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By CHRIS LOW & DAVID CLIMER
Staff Writers
GREENSBORO, N.C. --- Even though Tennessee received an extra 1.1 seconds from the officials just prior to Chris Lofton's game-winning shot, the Vols didn't need it.
Initially, there was only 1.8 seconds left on the clock when Coach Bruce Pearl called timeout. The officials reset the clock to 2.9 seconds after checking the monitor.
Replays of Lofton's shot showed that he released it with two seconds remaining.
"I wanted the ball," said Lofton, who rubbed off a screen from Major Wingate to get open. "I always want the ball in times like that when you've got to be clutch."
Dane Bradshaw, who delivered the inbounds pass on the play, said it's as excited as he's ever seen Lofton.
"I loved looking over to Chris, who never shows any emotion, and he was jumping up and down," Bradshaw said. "It was like seeing a kid who had lived his dream. It was nice to see him get emotional. He deserves every bit of it."
Winthrop called its final timeout after Lofton's shot and had .04 seconds to go the length of the floor.
James Shuler heaved a pass that bounced off the backboard and hit Andre Patterson's shoulder. The clock was supposed to start at that point, but didn't. Winthrop's Craig Bradshaw picked up the ball and tried a half-hook that was no good.
Official Mike Kitts said afterward that by rule they would have been required to consult the television replay had Craig Bradshaw's shot gone in, which would have nullified the shot.
Pearl's take: Pearl wasn't buying the theory that Tennessee played down to Winthrop's level, even though only four No. 15 seeds in the history of the tournament have beaten No. 2 seeds.
"Maybe this doesn't bode well for us continuing to win, but Tennessee played very well (yesterday)," Pearl said.
Asked how much better the Vols would have to play to beat Wichita State tomorrow, Pearl said, "I don't know yet. I haven't seen Wichita State."
He then added, "We played well."
Big rebound: It wasn't one of Tennessee's better rebounding games, but no rebound was any bigger than Lofton's offensive rebound of C.J. Watson's missed 3-pointer with 12 seconds left.
He pulled down the long rebound just inside the free-throw line, and it was kicked back outside to Bradshaw.
"That was a significant play," Pearl said, "and Chris needs to make more plays like that to help his team win, more plays on defense and more plays rebounding in order for us to win and not just make shots."
Press catching up: The Vols' full-court pressure wasn't particularly effective when it came to forcing Winthrop into turnovers.
The Eagles finished with just 15, but the Vols' players said the full effect of their pressure never shows up until the end.
"That's why they didn't make shots in the second half, because they were too tired," junior center Major Wingate said.
After a Craig Bradshaw layup gave Winthrop a 58-56 lead with 8:53 remaining, the Eagles scored just one more basket the rest of the way a James Shuler 3-pointer with 3:24 left. They missed 11 of their last 12 shots.
Winthrop's exit: It was the second straight heartbreaking loss for Winthrop in the NCAA Tournament.
The Eagles lost in the final minutes last season to Gonzaga as a No. 14 seed.
"It gets harder," junior guard Torrell Martin said. "Last year, I was devastated. This is worse. My stomach is still in knots."
Coach Gregg Marshall, who's guided Winthrop to six NCAA Tournament appearances in eight seasons, added, "This team has proven that they don't mind that stage."
Familiar face: Former Tennessee assistant coach Chris Ferguson attended yesterday's game.
Ferguson helped recruit many of the players on this team. He's now an assistant at East Carolina.
No headband: Lofton started the game with a headband yesterday, but later ditched it.
"I just took it off," he said. "It wasn't helping me none."
Lofton finished 2-of-9 from 3-point range. In his last three games, he's 7-of-29 from behind the arc.
No shock: After blitzing Big East representative Seton Hall 86-66, it is clear that Missouri Valley Conference champion Wichita State is unafraid of teams from the so-called major conferences.
"We know how good the basketball is in our conference," said Wichita State's Kyle Wilson. "It's just that not a lot of people watch us play. Missouri Valley games aren't on TV that much."
Wichita State guard Matt Braeuer pointed out that players on mid-major conference teams come to the NCAAs with something to prove.
"People on our team get under-recruited," he said. "We want to show that we belong and that maybe the big schools should have recruited us."
Scouting report: Tony Jones, Tennessee's associate head coach, warned that Wichita State offers the kind of inside offensive presence in senior center Paul Miller that has given the Vols problems all season.
Miller scored 11 of his 15 points in the first half against Seton Hall. He also had seven rebounds.
"They have the top talent in their conference, and that says a lot," Jones said, pointing out that four Missouri Valley teams are in the NCAAs.
Miller's inside scoring opened up the perimeter for Wichita State's 3-point shooters. The 'Shockers made 10-of-22 3-pointers, with Sean Ogirri going 6-of-10.
Airing it out: With Tennessee trailing 61-60 with 4:37 remaining, Dane Bradshaw shot a free throw that touched nothing but net literally.
The shot fell far short of the rim, touching only net.
"I guess I could have grabbed my wrist like it was really hurting," said Bradshaw, whose right wrist will require surgery after the season. "Actually, I shot one a little long a couple of minutes before that, so I guess I overcompensated."
He made the second free throw to tie the game.
Bench help: Senior Stanley Asumnu came off the bench to contribute seven rebounds and a key basket.
Midway through the second half, Asumnu had back-to-back steals near midcourt. Asumnu missed a contested layup after the first steal, but teammate Jordan Howell grabbed the rebound and scored.
Asumnu dunked after the second steal.
"My job is to bring a lot of energy off the bench, to play good defense and to rebound," Asumnu said. "Coach Pearl said he needed me to be a beast in there."
