Jones out as Vols’ coach

Tennessee began the season in the Top 25 and is ending it with a coaching change.

The Volunteers fired Butch Jones as they enter their final two regular-season games searching for their first Southeastern Conference victory, a stunning fall for a team that had won bowl games each of the last three seasons.

Athletic director John Currie said defensive line coach Brady Hoke would serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Jones’ firing comes one day after Tennessee (4-6, 0-6) fell 50-17 at Missouri for its fifth loss in its last six games.

“Late last night it was evident this was probably the direction we needed to go for the best of all concerned,” Currie said at a Sunday news conference. “We have two games left to play. We wanted our student-athletes to have the best possible chance for success. We want Coach Jones and his family to be treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve. We want to be able to focus, from my perspective, on the search going forward.

“None of us want to be in this position. But we are in this position, and now we move forward.”

Jones went 34-27 overall and 14-24 in the SEC over five seasons. He led the Vols to a Top 25 finish each of the last two years before the program took a giant step backward this fall.

Currie now must begin a coaching search just 7 ½ months after taking over as Tennessee’s athletic director. Currie said he was looking for someone “with the highest integrity and character, with the skills and vision to propel Tennessee to championships.”

“We expect our coach to have the dynamics that would enable him to lead us to where we know Tennessee football can and should be,” Currie said. “Our coach needs to know what that looks like.”

OSU WOMEN LOSE » Ohio State guard Kelsey Mitchell said it best. Louisville’s Asia Durr couldn’t miss.

Durr scored a careerhigh 47 points, including 13 of her team’s 15 in overtime, to lead No. 9 Louisville to a 95-90 victory over fifth-ranked Ohio State on Sunday.

Her jumper with 3:27 remaining in overtime and a 3-pointer a possession later put the Cardinals (2-0) ahead 87-83, which ended up being a decisive blow to the Buckeyes (1-1).

She shot 16 for 29 from the field and 9 for 16 from 3.

“She got hot,” Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff said. “She was spectacular tonight. Unbelievable. It was an amazing performance by her. One of the keys was we allowed her to get really comfortable early and because of that, she stayed in the zone.”

Louisville led 41-40 at the start of the second half, and that’s when Durr took over. She scored 10 of the Cardinals’ first 12 points of the half and grew their lead to as much as 14. But each time Louisville had a sizable lead, Ohio State made a run of its own.

Then the Cardinals countered, and then the Buckeyes punched back shortly thereafter.

NBA

CELTICS WIN 12TH STRAIGHT » Al Horford turned back the clock in his return from a twogame absence with a concussion.

Horford scored 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting to help the Boston Celtics hang on to beat the Toronto Raptors, 95-94, on Sunday for their 12th straight victory.

“He’s playing young again,” teammate Terry Rozier said.

Horford had 15 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists against his former team in Atlanta on Monday night, the same day an elbow to the head from Kent Bazemore sent him into the NBA’s concussion protocol.