Tennessee forward Armani Moore (4) steals the ball from Florida guard Kasey Hill (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Knoxville, Tenn. Tennessee won 83-69. (Adam Lau/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP)On paper, it looked like suicide. You just don't start five guys 6-foot-5 or shorter against a Southeastern Conference front line that goes 6-8, 6-8 and 6-11.
Or do you?
Fifty years after Rupp's Runts led Kentucky to the 1966 NCAA title game, could Rick's Runts prove capable of leading Tennessee to similarly shocking heights within the SEC?
If UT first-year coach Rick Barnes can keep his Little Orange team playing with the same fire and fury for the rest of the season the way they did in Wednesday night's stunning 83-69 home win over floored Florida, they just might.
"We obviously played the best 20 minutes we have all year on both ends of the court," said Barnes after watching his marvelous munchkins lead by 22 at halftime (53-31) and by 30 (64-34) with 13:03 to play. "I don't know if (UT's players) have ever had a lead like that, at least at halftime."
When it comes to size, Tennessee's been on the smallish side all season. The projected lineup in UT's game-day notes package had the Vols starting 6-2 Kevin Punter at the point, 6-4 Devon Baulkman at shooting guard and 6-5 Admiral Schofield on the wing, with 6-4 Armani Moore and 6-7 Derek Reese down low.
By comparison, new Florida coach Michael White was to send out three Florida Gators who stand 6-8 or taller.
Yet Barnes wasn't content to give away seven inches total at game's beginning. When the starting lineups were announced just prior to tipoff, he'd replaced Reese with 6-4 Robert Hubbs III.
Huh?
"We finally decided this afternoon," Barnes said.
Countered Hubbs, "They told me they were thinking about it two days ago at practice."
Whenever the decision was made, what followed was one of those performances that the 14,387 who were inside Thompson-Boling Arena will fondly recall for the rest of their lives. They might even get used to the charcoal gray uniforms the Vols brought out for this one.
"I like them," said Hubbs, whose 12 points and team-high nine rebounds nicely backed Punter's game-high 26 points and Schofield's 17 points. "Thank you, Nike."
But it wasn't just that the Vols outshot the Gators from the field on the opening half by a 51.3 percent to 33.3 percent total. Or that they outrebounded them by 49-40 for the game, or that he turnover count in the opening half, when this game was all but officially determined, was 10 for Florida and three for UT.
A single quote from Barnes to explain the constant harrassment the Gators faced in that opening 20 minutes: "We knew we'd have to swarm and be active. When five guys are standing around you, there's not a lot of room to work."
So Florida panicked. Layups bounced harmlessly away. Rebounds were fumbled. Passes deflected. Everything was rushed.
"From the tip, we got after it," said a smiling Hubbs, who said he probably hadn't spent that much time in the paint since high school. "We knew we had to block out. We knew we had to be very engaged defensively the entire game."
No one may have delivered for the entire game more than Schofield, the physical freshman from Zion, Ill. Averaging 6.4 points and 3.2 rebounds this season, he had 15 points and two rebounds by halftime, then finished with 17 points, eight boards, a steal and an assist in 31 huge minutes.
"My role is to be an energy guy," he said.
Added Hubbs, "Admiral stretches out a defense."
Barnes has stretched offenses and defenses for nearly 30 years and more than 600 wins. No matter when he decided to play small ball against the Gators, the simple fact that he chose to shows the wisdom of UT hiring him last spring.
But what may matter most was how Rick's Runts handled watching their record improve to 8-6 overall and 1-1 within the SEC with dangerous Texas A&M set to arrive at the Boling Alley on Saturday.
Said Punter with a senior's savvy, "A win like this, you can think you've arrived. But we haven't. Now we've got to go even harder."
If they can consistently go even harder than they did against the Gators, this Little Orange bunch just might deliver the biggest basketball surprise in UT history.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.