Reactions to Tennessee's upset over Kansas

In case you've been living under a rock for the last 16 or so hours, than you've already heard: Kansas lost at Tennessee last night.

Yes, that Tennessee.

The Tennessee that had four players indefinitely suspended on New Year's Day. The Tennessee that had Tyler Smith dismissed from the team on Friday. The Tennessee that many wrote off early in the season due to inconsistent play, and that almost all wrote off after the suspensions were handed down.

No doubt, this was a phenomenal win. Proof that, at times, chemistry, hustle, and just a little bit of heart can beat overwhelming talent. Call it the Rudy-syndrome.

Perhaps Tennessee had their own Rudy in this game.

Skylar McBee is nothing but a country bumpkin from Grainger County Tennessee. Despite a number of scholarship offers - from schools like Winthrop and Santa Clara - McBee made the choice to walk-on for the Vols just to get a chance to wear that certain shade of orange he held so near and dear.

You think this shot made his day season career life? After going on a 7-0 run, the Vols had allowed Kansas to climb back into the game in the final minute. Up 71-68, Tennessee had the ball, dribbling out the clock, when it ended up in McBee's hands.

The rest, as they say, is history.



You think McBee, a lifelong Tennessee fan and currently a walk-on for the Vols (seriously, if that shot doesn't earn him a scholarship, nothing will), is going to remember that moment?

Here is some more reaction's to the upset from around the intrawebs:

• RTSMF at Rush the Court: "In a game where the odds were repeatedly stacked against the Vols — the missing players, the foul trouble of Wayne Chism and JP Prince, the horrid FT shooting (15-29) — Pearl’s team was able to take to heart what has always made the colorful coach such an interesting guy. He sees himself as an underdog, but his teams only seem to take on that scrappy mentality when they are actually sitting behind the eight-ball. Tennessee always comes strong when they’re not expected to win — the game at Memphis in 2008, the wins over the national champion Gators in 2006 and 2007 — but it’s the games where they’re considered the heavy favorite that give Pearl’s teams trouble (last year’s two blowout Ls against struggling Kentucky come to mind). You could very reasonably argue that in the Vols’ two wins this week with six scholarship players (vs. Charlotte and the Jayhawks), they’ve looked better than they did when they went ten deep."
• Clay Travis at Fanhouse: "He's not supposed to be in this position. Not supposed to be draped by a defender for the No. 1 team in the country with the ball in his hands just a few months removed from playing high school basketball in tiny Rutledge, Tenn. But he's on the court because Tennessee is down to just six scholarship players and there is no one else to put in the game. He pivots right, the crowd screams as one, aware that the shot clock is winding down but not sure McBee is aware of that fact. And then, comes the magic, the reason why we all watch college basketball."
• Dana O'Neil at ESPN: "Selfishly, Self said he wished Tennessee would have its full complement of players, looking for as many bonus points that his Kansas team could score for a tough game on the road. But the KU coach also was well aware of another thing: There's nothing more dangerous than a team with a home crowd and adversity to rally around. Now here's the proof. Days after Bruce Pearl kicked Smith off the team, the Volunteers sent Kansas tumbling from its No. 1 ranking and its place among the undefeated with a 76-68 loss.
• David Climer at the Tennessean: "Upon further review, this was right up Bruce Pearl's comfort zone. He specializes in lost causes. In five seasons, he has resurrected Tennessee basketball by sheer will and by getting his team to overachieve. But even by Pearl's against-all-odds standards, this was a doozy. From a sheer goose-bump factor, UT's 76-68 conquest of Kansas on Sunday was in a league of its own. Think about it: On one side you had undefeated Kansas, the nation's No. 1-ranked team. On the other was a Tennessee team that appeared in utter disarray."
• Luke Winn at SI: "Friday had to have been the worst day of coach Bruce Pearl's tenure at the school -- he had to dismiss senior star Tyler Smith following an incident in which he and reserves Melvin Goins, Cameron Tatum and Brian Williams were arrested in a New Year's Day traffic stop for possessing handguns, marijuana and open alcohol, the news of which tainted the program's national image. I thought the Volunteers might go in the tank after losing Smith, their assist leader and primary playmaker, and with three key backups indefinitely suspended. Instead, on Sunday, they played inspired basketball, delivering one of the most meaningful wins in program history. Pearl and assistants Steve Forbes and Tony Jones were visibly relieved as they hugged each other after the buzzer sounded, and then went and saluted the home crowd for staying behind the team. While this upset wasn't entirely a heartwarming story -- Tennessee still has players facing weapons and drug charges, after all -- it was a message that this may not be a lost season in Knoxville."
• Tom Keegan at KUSports: "Size matters in basketball, but how big you play means more than how big you measure. The suddenly regressing Morris twins, Marcus and Markieff, for the second game in a row, resembled spectators and produced seven points and four turnovers in 38 minutes. Against Cornell, in 43 minutes, they scored five points. Preseason All-America center Cole Aldrich dominated the boards Sunday, getting as many offensive rebounds (eight) as the entire Tennessee team. Yet, Aldrich attempted just five field goals and two free throws. Not all of the boards were right under the hoop — he picked up one near the free-throw line, chased down another in the corner — but even on the close ones, he looked first to pass."
• Tully Corcoran at CJWorld: All those, though, are ingredients of the same dish. Kansas (14-1) lost Sunday to a team that, because of suspensions, was playing with six scholarship players, to a team that sat two starters for most of the second half because of foul trouble, to a team that occasionally played three walk-ons at a time. Yet the difference Sunday was easy to see, and it wasn't a flattering image for Kansas. "I don't know if Tennessee was a team until this past week," Self said. "I don't know if Kansas is a team yet.""