Vol's Loften Is Pulled, Despite 82-72 Victory

When your leader is shutdown, it can be awfully difficult to overcome. Gonzaga (9-4) dropped their second straight game and three of their last five following an 82-72 route against Tennessee.. After Pargo's brilliant play against a competitive Oklahoma team (who beat top 25 foe West Virginia on the same day), but only coverted on 1-for-7 from the field, finishing with a dismal eight points. JaJuan Smith is credited with the effort. Smith stated that a summer camp game played this past summer revealed a few of Pargo's weaknesses thus putting himself at an advantage. The Zags trailed by as much as 18 during one point, but were reluctant to cut the deficit to five after a Matt Bouldin 3-pointer with 1:15 remaining. Bouldin was the Bulldogs leading scorer with 21 points. Tennessee's Chris Loften was pulled from the game after missing his seven of eight 3-pointers. He finished the game with 13 points, shooting 4-13 from the field.

Tennesse (No.11 AP, 12-1) will host No.24 Mississippi in Knoxville on January 9. They've won seven straight since dropping a 97-78 contest against Texas. Meanwhile, Gonzaga will stay in Washington for games against Utah on the 31st and Georgia on January 5th before settling into conference games at LMU and Pepperdine.