UT ‘pushed around’ in loss to Kansas

Kansas forwards Cliff Alexander, front, and Jamari Traylor fight for a rebound with Tennessee guard Robert Hubbs III, left, Tennessee forward Willie Carmichael III, and Tennessee guard Kevin Punter during the first half on Friday, Nov. 28, 2014 at the HP Field House in Kissimmee, Florida.

• Box score

Kissimmee, Fla ? For the second day in a row Friday, the Kansas University basketball team buried eight three-point shots.

The Jayhawks are shooting .444 from long-range two games into the Orlando Classic.

But their new-found outside shooting accuracy was the last thing on the mind of Tennessee coach Donnie Tyndall in the wake of an 82-67 loss in the HP Fieldhouse.

“They’re obviously a top-10 team for a reason,” Tyndall said of the 11th-ranked Jayhawks. “They’re tough. They’re talented. They’re a well-coached team. They have great front-court depth. We talked about endlessly to our team over the last 24 hours the key to this game would be boxing out and rebounding.”

Talk can change minds, but it can’t do anything about physical disadvantages.

“We gave up 18 offensive rebounds,” Tyndall said. “You’re not going to beat a team of that quality doing that.”

Kansas doubled up the Vols in rebounding, 44-22.

Tennessee made several runs and Kansas hit big shots and second shots and third shots to turn back each run.

“That’s the nature of having to play youthful guys. In a couple of years, hopefully, Willie (Carmichael) and Jabari (McGhee) and Tariq (Owens) and Dom (Dominic Woodson) are pushing guys around in a game like this like we got pushed around tonight,” said Tyndall, rattling off the names of three freshmen and one sophomore (Woodson). “Those are some big, strong, physical kids (playing for Kansas), and most of them have been in the program a year or two, and there’s no doubt about it, their depth and their front-court size wore us down. We were in some foul trouble. They’re just a good, talented team.”