Men's Basketball Kicks Off The Millenium Against Radford

Radford (4-5)
at Tennessee (11-1)

Sunday, Jan. 2, 2000
Thompson-Boling Arena - Knoxville, Tenn.
Tipoff: 2:00 p.m. (EST)

The Series
Tennessee owns a 1-0 series lead over the Radford Highlanders of the Big South Conference. The only meeting came in Knoxville in the 1992-93 season when the Vols posted a 105-63 win.

UT owns a perfect 5-0 mark against the current members of the Big South Conference. The Vols are 2-0 against UNC Asheville and 1-0 versus UNC Greensboro, Winthrop and Radford. The Vols defeated UNC Asheville 79-63 earlier this season.

Last Meeting
(Jan. 13, 1993) -- Kevin Whitted had the best night of his UT career in leading Tennessee to a 105-63 blowout of Radford.

Whitted scored 23 points, connecting on all nine of his field goal attempts, and blocked five Highlander shots. Allan Houston scored 20 on 7-of-11 from the field. Lang Wiseman, who added 16, became the 29th player in UT history to join the school's 1000-point club.

Radio
Vol Network: (Randy Smith & Bert Bertelkamp)...Statewide network with night time penetration into 38 states and part of Canada. The Vol Network broadcast may also be heard at www.utsports.com via broadcast.com.

Coaches
Tennessee: Jerry Green (Appalachian St., 1968) 274-197 (.582) - 17th season.
At UT: 52-19 (.732) - 3rd season.

Radford:Ron Bradley (Eastern Nazarene 1974) 241-144 (.626) - 14th season.
At Radford: 145-93 (.609) - 9th season.

PROBABLE STARTERS

The Volunteers
Tennessee is 11-1 and off to its best start since the 1988-89 season. The Vols were off to their third-best start in school history at 11-0 before dropping their first game of the season to Tulsa in the championship game of the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic.

UT is coming off a second-place finish at the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic. They went 2-1 with victories over American University-PR (102-58) and Southern Illinois (87-74).

Sunday's game against Radford is the final non-conference game of the season for the Vols who open up the 16-game Southeastern Conference slate at South Carolina Jan. 5.

Home Winning Streak
Tennessee has won all seven of its home games this season by an average of 23.7 points. Overall, the Vols have won 10 straight at Thompson-Boling Arena, including three straight in SEC play.

The Vols have won their last 26 home non-conference games since suffering a 73-62 defeat to Tennessee Tech in the 1996-97 season. Jerry Green's Volunteers are 21-0 in home non-conference games since taking over the program before the 1997-98 campaign.

UT is 35-3 (.921) in its last 38 home games, including 13-3 in SEC play. The Vols were 14-1 at Thompson-Boling last season. Tennessee is 30-8 in non-conference games in three years under Green.

#22, Vincent Yarbrough

Team Offensive Notes
Tennessee has shot over 50 percent from the field in four of its last six games. They were held to a season-low 30.4 percent (21-69) in their last game against Tulsa.

The Vols have scored at least 70 points in 11 of their 12 games. They posted two 100-point efforts against South Florida (102-90) and American-PR (102-58), marking the first time since the 1992-93 season that a Vol team has reached the century mark at least two times in a season.

In fact, nine of their 11 victories have been by at least 12 points. UT is averaging 11.3 steals per game, thanks in part to a school-record 22 steals against American-PR. The old mark was 20 set against Western Carolina last season. They have posted at least 10 steals in each of the last three games and nine times on the season.

Team Defensive Notes
Tennessee has held 10 of its opponents to under 50 percent shooting from the field. South Florida (50.8) and Tulsa (60.0) are the only teams to shoot over 50 percent. In fact, UT has held eight teams to under 40 percent on the season, including three of the last four.

The Vols have hit the boards hard, outrebounding nine of their 12 opponents and own a 6.1 advantage per game on the boards. UT is also averaging 7.6 blocks per game with C.J. Black leading the squad with 3.0 per game, followed by Vincent Yarbrough at 1.5. They blocked a season-high 12 against Southern Illinois 12/22 and posted two 11-block outings versus Elon and Pittsburgh.

Hitting From Long Range

#43, C.J. Black

The Vols are hitting 8.8 three pointers per game and shooting 40.3 percent from beyond the arc for the season. Four times they have made at least 11 3-pointers in a game, including tying a school record with 15 against South Florida when they connected on 15-of-28.

Over the last four games, the Vols have hit 30-of-85 for 35.3 percent. In the previous four games, the hit 39-of-89 for 43.8 percent. Tony Harris and Jon Higgins have been the main 3-point threats, hitting 27 and 25 respectively. Harris is shooting 42.9 percent, while Higgins is making 42.4 percent from long range.

Harris/Yarbrough Named All-Tournament
Despite missing the entire second half of the championship game of the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic with a right wrist and hip injury, Tony Harris was named to the All-Tournament team, along with teammate Vincent Yarbrough.

