The End of Perfection

MEMPHIS,TENN. - With a shocking win in the closing seconds of the heavily anticipated #1 vs #2 game, Tennessee proved to everyone that they mean buisness.

After #2 Tennessee defeated #1 Memphis, they ended a Memphis 47 home winning streak, the longest in the country. Tennessee also stole the #1 spot as best team in Tennessee as well as #1 team in the nation.

With 26.5 seconds left in the game, Tyler Smith, a transfer from Iowa, hit a shot in the lane which locked up the win for Tennessee, 66-62 on Saturday night.

Chris Lofton, who had over 30 points against Memphis last year, was held to only 7 points on Saturday. He did however contribute to the Tennessee win by hitting a couple of free throws with 4.5 seconds left in the game.

Memphis, who hasn't lost at home since Jan. 2, 2006, was pretty bummed after this loss. "You guys all said we needed to lose one, so we lost one," said Memphis coach John Calipari. "Great game. I have to give them credit. They scrapped, they battled."

With coach Calipari using the New England Patriots as an example of how to remain undefeated, was hit by an opponent that shocked them like the Patriots. They were aiming to have the next undefeated season since Indiana in 1976.

When the polls come out later this week, they will surely be #1, for the first time in school history, as their fans who enjoyed the upset over Memphis were chanting, "We're No. 1! We're No. 1!"

Bruce Pearl, coach of Tennessee, said "I wanted to make sure our guys knew we were playing for something, I don't know if we're the best team in the country. I knew we were 40 minutes away from being No. 1." Pearl, who was going to wear his orange blazer for the game, will have to wear his blazer as a #1 coach against another in-state rival #16 Vanderbilt.

Original Article was written by Paul Newberry of the Associated Press-Star Tribune.