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Tennessee (3-0) @ Siena (2-0)
Bruce Pearl is now running a major conference program, but the Tennessee coach still identifies himself as a "mid-major guy."
With that in mind, he'll certainly have plenty of respect for his next opponent.
The 12th-ranked Volunteers could face their toughest test so far this season on Thursday, when they square off against a talented Siena team in the first round of the Old Spice Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Pearl spent four seasons at Wisconsin-Milwaukee before coming to Knoxville, taking the Panthers to the NCAA tournament twice over that span. He said he had mid-major basketball partially in mind when he scheduled the Vols' last game, a 76-66 road win against Middle Tennessee on Friday.
"It's good for my basketball team and it's great for basketball in the state of Tennessee," Pearl said. "I'm a mid-major guy. I know how much it meant for these fans."
His club should get an even stiffer test Thursday. Siena may have one of the top mid-major teams nationally at the moment, especially after the Saints (2-0) stunned Vanderbilt - Tennessee's Southeastern Conference rival - 83-62 in the first round of last season's NCAA tournament.
Coach Fran McCaffery's team brought back its top four scorers to defend its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship, including preseason MAAC player of the year Kenny Hasbrouck. The senior guard had 30 points last spring against Vanderbilt, and has averaged 21.0 in a pair of comfortable wins to start this season.
The Saints, picked unanimously by the MAAC's coaches to again win the league, cruised past Cornell 74-56 on Saturday. Siena struggled shooting in the first half, but relied on its defense to maintain a four-point lead, then exploded for 44 points in the second half to pull away.
"We couldn't get it in the basket for the first 15 minutes," McCaffery said. "It wasn't because we didn't have good shooters taking good shots. We just weren't making them. The fact that we were still ahead at halftime, despite our offensive struggles, was impressive."
It would be even more impressive to defeat Tennessee (3-0), the preseason pick to win the SEC. Despite losing top scorers Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith to graduation, the Vols have also played well to start the season, shooting 54.2 percent from the field in their first three victories.
SEC preseason player of the year Tyler Smith has led the way, averaging 19.3 points on 21-of-36 (58.3 percent) shooting. He had his first double-double against Middle Tennessee, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to lead the Vols to a 38-23 edge on the boards.
"We ground it out and did the things you have to do to win on the road," Pearl said. "We didn't shoot ourselves out of it. We dominated the rebounds and that was important."
McCaffery said his team will be especially wary of Tyler Smith, freshman guard Scotty Hopson and junior forward Wayne Chism - all future professionals in the Vols' starting lineup, according to the Siena coach.
The trio is among the five Tennessee players averaging double digit points in the early going, while point guard Bobby Maze has averaged 9.3 points and 6.3 assists.
"They are a phenomenally athletic team that probably capitalizes on your mistakes as well as any team I've ever seen," McCaffery said.
The Saints have never faced Tennessee, but they won two of three against Top-25 teams last season, beating then-No. 20 Stanford 79-67 last Nov. 17 before the win over 19th-ranked Vanderbilt.
They could face more challenges later in the weekend. The tournament field also includes No. 21 Georgetown, No. 5 Michigan State and No. 9 Gonzaga.
Bruce Pearl is now running a major conference program, but the Tennessee coach still identifies himself as a "mid-major guy."
With that in mind, he'll certainly have plenty of respect for his next opponent.
The 12th-ranked Volunteers could face their toughest test so far this season on Thursday, when they square off against a talented Siena team in the first round of the Old Spice Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Pearl spent four seasons at Wisconsin-Milwaukee before coming to Knoxville, taking the Panthers to the NCAA tournament twice over that span. He said he had mid-major basketball partially in mind when he scheduled the Vols' last game, a 76-66 road win against Middle Tennessee on Friday.
"It's good for my basketball team and it's great for basketball in the state of Tennessee," Pearl said. "I'm a mid-major guy. I know how much it meant for these fans."
His club should get an even stiffer test Thursday. Siena may have one of the top mid-major teams nationally at the moment, especially after the Saints (2-0) stunned Vanderbilt - Tennessee's Southeastern Conference rival - 83-62 in the first round of last season's NCAA tournament.
Coach Fran McCaffery's team brought back its top four scorers to defend its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship, including preseason MAAC player of the year Kenny Hasbrouck. The senior guard had 30 points last spring against Vanderbilt, and has averaged 21.0 in a pair of comfortable wins to start this season.
The Saints, picked unanimously by the MAAC's coaches to again win the league, cruised past Cornell 74-56 on Saturday. Siena struggled shooting in the first half, but relied on its defense to maintain a four-point lead, then exploded for 44 points in the second half to pull away.
"We couldn't get it in the basket for the first 15 minutes," McCaffery said. "It wasn't because we didn't have good shooters taking good shots. We just weren't making them. The fact that we were still ahead at halftime, despite our offensive struggles, was impressive."
It would be even more impressive to defeat Tennessee (3-0), the preseason pick to win the SEC. Despite losing top scorers Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith to graduation, the Vols have also played well to start the season, shooting 54.2 percent from the field in their first three victories.
SEC preseason player of the year Tyler Smith has led the way, averaging 19.3 points on 21-of-36 (58.3 percent) shooting. He had his first double-double against Middle Tennessee, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to lead the Vols to a 38-23 edge on the boards.
"We ground it out and did the things you have to do to win on the road," Pearl said. "We didn't shoot ourselves out of it. We dominated the rebounds and that was important."
McCaffery said his team will be especially wary of Tyler Smith, freshman guard Scotty Hopson and junior forward Wayne Chism - all future professionals in the Vols' starting lineup, according to the Siena coach.
The trio is among the five Tennessee players averaging double digit points in the early going, while point guard Bobby Maze has averaged 9.3 points and 6.3 assists.
"They are a phenomenally athletic team that probably capitalizes on your mistakes as well as any team I've ever seen," McCaffery said.
The Saints have never faced Tennessee, but they won two of three against Top-25 teams last season, beating then-No. 20 Stanford 79-67 last Nov. 17 before the win over 19th-ranked Vanderbilt.
They could face more challenges later in the weekend. The tournament field also includes No. 21 Georgetown, No. 5 Michigan State and No. 9 Gonzaga.