Staff Writers
GREENSBORO, N.C. --- Even though Tennessee received an extra 1.1 seconds from the officials just prior to Chris Lofton's game-winning shot, the Vols didn't need it.
Initially, there was only 1.8 seconds left on the clock when Coach Bruce Pearl called timeout. The officials reset the clock to 2.9 seconds after checking the monitor.
Replays of Lofton's shot showed that he released it with two seconds remaining.
"I wanted the ball," said Lofton, who rubbed off a screen from Major Wingate to get open. "I always want the ball in times like that when you've got to be clutch."
Dane Bradshaw, who delivered the inbounds pass on the play, said it's as excited as he's ever seen Lofton.
"I loved looking over to Chris, who never shows any emotion, and he was jumping up and down," Bradshaw said. "It was like seeing a kid who had lived his dream. It was nice to see him get emotional. He deserves every bit of it."
Winthrop called its final timeout after Lofton's shot and had .04 seconds to go the length of the floor.
James Shuler heaved a pass that bounced off the backboard and hit Andre Patterson's shoulder. The clock was supposed to start at that point, but didn't. Winthrop's Craig Bradshaw picked up the ball and tried a half-hook that was no good.
Official Mike Kitts said afterward that by rule they would have been required to consult the television replay had Craig Bradshaw's shot gone in, which would have nullified the shot.
Pearl's take: Pearl wasn't buying the theory that Tennessee played down to Winthrop's level, even though only four No. 15 seeds in the history of the tournament have beaten No. 2 seeds.
"Maybe this doesn't bode well for us continuing to win, but Tennessee played very well (yesterday)," Pearl said.
Asked how much better the Vols would have to play to beat Wichita State tomorrow, Pearl said, "I don't know yet. I haven't seen Wichita State."
He then added, "We played well."
Big rebound: It wasn't one of Tennessee's better rebounding games, but no rebound was any bigger than Lofton's offensive rebound of C.J. Watson's missed 3-pointer with 12 seconds left.
He pulled down the long rebound just inside the free-throw line, and it was kicked back outside to Bradshaw.
"That was a significant play," Pearl said, "and Chris needs to make more plays like that to help his team win, more plays on defense and more plays rebounding in order for us to win and not just make shots."
Press catching up: The Vols' full-court pressure wasn't particularly effective when it came to forcing Winthrop into turnovers.
The Eagles finished with just 15, but the Vols' players said the full effect of their pressure never shows up until the end.
"That's why they didn't make shots in the second half, because they were too tired," junior center Major Wingate said.
After a Craig Bradshaw layup gave Winthrop a 58-56 lead with 8:53 remaining, the Eagles scored just one more basket the rest of the way a James Shuler 3-pointer with 3:24 left. They missed 11 of their last 12 shots.
Winthrop's exit: It was the second straight heartbreaking loss for Winthrop in the NCAA Tournament.
The Eagles lost in the final minutes last season to Gonzaga as a No. 14 seed.
"It gets harder," junior guard Torrell Martin said. "Last year, I was devastated. This is worse. My stomach is still in knots."
Coach Gregg Marshall, who's guided Winthrop to six NCAA Tournament appearances in eight seasons, added, "This team has proven that they don't mind that stage."
Familiar face: Former Tennessee assistant coach Chris Ferguson attended yesterday's game.
Ferguson helped recruit many of the players on this team. He's now an assistant at East Carolina.
No headband: Lofton started the game with a headband yesterday, but later ditched it.
"I just took it off," he said. "It wasn't helping me none."
Lofton finished 2-of-9 from 3-point range. In his last three games, he's 7-of-29 from behind the arc.
No shock: After blitzing Big East representative Seton Hall 86-66, it is clear that Missouri Valley Conference champion Wichita State is unafraid of teams from the so-called major conferences.
"We know how good the basketball is in our conference," said Wichita State's Kyle Wilson. "It's just that not a lot of people watch us play. Missouri Valley games aren't on TV that much."
Wichita State guard Matt Braeuer pointed out that players on mid-major conference teams come to the NCAAs with something to prove.
"People on our team get under-recruited," he said. "We want to show that we belong and that maybe the big schools should have recruited us."
Scouting report: Tony Jones, Tennessee's associate head coach, warned that Wichita State offers the kind of inside offensive presence in senior center Paul Miller that has given the Vols problems all season.
Miller scored 11 of his 15 points in the first half against Seton Hall. He also had seven rebounds.
"They have the top talent in their conference, and that says a lot," Jones said, pointing out that four Missouri Valley teams are in the NCAAs.
Miller's inside scoring opened up the perimeter for Wichita State's 3-point shooters. The 'Shockers made 10-of-22 3-pointers, with Sean Ogirri going 6-of-10.
Airing it out: With Tennessee trailing 61-60 with 4:37 remaining, Dane Bradshaw shot a free throw that touched nothing but net literally.
The shot fell far short of the rim, touching only net.
"I guess I could have grabbed my wrist like it was really hurting," said Bradshaw, whose right wrist will require surgery after the season. "Actually, I shot one a little long a couple of minutes before that, so I guess I overcompensated."
He made the second free throw to tie the game.
Bench help: Senior Stanley Asumnu came off the bench to contribute seven rebounds and a key basket.
Midway through the second half, Asumnu had back-to-back steals near midcourt. Asumnu missed a contested layup after the first steal, but teammate Jordan Howell grabbed the rebound and scored.
Asumnu dunked after the second steal.
"My job is to bring a lot of energy off the bench, to play good defense and to rebound," Asumnu said. "Coach Pearl said he needed me to be a beast in there."
