Vols, amid 'chatter' over schedule, topple Houston

LAS VEGAS -- Tennessee coach Rick Barnes knew some doubters had questioned the No. 17 Volunteers' schedule and 6-0 record entering Tuesday's game against No. 3 Houston.

Those questions, he said, served as motivation in his team's 76-73 victory over the Cougars at the Players Era tournament, a rematch of their Elite Eight game eight months ago. The Volunteers will play Kansas in the tournament's third-place game Wednesday.

"I've heard the chatter that we hadn't played anybody, but we had a great scrimmage against Ohio State and we had a great exhibition game against Duke and we knew after both of those that if we could continue to grow, that we had a chance," Barnes said. "We've got a group of guys that really like each other. They work hard every day, and more and more, our guys are starting to understand their roles."

Before its matchup against Houston, Tennessee had faced six opponents with sub-100 rankings on KenPom. Four of those opponents were sub-200 teams. Although the Vols had won those games by an average of 27.6 points, they were slotted behind six one-loss teams in the AP's latest top-25 poll because of their schedule to date.

On Tuesday, Tennessee handed Houston -- the best defensive team in America -- its first loss with a courageous comeback and defensive pressure that resulted in a seven-minute second-half scoring drought for the Cougars.

As Houston struggled, Tennessee guard Bishop Boswell poked the ball from Kingston Flemings' hands, which led to a turnover and score on the other end. During the Cougars' worst stretch of the second half, they missed 11 consecutive shots from the 15:46 mark until Milos Uzan connected on a pair of free throws with 8:22 to go.

Boswell -- whom Barnes said is "becoming one of the best defensive guards in the country" -- was a catalyst for Tennessee, with 10 points, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 block.

He was especially effective guarding Flemings, a projected first-round pick in next summer's NBA draft.

"Obviously he's a really good player and had a really good game," Boswell said of his defensive approach against Flemings. "But I think it's just playing hard. I don't think it was really an adjustment. We knew he was attacking hard right, but it's just sitting down and guarding."

When asked about his team's second-half scoring drought, Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said, "The ball has to go in." But he also said he was perplexed by the free throw disparity between two physical teams.

He called the 29-11 difference at the charity stripe "mind-boggling."

"I mean, [Ja'Kobi Gillespie] scored 22 points but he took 16 shots and he made nine free throws," Sampson said. "That was the difference in the game: the free throws. [Gillespie] went 9-for-9. [Flemings] went 2-for-2. I'm not saying we weren't fouling, but they were, too. Both teams were playing aggressive, tough, even."

During the 2025 NCAA tournament, Houston advanced to the Final Four with a 19-point victory over Tennessee. Only five players from that game took the court Tuesday. This time, a 25-point effort from Flemings and his team's 38% clip from beyond the arc weren't enough to help the Cougars get a win over a tough Volunteers squad.

Sampson credited Boswell for affecting the game.

"Not a lot of people will remember his impact, but it was Bishop Boswell," Sampson said. "He impacted it. No idea of what his future holds in this game. That is a winner. He was the toughest guy on the floor tonight."

Barnes said the win will give his group confidence moving forward.

"We knew that people would be talking about what we had done up until this point and this group of guys were making this their team, their season," Barnes said. "They've worked at it now for six, seven months and they're just a great team. It was truly a great team effort."