Jayhawks-Vols: Perfect No Longer, No. 1 Kansas Upset by Shorthanded Tennessee

Scotty Hopson scored 17 points and the shorthanded No. 15 Tennessee Vols, with a lineup thinned by injuries, suspensions, and most notably the dismissal of Tyler Smith, beat No. 1 Kansas 76-68 on Sunday night. 

Playing in their first game since coach Bruce Pearl dismissed Smith on Friday, a week after the senior was arrested on misdemeanor gun and drug charges, the Vol's earned their first big win of the season.

It was a surprising victory at that, as Tennessee was also playing without Melvin Goins, Cameron Tatum, and Brian Williams, who were also arrested at the same time as Smith. Each of their futures with the team are in doubt.

Kansas, who turned the ball over 16 times to Tennessee's eight, never found their range at the sold-out Thompson-Boling Arena, which was hosting a No. 1 team for the first time. 

In the early minutes of the game, things looked bad for Tennessee. Starters Wayne Chism and J.P. Prince found themselves both in foul trouble, and spent more than half of the game on the bench.

Bobby Maze, who scored 16 points, and Renaldo Woolridge, who racked up 14 points and eight rebounds, carried the load early for Tennessee. The two, along with Hopson, helped keep the score even at the half, 33-33.  

Although the game was close at the beginning of the second half, Kansas would lead only once more on an dunk by Tyshawn Taylor two minutes into the half that put the Jayhawks up, 37-36.

Tennessee took control of the game from that point on, and though the score remained close, the end result was never in doubt with the Volunteers playing in front of their home crowd.

That's not to say that Kansas didn't try to rally to win, just as they did the last time out against Cornell. Kansas' Tyshawn Taylor had a big defensive play in the closing minute as he stole the ball and passed it to an open Brady Morningstar, whose three-pointer with just over one minute to play cut Tennessee's lead to 71-68.

That's when the Volunteers' Skylar McBee, one of several walk-ons that played for Tennessee, answered Morningstar's basket with the biggest shot of the game, a three-pointer of his own, pushing the lead back up to six, 74-68, with just under 40 seconds remaining.

The Jayhawks' point guard Sherron Collins, whose 22 points was a game-high, had several attempts at a shot that would cut into the lead, but failed to hit any in the closing seconds of the game, preserving Tennessee's upset.

Taylor had 13 points, Xavier Henry added 10, and Cole Aldrich grabbed 18 rebounds for the Jayhawks as Kansas outrebounded the Volunteers, 42-35.

The loss leaves only two unbeatens remaining in the country: No. 2 Texas (15-0) and No. 3 Kentucky (16-0).