Yarbrough averaged 18 points per game in the tournament, including scoring 21 against Southern Illinois and 20 versus Tulsa. He made 18-of-31 from the field and grabbed 18 total rebounds with eight steals and five blocks. Harris scored 38 points, including 21 versus Southern Illinois and 14 against American-PR.

Vols Ranked In Top 25
Tennessee is ranked 16th in the latest Associated Press and 13th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.

              AP        ESPN/USA TodayPreseason     19th      16thNov. 15       19th      16thNov. 22       17th      18thNov. 29       18th      18thDec. 6        16th      15thDec. 13       13th      12thDec. 20       11th      12thDec. 27       16th      13th

Green Gets 50th Win At Tennessee
Jerry Green became the fastest Tennessee coach to reach the 50-win mark with a 74-69 triumph over the Memphis Tigers 12/18/99. He reached the milestone in his 68th game, bettering the mark of 69 games set by John Mauer who coached the Vols from 1939-47. In just his third season, Green has amassed a 50-18 (.735) record at Tennessee.

Other coaches reaching 50 wins include Emmitt Lowery (1948-59) who turned the trick in 72 games and Don DeVoe (1979-89) who did it in 75 games.

Fastest To 50 Wins At UT

Jerry Green 50 wins in 68 games
John Mauer 50 wins in 69 games
Emmitt Lowery 50 wins in 72 games
Don DeVoe 50 wins in 75 games
Ray Mears 50 wins in 78 games

Turnovers Abound
As part of Tennessee's total defensive effort, the Vols are forcing teams into 23.4 turnovers per game. The have forced at least 20 turnovers nine times, including a season-high 40 against American-PR 12/21. Five times opponents have turned the ball over 25 times. They have forced 88 turnovers in the last three games for an average 29.3 per game.

The Vols are turning the ball over 19.5 times per game themselves on the season. They have 141 over the last six games (23.5 pg), compared to 93 in the first six (15.5 pg).

Free Throw Shooting
After shooting 70.5 percent from the charity stripe through the first nine games (141-of-200), the Vols have made only 48 of the last 100 free throws (48.0 percent) the last three games.

Opponents have made 115 trips to the free throw line over the last four game for an average of 28.8 per game and have made 73 for 63.5 percent. In the first eight games, opponents made only 114 trips to the line for an average of 14.3 per game.

Tony Harris
Tony Harris played only eight minutes in UT's last game against Tulsa 12/23 after injuring his right wrist and hip. He leads the Vols with 27.8 minutes per game, and has played over 30 minutes six times.

Harris, who was named the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic All-Tournament team after scoring 38 points in three games, scored only three points against the Golden Hurricane, snapping his string of consecutive games scoring in double digits at eight. He is averaging 16.1 points per game over his last nine games while hitting on 22-of-52 three pointers for 42.3 percent. He has scored in double digits in 10 games.

Harris has three 20-point efforts on the season, including a career-high 29 points against South Florida. He also had 23 versus MTSU and 21 against Southern Illinois. He is 14-for-37 (37.8 percent) from the field over the last four games, including going 4-for-15 from long range during that span. Harris has been hot from the free throw line, hitting 27 of his last 34 for 79.4 percent.

As UT's assists leader, Harris is averaging 5.8 per game and holds a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio. He has made at least six assists in eight games, including a career-high 10 against MTSU.

Vincent Yarbrough
Vincent Yarbrough leads the Vols with 16.2 points per game and 2.6 steals per game, while ranking second with 6.2 rebounds per game and 1.5 blocks per game.

Yarbrough, who was named to the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic All-Tournament team, has posted back-to-back 20-point outings in his last two games, with 21 against Southern Illinois and 20 versus Tulsa. He has scored in double digits in 11 of the 12 games, including a career-high 25 points against South Florida. He is averaging 17.3 ppg over his last seven games while shooting 54-for-101 for 53.5 percent.

Yarbrough has also been hitting the boards hard, ranking second with 6.2 per game. He has pulled down at least six caroms eight times and is averaging 7.8 rebounds over the last six games. He recorded a double-double against West Virginia with 16 points and 14 boards. He also leads the team with 31 steals, averaging 2.6 per game. Three times he has recorded five steals in a game (Elon, South Florida and American-PR). He has blocked five shots over the last two games and has five multi-block games on the season, including a season-high four at Pittsburgh.

Marcus Haislip
Marcus Haislip has a knack for getting to basket this season, leading the Vols with a 65.9 field goal percentage. He has made 25 of his last 32 field goal attempts for 78.1 percent, including going 4-for-5 from three-point range. He hasn't been quite as successful from the free throw line as he has connected on just 9-of-20 (45 percent). He scored a season-high 22 points against West Virginia on 9-of-9 from the field, including two 3-pointers and two free throws. He scored 29 points in three games at the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic, hitting on 13-of-18 shots (72 percent). He scored 17 against American-PR on 8-of-10 shooting and then went 3-for-3 with a trey versus Southern Illinois for eight points.

