During a tense matchup between Illinois and No. 1 Tennessee, Brad Underwood's scout was proven wrong. In the second half timeout, the FOX broadcast captured Underwood breaking down Jordan Gainey. He emphasized to his players the need to be tougher at a certain end of the court. "We're too soft at that end. We got to be tougher. That whole thing is Gainey. Get there, get over the top of that screen. Get over the top. Beat him to it. He's not a (ball) handler. He's not comfortable doing that."

Game-Winning Moment

With just 5.7 seconds left and the game tied at State Farm Center, the ball was in Gainey's hand and he was in his element. He inbounded to Igor Milicic who passed it back, setting up Gainey to go the length of the floor. He finished through traffic with a layup off the glass, securing a 66-64 win at the buzzer.

Jordan Gainey's Performance

Gainey scored a game-high 23 points to lead Tennessee (10-0), filling the void left by the foul trouble that sidelined Chaz Lanier and Zakai Zeigler for most of the second half. He played 18 minutes in the second half, mostly at point guard, without committing a turnover. After halting on 6-for-10 shooting from the floor, including 3-for-5 at the 3-point line and 3-for-3 at the foul line, he saved his best for last. "I just saw my defender keep backing up," Gainey said. "And he just kept backing up, and he was just dead in the water. And it was too late for them to send a double (team) because probably two seconds left, I was already at the rim at that point. We executed it perfectly."

Consistent Practice Pays Off

Gainey said this is a play the Vols work on consistently in practice, focusing on last-second shots in late-game scenarios. He got the ball back from Milicic near the Illinois foul line, took two dribbles to get to midcourt, then another to get to the top of the key on Tennessee's end. He went left with the ball in his hand, using a screen from Cade Phillips at the foul line, then switched to his right and finished with a scoop under the rim, falling to the baseline and sliding into the goal. "I looked through the hoop and saw it rattling up there," Gainey said. "And then it finally went through it and I saw my teammates coming … my teammates ran it perfectly and executed it."

The Play's Origins

Forget a play that took 5.7 seconds. Rick Barnes said it was a play that he picked up closer to 50 years ago. During his postgame press conference, Barnes went back to 1980 when he was an early career assistant at George Mason. The Patriots coaching staff decided to put out a newsletter in the Washington D.C. area to supplement a lacking recruiting budget and "to try to get George Mason on the map." "And so I worked with our SID, and we came up with a segment of it where we were going to call it ‘Coach’s Corner,’" Barnes said. "Where we want to ask different coaches around the D.C. area or wherever, to put together their favorite play." The first time Barnes went out, he ended up at DeMatha Catholic High School, talking to the legendary Morgan Wootten. Wootten coached high school basketball for over 40 years, won nearly 1,300 games, claimed five national championships and ended up in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. All Barnes had to do was ask. "I said, ‘Coach, you’ve been doing this a long time,’" Barnes said. "‘I need you to give me your favorite play.’ And he said, ‘okay,’ and he gave it to me. That’s the play we ran today." The play started with Milicic lined up in front of Jahmai Mashack and Darlinstone Dubar near midcourt, facing Gainey at the other end on the inbound. Mashack ran out first toward Gainey, then Dubar, then Milicic. Milcic caught the ball in front of the Illinois bench and immediately passed it back as Gainey hit full stride. "That play has been around a long time," Barnes said, "but Morgan, God, rest his soul, it was his play and the first one we put in that newsletter that year."