Tennessee Hosts UNC-Asheville Thursday

QUICK FACTS

UNC Asheville (3-1) at Tennessee (4-0)

Game 5

Nov. 30, 2000

Tipoff: 7:37 p.m. (EST)

Television: FOX Sports Net

Thompson-Boling Arena (24,535)

Tickets
Available 1-800-332-VOLS
(865) 656-1200

The Series

UT leads 2-0

at Knoxville: UT leads 2-0

at Asheville: No Meetings

Last Meeting:

Tennessee 79, UNCA 63
Nov. 24, 1999
Knoxville, Tenn.

RADIO: Vol Network (Bob Kesling, Bert Bertlekamp). Listen to Vol Network on the Web

TV: None

Associated Press Poll (UT:7th/AP:NR)
ESPN/USA Today-Coaches Poll (UT:7th/AP:NR)

THE COACHES:
Tennessee Volunteers
Jerry Green (Appalachian St. 1968)
Overall Record: 18th year -- 293-203
at Tennessee: 4th year -- 71-25
2000-01 Schedule/Results

UNC Asheville Bulldogs
Eddie Biedenbach (N.C. State 1968)
Overall Record: 8th year -- 91-108
UNC Asheville: 5th year -- 62-57

Probable Starters

TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS
Pos	No./Name	Ht	Wt	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
F	22 Vincent Yarbrough	6-7	210	Jr.	13.5	4.8	3.8
F	44 Isiah Victor	6-9	220	Sr.	12.0	8.3	0.8
C	55 Charles Hathaway	6-10	265	Sr.	7.3	7.0	0.5
G	42 Jon Higgins	6-3	190	So.	8.3	1.5	3.3
G	14 Tony Harris	6-0	165	Sr.	17.3	1.8	6.5

UNC Asheville Bulldogs
Pos	No./Name	Ht	Wt	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
F	20 Colin Shaw	6-5	210	So.	5.5	4.8	1.3
F	33 Robby Joyner	6-5	200	Jr.	5.8	4.8	0.3
G	40 Adam Earnhardt	7-0	240	Sr.	9.3	4.0	0.8
G	10 Andre Smith	6-2	165	So.	9.8	3.3	6.0
G	11 Brett Carey	6-4	200	Sr.	12.5	2.5	2.5

GAME NOTES

Vols Continue Five-Game Homestand With UNC-Asheville

Tennessee will play the fifth and final game of its homestand to begin the 2000-01 season when the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs visit Thompson-Boling Arena at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 30.

Tennessee is off to a 4-0 start on the season for the third time under fourth year head coach Jerry Green. The Vols are ranked seventh in both major polls following a 98-65 win over Austin Peay on Monday, Nov. 27.

UNC-Asheville is 3-1 on the season after defeating East Tennessee State, 70-65, in Johnson City, Tenn., on Tuesday. Andre Smith and Adam Earnhardt led the Bulldogs with 14 points each. The win over ETSU was the third in a row for UNC-Asheville. The Bulldogs dropped their season-opener to Campbell (70-85) before reeling off wins over Lenoir-Rhyne, at Mercer and at East Tennessee State.

Tennessee holds a 2-0 all-time advantage in the series against the Bulldogs. Both prior meetings have come in the friendly confines of Thompson-Boling Arena

The Vols have been tough at home, winning their last 32 home games against non-conference teams. Fourth year head coach Jerry Green is 47-4 (.922) in home games at Tennessee.

West Virginia Game Time Changed

Tennessees game at West Virginia on Saturday, Dec. 2, will tipoff at 4:00 p.m. eastern at the WVU Coliseum. The time listed in the Tennessee basketball media guide is incorrect.

About UNC-Asheville

The Bulldogs are 3-1 and have won three straight games after defeating East Tennessee State, 70-65, on Tuesday. UNC-Asheville opened its season with a 70-85 home loss to Campbell University before embarking on a three-game winning streak. Since the loss, the Bulldogs have beaten Lenoir-Rhyne College, 83-52, Mercer University, 76-60, and East Tennessee State.

