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SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 15, 2008Chris LoftonBruce PearlJaJuan SmithTyler SmithATLANTA, GEORGIA THE MODERATOR: We'll ask Coach Pearl for some overall thoughts on the game and then we'll take your questions for the three student athletes and excuse them and then finish up with Coach Pearl. COACH PEARL: It was obviously a great basketball game, two very talented teams. I thought the players stepped up and made big plays. For us mostly on the offensive end. You can't win championships getting beat on the boards like we did. Arkansas has done that to others, and they were better scoring inside with Thomas and Townes. We were in pretty good foul trouble on the inside, and very ironic that the only post basket for Hill was the last basket, but it was the same kind of basket that they were beating us on all game. THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for the student athletes. Q. You've obviously had so many big shots. Can you talk about the last look, how good it felt? CHRIS LOFTON: Yeah, I got a great look at the end. It was a perfect setting, it just didn't go down for me. Tyler, I'll address this to you. Arkansas just scored a lot inside, Thomas, Townes. What about you all's defense against them? You were bigger in most positions. TYLER SMITH: We were supposed to front the post and we didn't do what the coach had us designed to do, and that's why they scored so many buckets on us inside. Q. This is a question for JaJuan. Could you describe the match-up you and Arkansas had in the first half and how hot you were, and definitely in the second half you kind of cooled off? JAJUAN SMITH: No comment. Q. Just how surprised are you that Hill is the guy that hit the shot because he's obviously known as a shot-blocker, not a shot-maker? TYLER SMITH: Like Coach said, they were beating us all day on the inside. He got a good look at the basket, and it's the only shot he made. CHRIS LOFTON: It was a tough shot for him. We contested it, and it just went in. Q. For JaJuan and Chris, just this whole season has been about making history and you guys had your sights set on the SEC Tournament. Just your thoughts on how it ended. Are you stunned or shocked or upset right now? JAJUAN SMITH: We're upset because we lost. We ain't happy. But we lost to a good team. You've got to give them a lot of credit. But we had goals to play tomorrow, but let the better team play on, and they were the better team tonight? CHRIS LOFTON: Will you repeat the question? Q. Just about the team's quest to make history and just your feelings right now. Is it shock, is it surprise? Is it anger? CHRIS LOFTON: Of course we're disappointed right now. We had our hearts set on playing tomorrow for the championship and making history. But all along we were talking about the big dance, and we'll start that next week. Q. JaJuan, could you just talk a little bit about the offensive output in the first half? I mean, you guys, obviously all three of you were hitting a lot, but in particular some of the long threes that you hit? JAJUAN SMITH: I was just getting the ball and I was in the zone and making shots, making plays for my team. Q. Who did Hill shoot over at the buzzer? TYLER SMITH: I don't know. Q. There's been a lot of talk about a 1 seed. Do you guys feel like you've earned that? CHRIS LOFTON: I mean, through our schedule I feel like we played the toughest teams in America. They'll probably look at this loss and hold it against us, but in my opinion we're a 1 seed. JAJUAN SMITH: Yes, we feel we deserve it. Like Chris said. We got a tough schedule, we go on the road, play the toughest teams and we feel we deserve it, but if we don't get it that's just going to make us more hungry. TYLER SMITH: Like Chris said, every team we play they're going to at least make it to the big dance. You've got Xavier, top ten team. We hope we get the No. 1 seed. We think we deserve it. THE MODERATOR: We'll continue with questions for Coach Pearl. Q. Second half y'all made a run to go up 73-64 and after that Arkansas fought their way back. Was it more something Arkansas did better or a breakdown in Tennessee's defense? COACH PEARL: I don't remember specifically. I know they probably went inside and they scored around the basket. They got to the foul line a lot. We scored 91 points, we shot 55 percent, 46 percent from three. There was nothing wrong with our offense. We couldn't stop Arkansas. Arkansas was that go offensively. We couldn't turn them over. That was one thing that was difficult to do. They have got really athletic guards. Jordan Howell or Chris or JaJuan or different guys we put out there, out there with Beverly and Ervin and Welsh, and we