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NCAA Tournament: Remembering Tennessee basketball’s last No. 5 seed in 2007

By Caleb Calhoun

COLUMBUS, OH - MARCH 16: Dane Bradshaw #23 of the Tennessee Volunteers goes in for a layup against the Long Beach State 49ers during the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 16, 2007 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - MARCH 16: Dane Bradshaw #23 of the Tennessee Volunteers goes in for a layup against the Long Beach State 49ers during the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 16, 2007 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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CHARLOTTE, NC – MARCH 27: Chris Lofton #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers looks on against the Louisville Cardinals during the 2008 NCAA Men’s East Regional Semifinal at Bobcats Arena on March 27, 2008 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC – MARCH 27: Chris Lofton #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers looks on against the Louisville Cardinals during the 2008 NCAA Men’s East Regional Semifinal at Bobcats Arena on March 27, 2008 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

Tennessee: 121 Long Beach State: 86

In their first matchup against the No. 12 seed Long Beach State Beach, Tennessee basketball had one of its greatest shooting performances in history. The Vols hit 14 of 27 three-pointers. Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith led the way, hitting four three-pointers each and scoring 25 and 24 points respectively. Wayne Chism added 10 points and a three-pointer of his own.

Off the bench, Jordan Howell went 2-of-5 from the three-point line, scoring six points. Ramar Smith went 2-of-4 and scored 22 points. The climax was at the very end, in garbage time, Tanner Wild, a walk-on, came onto the court and drained a long three-pointer.

Beyond just the three-point shooting, the size athleticism were too much. As we mentioned, Smith had 22 points, largely scoring in transition, as he and Josh Tabb both had three steals off the bench while Lofton had four steals. Duke Crews, meanwhile, added 12 points off the bench along with 11 rebounds and a block, as he and Chism dominated down low.

Long Beach State hung around in the first half at times, trailing only 41-35 with under five minutes to go in the first half. However, the Vols ended the half on a 16-10 run and opened the second half on a 16-2 run to take complete control and advance in the NCAA Tournament.

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