UNC-Ashevilles top three scorers play in the Bulldogs backcourt, which is regarded as one of the best in the Big South. Senior guard Brett Carey leads the team with 12.5 points per game while freshman guard/forward Allan Lovett is averaging 10.0 points and sophomore guard Andre Smith is averaging 9.8 points.

UNC-Asheville is coached by Eddie Biedenbach who is 62-57 (.521) in his fifth season at the school. He is 91-108 (.457) in his eighth year as a head coach.

Thursdays game will be Eddie Biedenbachs 200th game as a head coach.

The 1999-2000 Bulldogs got off to a slow start by losing its first nine games but turned things around to finish with a 7-7 record in the Big South Conference which was good for a tie for third place.

Call it the Kevin Bacon rule but, UNC-Asheville beat Mercer 76-60 on Nov. 25. Mercer had beaten Auburn at Auburn, Ala., 92-88 on Nov. 20.

Four different players have led the Bulldogs in scoring this season. Allan Lovett, Brett Carey, Andre Smith and Adam Earnhardt have either led or tied for the team lead in scoring this season.

Three starters and nine letterwinners return from last years team that posted an 11-19 record.

Sophomore guard Andre Smith was named the Big South Conferences Rookie of the Year last year.

UNC-Asheville has appeared in the championship game of the Big South Conference Tournament two times in the last three years. Last year the Bulldogs fell to Winthrop, 62-75, in the championship game.

The UNC-Asheville Series

Tennessee leads the all-time series with the Bulldogs, 2-0, with both previous meetings coming at Thompson-Boling Arena.

UNC-Asheville has played the Vols tough in both meetings. On Nov. 19, 1997, the Vols overcame a 13-point second half deficit to defeat UNCA, 75-69. On Nov. 24, 1999, the 17th-ranked Volunteers held a 25-23 lead late in the first half before using a pair of runs to go on to a 79-63 victory.

Tennessee is 6-0 all-time against teams from the Big South Conference. The Vols own wins over Elon (1-0), UNC-Asheville (2-0), Radford (2-0) and Winthrop (1-0).

Green Familiar with UNC-Asheville

Tennessee head coach Jerry Green is more than just a little familiar with the UNC-Asheville program. After beginning his playing career at Spartanburg Methodist College, Green played his final two seasons at UNC-Asheville which was then known as Asheville Biltmore College. The Vol mentor later spent 12 seasons on the Bulldog coaching staff, including nine years as head coach. Green directed the Bulldogs through the transition of NAIA membership to NCAA Division II and finally to its current status of NCAA Division I. He led UNCA to three 20-win seasons and posted a 150-108 (.581) career record.

Last Meeting with UNC-Asheville

Isiah Victor scored 18 points to help coach Jerry Green defeat his former school as No. 17 Tennessee beat UNC-Asheville 79-63 in Thompson-Boling Arena on Nov. 24, 1999. Tennessee turned up the offense late in the first half and went on a 10-4 run over the first six minutes of the second half to defeat the Bulldogs.

Tennessee's pressing defense didn't give the Bulldogs too many problems early as UNC-Asheville kept it close, trailing 25-23 after Brandon Carter's 3-pointer with 8:39 left before halftime. But the Vols finished the half with a pair of 8-1 runs, the first capped by Vincent Yarbrough's dunk at 6:31 that made it 31-24. The second run, to close out the half, ended on two Tony Harris free throws which gave the Vols a 43-36 lead at the break. The Vols' defense got the best of the Bulldogs in the second half, only allowing them to hit 35 percent of their shots.

Yarbrough and Tony Harris both had 13 points for Tennessee. John Risinger led UNC-Asheville with 17 points, while Matt Osikowicz finished with 10.

