Ranking the Gonzaga Win & Admiral Schofield’s Performance

Let’s rank yesterday even though it’s way too early to do so without the context of the entire season!

There are two clear-cut games at the top of my list. The Sweet 16 win over Ohio State will stand until the Vols make it to the Final Four; bonus points there from the 2007 Sweet 16 loss to the Buckeyes, properly avenged. And 1 vs 2 with Memphis in 2008 is fairly unassailable for the rest of all of our lives: the rivalry, Calipari, an undefeated Memphis and the Vols ascending to number one is once-in-a-lifetime stuff.

But after those two, it kind of depends on what you prefer. There’s a separate list of best Kentucky wins – last year at Rupp, Lofton at Rupp, beating them on the last day of the regular season to win the SEC East in Knoxville in 1999 (my personal favorite). There are wins on the way up, like 2006 vs Florida, that carry a “I can’t believe we’re doing this” quality. And that’s really how to best describe the last win over number one, when the Vols beat Kansas in 2010 after four players were suspended or dismissed just ten days earlier. 

Yesterday was not, “I can’t believe we’re doing this.” That felt like an Elite Eight game (or maybe a Final Four game, who knows!). It was two legitimate title contenders trading blows for 40 minutes; the 2008 Memphis game is the only comparison there. If that’s more your style – and hopefully it becomes more our style going forward – then I think you can make a case for that game as high as #3 on your list.

For me personally, I’m going 2010 Ohio State, 2008 Memphis, 1999 Kentucky, then yesterday, followed by 2010 Kansas and 2006 Florida. The rest of the season will determine how high or low it ultimately lands. Either way, it’s in pretty good company.

Perhaps even more impressive: let’s rank Admiral Schofield’s performance

The best individual performance I’ve seen from a Tennessee player is Chris Lofton vs Memphis in December 2006. People forget it because that shot over Durant was 17 days later, but in that game Lofton had 35 on only 8-of-24 shooting (plus 12-of-13 at the line). Against #17 Memphis, Lofton was 12-of-18, 6-of-11 from three, and scored 21 of his 34 points in the first half. It’s the best offensive performance – not just best three-point shooting – against a good team I’ve ever seen at Tennessee.

Yesterday, Schofield had 30 on #1 Gonzaga. He had 25 in the second half, and 11 in the last 3:18, including the game-winner.  

There have been some epic performances in school history. The iconic Ernie and Bernie games are both legion and before my time; the media guide highlights Ernie putting 43 on Kentucky in 1976, while Bernie had 40+ five different times. In my lifetime, Allan Houston had 43 in a 119-113 loss to LSU in Shaq’s freshman year. Ron Slay had 38, but the quality of opponent (New Mexico) will keep him a little further down the list. More recently we’ve seen Grant Williams with 37 at Vanderbilt and Kevin Punter with 36 vs #24 South Carolina.  

I think it’s at least safe to say that Schofield’s performance yesterday was the best we’ve seen since Lofton. In the aforementioned Lofton-at-Rupp game in 2006, he had 31 on 7-of-10 from the arc, Tennessee’s first win in Lexington in seven years. I’d still put the Lofton-vs-Memphis performance at number one, and probably Lofton-at-Rupp number two. But Schofield yesterday might be number three in the post-Allan Houston era. He was a volume shooter all day, but the late flurry helped him finish at 12-of-22 and 6-of-10 from the arc. Gonzaga wasn’t known for their defense, but that was still the number one team in the nation. Again, pretty good list to be on. 

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Joel Hollingsworth
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Joel Hollingsworth
5 years ago
Reply to  Will Shelton

I’m always happy to be reminded of The Discombobulator Game.

Gavin Driskill
Gavin Driskill
5 years ago

I agree that it’s tough to beat 2010 Ohio State or 2008 Memphis, and it’s as much about context as anything (a S16 game to reach our first E8, a late February game against a rival to get to #1 for the first time). A win in December over a team with whom we have no real animosity just doesn’t rate as highly. I don’t remember the ’99 UK game (though I do remember the SECT QF flameout against Mississippi State and the 30-point loss to SW MO State that followed), nor do I have strong memories of the ’06… Read more »

Gavin Driskill
Gavin Driskill
5 years ago
Reply to  Gavin Driskill

Also, I plan to be in FedExForum on Saturday. I’d love to discombobulate the Tigers again.

Pete
Pete
5 years ago

My daughter (UT Student back on break) and I will be in FedEx Forum for the game. Memphis is getting better under Penny. They play hard. Good defense and they understand what they are trying to do on offense. If we come out unfocused, this team will give us trouble. When Penny gets good players, they are going to be a national power. That makes this Saturday so important to us. Fun fact: Penny Hardaway has never beaten Tennessee as a player. Keep the streak alive as a coach.

HT
HT
5 years ago

That 1999 Kentucky win is (I think) the only time I’ve ever stormed the court. As far as the most fun to attend in person for me, off the top of my head the list would include 2010 Kansas, 2006 Kentucky, beating #5 Arkansas (with Mayberry, Day, and Miller) in 1992, and last year’s Georgia game. But it might be topped by this: https://youtu.be/iuehRZREByA

As for games I’ve watched on TV, nothing tops that Memphis game.

Randy Holtzclaw
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Randy Holtzclaw
5 years ago

This was such a frustrating game for me, only because we lost power during halftime due to the winter storm and not having power return until 25 hours later. I didn’t follow the game on twitter to save battery life, so when I found out we won I was absolutely pumped. Then to finally see the highlights of how Admiral played it was even better. I feel this win means so much to the basketball team and the entire athletic department at Tennessee! So many of those other big basketball wins came when the football program was relevant. But now… Read more »