Haislip has played at least 10 minutes in each of the last four games after playing 10 minutes in a game just three times in the first eight.

Jon Higgins
Jon Higgins has scored 25 points in the last two games, pumping in a season-high 13 against Tulsa and 12 versus Southern Illinois. It marked only the second and third times this season he has reached double digits. His previous high was 11 versus South Florida. He has made 9 of his last 14 three-point attempts over the last three games after going 1-for-8 in his previous two games.

Noted as one of Tennessee's 3-point threats, 25 of his 32 field goals (78.1) made have been three pointers. He had his best game of the season against Southern Illinois with 12 points and a season-high eight rebounds and four three-pointers.

Higgins was inserted into the starting lineup in the second game against UNC Asheville after Jenis Grinstaff was lost due to a knee injury. He has made at least two three-pointers in nine of the 11 games he has started. He has recorded three steals in each of the last two games after having just seven in the first 10 games. C.J. Black
C.J. Black scored a season-high 15 points in his first game back from suspension against Southern Illinois. He had scored only 18 points in his previous four games. He was 5-of-8, including a three, from the field versus the Salukis. He has scored in double digits on five occasions and hit on 10 of his last 19 field goal attempts (52.6 percent). He ranks third with 6.1 rebounds per game, but has only 20 in the last five games for 4.0 rpg.

Black, UT's all-time blocked shots leader with 190, is averaging 3.0 blocks per game this season. He has swatted away at least four shots in a game on five occasions and tied his career-high with five against UNC Asheville and South Florida.

Isiah Victor
Isiah Victor leads the club in rebounding at 7.3 per game while ranking third with 10.6 points per game. After scoring in double digits through the first six games and averaging 14.2 points per game, Victor has scored only 42 points in the last six, with 11 coming against Memphis, for an average of 7.0 ppg. He is 16-of-44 (36.4 percent) from the field during that span. He also has only 33 rebounds over the last six games (5.5 rpg), after pulling down 54 in the first six (9.0 rpg).

Victor began the season with double-doubles in two of the first three games. He had 16 points and 13 rebounds against Elon and then pumped in 12 with 10 boards versus Long Island.

Ron Slay
Ron Slay has been the most productive player off the bench for the Vols, averaging 9.3 points per game. He has scored 111 points in 197 minutes of action.

Slay had scored in double digits five times with a season-high 17 against Elon. He made his only start against American-PR, scoring 11 points with four rebounds. Versus Tulsa, he pulled down a season-high eight rebounds after having seven rebound efforts against Long Island and Memphis. He is just 3 for his last 12 in the last two games.

Off The Bench
Charles Hathaway has hit on six of his last 12 field goals and scored a season-high 12 against American-PR. He has 11 rebounds over the last four games...Harris Walker has played 20 minutes in two of the last three games while scoring 10 points and pulling down eight rebounds. He dished out a season-high seven assists versus West Virginia and recorded four steals against Tulsa... Terrence Woods scored a season-high 11 at Memphis while hitting 3-of-5 three-pointers. He has played 45 minutes over the last four games after playing 51 through the first eight...Del Baker scored a season-high 10 points against American-PR. The defensive specialist has played 88 minutes over the last six games after 48 in the first six.

Postgame Interviews
Tennessee's locker room is closed to the media following the game. Head coach Jerry Green will address the media following a 10-minute cooling off period. Selected Tennessee players will follow Green in meeting with the press outside the UT locker room.

Grindstaff Has Surgery
Jenis Grindstaff, who opened the season in the Vols' starting lineup at shooting guard, had successful knee surgery Dec. 14 to repair a torn ACL in his left knee. Grindstaff injured the knee in the season opener against Elon after playing just 14 minutes. He transferred to Tennessee prior to last season after earning All-Freshman honors at Virginia Tech in 1997-98.

Probable Starters

TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS (11-1)Pos. No.  Name               Ht    Cl    Hometown               PPG    RPGF    22   Vincent Yarbrough  6-7   So.   Cleveland             16.2    6.2F    44   Isiah Victor       6-9   Jr.   Hopkinsville, Ky.     10.6    7.2C    43   C.J. Black         6-8   Fr.   Nashville              7.3    6.1G    42   Jon Higgins        6-3   Fr.   Shaker Heights, Ohio   7.7    3.8G    14   Tony Harris        6-0   Jr.   Memphis               14.8    2.1RADFORD HIGHLANDERS (4-5)Pos. No.  Name               Ht    Cl    Hometown               PPG    RPGF    24   Correy Watkins     6-7   So.   Badin, N.C.            5.4    6.0F    42   Ryan Charles       6-10  Sr.   Midlothian, Va.       18.2    7.8C    34   Nosa Obasuyi       6-10  So.   Edo, Nigeria           1.9    3.6G    21   Rian Everett       6-0   Sr.   Virginia Beach, Va.   14.6    2.0G     3   Mike Hornbuckle    6-1   So.   Huntington, W.Va.      5.4    1.9

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Men's Basketball Kicks Off The Millenium Against Radford

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