More Connections with UNC-Asheville

Tennessee assistant coach Byron Samuels was an all-Big South Conference basketball player at UNC-Asheville. A 1986 graduate of UNCA, Samuels was named team MVP his senior season in leading the Bulldogs to a 20-9 record.

UT assistant coach Chris Ferguson served one season (1987-88) as an assistant at UNC-Asheville.

Two Vols hail from the state of North Carolina. Jenis Grindstaff (Spruce Pine) and Zach Turner (Charlotte) both call North Carolina home.

UNC-Ashevilles roster lists one Tennessee native. Sophomore guard Brandon Carter attended Tennessee High School in Bristol.

Austin Peay Recap
Tony Harris led six Vols in double-figure scoring as seventh-ranked Tennessee defeated Austin Peay 98-65 on Nov. 27. Harris had a team-high 20 points to go with a career-high 12 assists against the Govs. Tennessee was red-hot from the field, shooting 61 percent in the first half and finishing the game shooting 59 percent. The Vol defense forced 23 turnovers, resulting in 29 points for UT. The fast break was what got Tennessees offense going. Two free throws by Trenton Hassell cut UTs lead to 32-27 with 5:57 remaining in the first half. But three consecutive dunks by Isiah Victor in just over a minutes time pushed Tennessees lead to 39-27. All three buckets came off the fast break with two coming via alley-oop passes from Harris. The Vols maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the game.

Tony Harris had his second career double-double. He recorded 20 points to go with a career-high 12 assists.

20 NBA scouts were in attendance.

Marcus Haislips streak of 15 consecutive free throws made came to an end.

Vincent Yarbrough, who had 15 points and six rebounds, recorded his 400th career rebound.

Preseason All-America Trenton Hassell led Austin Peay with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field.

Tony Harris Named SEC Player of the Week

Tennessee senior guard Tony Harris was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week on Nov. 27 for his 22 points, six assist performance in the Vols 66-56 win over No. 18 Wisconsin on Nov. 21. Harris, who scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, shot 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from the field, including 50 percent (4-of-8) from three-point range against the Badgers. During the game he became just the fifth Volunteer to reach the 400 career assist plateau. He finished the game with 404 career assists.

It is the third SEC Player of the Week honor for Harris. He also earned player of the week honors during his freshman and junior seasons.

Harris was the last Volunteer player to win the award when he shared SEC Player of the Week honors with LSU's Brian Beshara on February 14, 2000

This marks the 14th time a Tennessee player has received this accolade since the 1990-91 season.

Tennessee in the Polls
The Vols moved up two spots to No. 7 in both the Associated Press and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll on Nov. 27.

Tennessee has been ranked in 23 consecutive Associated Press polls. The last time the Vols were not ranked in the AP Poll was the Feb. 22, 1999 poll.

Tennessees current streak of 23 consecutive weeks of being ranked is the longest in school history. The previous best was 20 weeks from the 1975-76 preseason poll through the third week of the 1976-77 season.

The highest ranking that Tennessee has received in the Jerry Green era was in the Feb. 14, 2000 Associated Press poll when the Vols were rated No. 5.

The highest rating in Tennessee history came in the Jan. 16, 1968 AP poll when the Vols were listed No. 4.

Tennessees No. 9 preseason ranking in the Associated Press poll this season ties for the highest preseason ranking in school history. Tennessee was also listed as the preseason No. 9 team prior to the 1998-99 season.

Dunk You Very Much

Tennessee has wowed the crowds this season with its aerial acrobatics. The Vols have recorded 25 dunks this season against just four by the opponents. Following is a list of the Vols dunk leaders

Isiah Victor	7
Vincent Yarbrough	5
Marcus Haislip	4
Charles Hathaway	4
Ron Slay	3
Harris Walker	2

Holding the Lead

In three of Tennessees four wins this season, the Vols never trailed. The only game that Tennessee trailed the opposition was against Austin Peay. The Govs led the Vols for just 1:34 in Tennessees 98-65 win on Nov. 27. The Vols have not trailed at all during the second half this season.

