MEMPHIS – Late in the second half of Saturday’s game at FedEx Forum, Tennessee’s Admiral Schofield walked to the scorers table to check back in.
A number of Memphis fans behind the Volunteers’ bench started heckling him, which Schofield didn’t directly acknowledge.
But he smiled, turned to the scorekeepers and said, “You hear them talking, right?”
They had fueled his fire.
Schofield scored 29 points, 20 in the second half, and added 11 rebounds as the third-ranked Vols held off Memphis 102-92 in front of 18,528. The first game in the rivalry in five seasons didn’t disappoint, and it ended with the Vols improving to 8-1 heading into a four-game home stand, starting with Samford on Wednesday at Thompson-Boling Arena.