Villanova falls in NIT final

NEW YORK - Villanova coach Jay Wright admitted he told his team that Tennessee would try to make the NIT Season Tip-Off championship game a street fight, but said he meant it "in a complimentary way."

However, the seventh-ranked Wildcats, who never seem to mind that style of basketball, didn't have an answer for the physical play of the No. 24 Volunteers on Friday night. They shot poorly from the field and suffered their first loss of the season, a 78-68 decision at Madison Square Garden.

For Villanova (5-1), guards Corey Fisher and Maalik Wayns shot a combined 4 of 21 from the field, didn't make a three-pointer in eight attempts, and committed 11 of their team's 13 turnovers. The Vols (5-0) didn't allow them much in the way of penetration to the basket.

"I love how they play," Wright said. "You have to be smart in a street fight. I thought they were a little tougher and a little smarter. When they drove the ball and we helped, they made extra passes. We kind of tried to challenge the big guys every time. We have to get better at it."

Matched up most of the night against 6-foot-6 guard Scotty Hopson, Fisher scored Villanova's first basket, then went without a field goal the rest of the night. He finished 1 of 10 from the field and scored three points, his lowest total since a two-point game against Notre Dame on March 2, 2009, his sophomore year.

"They played great defense," the the 6-0 senior said. "I got the shots I like. They didn't go down today. I can't really get frustrated, because I work on those shots every day. It's just one game, and we have to get better from it."

Fisher committed six turnovers - he entered Friday night with four in his first five games - before fouling out with 1 minute, 12 seconds to play. Wright said Fisher was fine, health-wise.

"I just think it was one of those nights," he said. "Their bigs helped on ball screens. They're a very good defensive team. They didn't give Fish man one-on-one opportunities. Early he got some looks - good looks - but he missed them."

Volunteers coach Bruce Pearl thought Hopson's length bothered Fisher.

"Scotty stayed down and Corey was getting some of the shots he was getting, but he wasn't getting to the rim," he said. "He was having to shoot over that 6-6 frame."

The Wildcats, who love to attack in transition, managed just two fast-break points. Wright said extra passes by his guys would have helped.

"Challenging them, they were up to the challenge," he said. "Then you have to be smart. We didn't play that way. But you have to give them credit for that."

Villanova didn't take its first lead until early in the second half, but never was up by more than three. The Cats held a 48-45 advantage before Tennessee took command for good on baskets by Cameron Tatum and Hopson, who scored a game-high 18 and was named tournament MVP.

The game was still tight at 56-55 when the Vols scored seven consecutive points, capped by Tatum's three-pointer that made it an eight-point lead with 5:35 to play. The Wildcats didn't threaten after that, mainly because they couldn't get a defensive stop when it counted.

The Vols shot 53.6 percent from the field in the second half and outrebounded the Cats, 41-35.

Mouphtaou Yarou, the only Wildcat to make the all-tournament team, led Villanova with 15 points. Antonio Pena added 14 and a team-high eight rebounds. The Wildcats shot 34.5 percent from the field and connected on just 4 of 21 attempts from beyond the arc.

Villanova will use the game as a learning experience, although Wright noted his team could learn just as much by winning.

"I think we learned enough last year," he said. "I would much rather win this. This will be a tape we're going to look at. You're going to see we weren't tough enough and we weren't smart enough. So it's going to help us. It's definitely going to help us."