After coming up short to Michigan St., Oakland tops No. 7 Tennessee

Associated Press

KNOXVILLE, TENN

Oakland finally got its upset.

Keith Benson had 26 points and 10 rebounds and the Golden Grizzlies beat No. 7 Tennessee 89-82 on Tuesday night, three days after losing by a point to then-No. 7 Michigan State.

The defending Summit League champion put together a tough schedule this season to prepare them to make another run at an NCAA tournament appearance. They had already been almost too much for the Spartans, Illinois and Purdue to handle before grabbing only their second win over a ranked opponent in 27 tries since joining Division I in the 1998-99 season.

It was only the second time the Volunteers have lost on their home court to a non-conference opponent in coach Bruce Pearl’s six seasons. The loss came one day after Tennessee climbed into the Top 10 and grabbed the No. 1 RPI after beating then-No. 3 Pittsburgh.

The Vols held a 76-68 lead with 7:18 left, but their physical play inside drew foul after foul. Oakland (6-5) used a 13-0 run of mostly free throws and took an 81-76 lead that it would not relinquish.

Tennessee (7-1) missed four free throws and a few 3-pointers down the stretch that could have cut the lead.

No. 22 Texas 70, North Florida 48.

AUSTIN, Texas

Gary Johnson scored 17 points and tied his career-high with 12 rebounds and Texas coasted.

Cory Joseph scored 18 points for the Longhorns and kept up his hot shooting from 3-point range, hitting 4 of 8 for the Longhorns (8-2).

WOMEN

No. 2 Baylor 65, No. 6 Tennessee 54

WACO, Texas

Brittney Griner had 21 points, nine blocks and provided a giant obstacle on nearly every defensive stand, carrying Baylor.

Playing before a crowd of 10,569 — the most ever for a basketball game at Baylor, men’s or women’s — the Lady Bears (10-1) never trailed. They broke it open for good with an 11-0 run to close the first half and led by as many as 15 points.