couldn't turn them over. That was key. We've been able to do that the last two times we've beaten Arkansas. Q. If you can comment on the physical play, and again, for the second day in a row foul trouble was a problem. COACH PEARL: We tried to front the post. That was a big staple for us in the first game. They never lobbed it to the post, they just passed it directly in the post. Those guys got it, they backed us down, scored, and we were called for fouls. Q. There were some possessions late in the game where Lofton, about 6'1" is guarding 6'6" Williams. How did that happen? COACH PEARL: Williams is a guard. We have three guards that are 6'1", so which 6'1" guy would you like me to put him on? Q. Just how shocked are you that Hill hit that shot? He's not known for offense at all? COACH PEARL: Is he a senior? Q. Yes. COACH PEARL: It's wonderful. It's a wonderful thing for him to get that ball and make that shot and have them advance. He's a great defensive player, and I think as a senior it's great. But they beat us at the end the same way they beat us all game long. We made great defensive play. We had them all tied up. I mean, they threw it in there really out of desperation. Nobody else was open. And we were it. We were behind the post, where we were all night. Q. Between JaJuan and Chris and Tyler's 77 points, a lot of output. Do you foresee it being a problem just relying on those three guys or are you looking for that fourth or that "X" factor? COACH PEARL: I'd love to have some other guys. I thought Wayne played pretty well. He did turn his ankle. Your best players have to play biggest in the big ballgames, and that was a big ballgame against a very talented team that was picked to win the west. They have five seniors, and it's a good team. It's a real good team. Q. You had mentioned yesterday about the foul situation and talked a little bit earlier about trying to front and not getting that done. Are fouls a concern for you since you've mentioned it two days in a row, or just the way it went down? COACH PEARL: We have plenty of depth to withstand foul trouble. I had one guy foul out, right? You know, yesterday was fouls on the perimeter. We played a team that was very perimeter-oriented. Today it was our post defense. They did a good job of getting the ball inside. Guards could have come down maybe and stripped and ripped a little bit more, and we did, and we got called for fouls. I'm trying to think of what else we could do. Front it, we didn't front it. Q. Looking forward what do you tell your team to keep their morale up and keep their focus for the big dance? COACH PEARL: There's time for that. Right now they're disappointed. Right now they came in to win this championship. They carried the banner for the SEC all season long. That Tennessee team carried the banner for this conference all season with the biggest non-conference wins. We went on the road and won in very adverse circumstances. So we're used to this. We have time to get them focused and get them turned around. Part of it is remembering this feeling. If we were happy about things, something would be really wrong with us. I'd like to comment about the seeding. Over the last 15 years in the RPI, 1999, Duke had the highest RPI. Tennessee right now is the second highest RPI in the last 15 years because of the schedule. You look at the teams that we've played and the teams that we've beaten and how many teams are in the NCAA Tournament in the non-conference schedule. So I think we're right there. Q. You talked about elevated play and that you thought that Tennessee had another level it could reach. Do you feel like that you showed that? COACH PEARL: Absolutely. What did you think out there? Was that play not elevated? There were two great teams out there. Gosh, it was great basketball, back and forth, great players making great plays. I thought kids on both sides stepped up huge. That was as good a college basketball game as there was in the country right there. Q. Just to clarify, you do expect to be seeded No. 1? COACH PEARL: I don't know. I'm not in that room, I'm not on the committee. Wherever we're seeded, we'll go play. The question is do -- I think if we're the highest RPI other than Duke in 1999, we've got to be right there. We're certainly in consideration for it. You know, we've got two or three of the best road wins in the country, at Memphis, No. 1, Xavier is ranked tenth, we beat them, Gonzaga is ranked top ten, we beat them on the road. Mississippi State was ranked top 25 and we beat them on the road. Wherever we're seeded we'll go play. We hope to continue to represent the SEC with great pride. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much.
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