pick and a finalist for the John Wooden Award, Harris had a great regular season. Harris occasionally plays out of control, but far more often, he's the spark that lifts Tennessee to victory. He has had more big baskets than perhaps any player in the country, and is a ball-hawk on defense. Though Harris doesn't have to play as much at the point with the addition of freshman Jon Higgins, he is still the man who brings the ball up the court under heavy pressure. He's not shot well in the tournament (8-for-25), but he's scored 15 and 18 points.
• C C.J. Black (6-8, 255, Sr.) 8.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg
  He's ramped up his offense lately, averaging 13.5 ppg in the tournament. Didn't have his best season statistically, but he was solid. Black has also become Tennessee's best post defender. Late in the season, the Vols turned to Black to score more; he has averaged better than 12 points a game over the past 10 games.
• SF Vincent Yarbrough (6-7, 215, So.) 14.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg
  Just 18 years old, Yarbrough elevated his game this season, nearly doubling his freshman scoring average, leading the Vols in scoring and rebounding. Yarbrough also has 78 assists, second on the team, leads Tennessee with 54 steals and blocked 33 shots. There isn't a more versatile small forward in the SEC. One of the keys to Yarbrough's success this season was that he learned how to balance his shot selection, improving his 3-point stroke (a respectable 36 percent -- and he's hit some big ones in the tournament, 6-for-13) as well as posting up smaller defenders.
• SF Isiah Victor (6-10, 220, Jr.) 9.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg
  Victor has been inconsistent -- at times very good, and at times practically non-existent. At his best, the angular Victor scores at will in the low post, armed with a deadly turnaround jump shot. But he's scored only five points in the two tournament games and has topped double figures only twice in the past nine games. A third-team All-SEC pick, he's a big-time dunker. He's a decent shot blocker, too.

Keys to Success

The biggest key to success for the Vols is patience, patience, patience on offense.

When Tennessee gives opposing defenses time to get tired or make a mistake, the Vols can be very hard to beat. When they get impatient and launch ill-advised perimeter shots, they can be very beatable.

The Vols generally play well when guard Tony Harris plays well. Tough to blame him for losses, but when he was hurt early against Tulsa and shot poorly against Vandy (1-for-14) and Alabama (1-for-9), they lost. But the Vols showed later in the season they can survive without him. They won at Florida in double-overtime after Harris had fouled out in regulation.

The addition of freshman guards Jon Higgins and Harris Walker has given Harris the freedom to roam to shooting guard, and has made Tennessee less dependent on him running the show.

The inside-out presence of forward Vincent Yarbrough also seems to separate the Vols from other quality teams.

The Coach

Jerry Green has been criticized at times by Tennessee fans who obviously have short memories.

The year before Green arrived, the Vols finished last in the SEC's Eastern Division. In Green's first year, Tennessee won 20 games and played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nine years. A year ago, the Vols won 21 times, swept Kentucky, won in Lexington for the first time in 20 years, won the SEC East, and advanced to the second round of the NCAAs.

It was that second round that gave some fans reason to doubt Green. The Vols were routed by a seemingly inferior Southwest Missouri State team.

This season, Green has reminded his players of that humiliating loss every time they posted a big win. Green has pointed his team toward March.

In his third season, Green led the Vols to a 24-5 record in the regular season, and their first overall SEC championship (with co-champions Florida, LSU and Kentucky). Clearly, Green has improved the program each year he's been in Knoxville.

And now they're in the Sweet 16.

The Bench

Tennessee gets excellent play from its bench, mostly from a group of four freshmen who seized on the opportunity once they got into the game.

The most noticeable of that group is 6-8 forward Ron Slay, who averaged 9.4 points and 4.3 rebounds. Four times, Slay scored a career-high 17 points, and he had 15 in the first-round victory over Louisiana-Lafayette. His eight points, four rebounds and two blocked shots were significant against UConn. More important than his scoring is his emotion -- Slay is a vocal leader who loves to excite crowds.

Guards Harris Walker, who fills in at the point, and Terrence Woods, a good (44 percent) 3-point shooter, also have had their moments.

And 6-10 forward Marcus Haislip has shown as much promise as anyone. When he got double-figure minutes, he made the most of them. Haislip scored a season-high 22 points in 19 minutes against West Virginia, and had five blocked shots when he played 18 minutes against Georgia.

Offense

Tennessee likes an up-tempo game, but Green doesn't want things to get sloppy. Several times during the season, he had to scold the Vols about poor shot selection. When Tennessee slows down and runs its halfcourt sets, the Vols can score in a variety of ways.

Defense

Tennessee prefers a basic man-to-man, and did a decent job most of the year, limiting opponents to 40 percent shooting. Only occasionally does Green resort to a zone, usually a 1-3-1 that double-teams the ball.