Going to the Bench

A huge advantage that Tennessee has had this season is the depth of its bench. Head coach Jerry Green can substitute the entire lineup at once if he wishes.

Ten Vols are averaging 12 minutes per game this season.

No one is averaging more than 30 minutes per game.

Nine players are averaging five points per game or more.

Harris And Higgins Not Giving It Away

Tennessees starting backcourt of Tony Harris (26 assists, 3 turnovers) and Jon Higgins (13 assists, 2 turnovers) has combined to commit just five turnovers in 208 minutes of action. The duo has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 7.8-to-1 (39-to-5).

Vols Start Second Half Quick

Whatever head coach Jerry Green is telling the Vols at halftime is working. The Vols are outscoring opponents 60-22 in the first five minutes of the second half. Only one time has Tennsees opponent outscored the Vols in the first five minutes of the second half. Following is a breakdown UTs scoring in the first five minutes of the second half:

Opponent	UT-Opp
vs. UT-Chattanooga	9-10
vs. East Tennessee State	18-5
vs. Wisconsin	16-2
vs. Austin Peay	17-5

UT Joins 2001 Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout Field

The University of Alaska Anchorage announced on Nov. 22 that the University of Tennessee is among the eight-team field for the 2001 Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout. The 24th annual event is scheduled for Nov. 21-24 at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, Alaska.

Joining the Vols in the tournament are: Alaska-Anchorage, Gonzaga, Indiana, Marquette, Oregon State, St. Johns and Texas.

The Vols will be making their second appearance in the Great Alaska Shootout.

Tennessee has a 1-2 all-time record in the event with losses to Alabama-Birmingham and Maryland. Their win was over Idaho State.

The 2001 Great Alaska Shootout will be just the second time ever that the Vols have visited the state of Alaska.

Syracuse, who Tennessee visits on Dec. 22, won the 2000 Great Alaska Shootout with an 84-62 win over Missouri on Nov. 25.

Looking Ahead To West Virginia

The Mountaineers are 4-0 on the season following a 71-83 win at Duquesne on Tuesday. West Virginia, who does not play again until Saturdays game against the Vols, held a double digit lead in both the first and second half against the Dukes, but needed some key free throws late in the game to hold on to the win. Senior forward Calvin Bowman, who led WVU with 12.1 points per game last season, led the Mountaineers with 17 points and eight rebounds against the Dukes.

West Virginia head coach Gale Catlett is 418-246 (.627) in his 23rd season at West Virginia. A former assistant coach at Kentucky under Adolph Rupp, Catlett is 544-293 (.650) in his 29th year as a head coach . He coached Cincinnati to a 126-44 (.741) from 1973-1978.

WVUs win over Duquesne was the 544th career win for Gale Catlett. He moved into sole possession of 57th place on the NCAAs all-time wins list. He passed former Iowa coach Tom Davis on the list. Catlett needs four wins to pass Jim Grudger for 56th on the list.

West Virginias 4-0 start is its best since it began the 1997-98 season with a 5-0 record.

The Mountaineers are picked to finish sixth in the Western Division of the Big East Conference. Seton Hall is the favorite in the West followed by Georgetown, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Pitt, West Virginia and Rutgers.

West Virginia was not able to play at its home court, WVU Coliseum last year due to asbestos removal in the facility. The Mountaineers were able to return to the venue this season. The 14,000-seat WVU Coliseum is considered by many to be one of the toughest places to play on the road in the Big East.

Both of West Virginias starters in the backcourt are under 6-foot tall.

Did You Know?

Tennessees Jerry Green and West Virginias Gale Catlett both spent time on the Kansas coaching staff and helped lead the Jayhawks to the Final Four. Catlett spent four seasons (1968-71) as an assistant coach to Ted Owens at KU where he helped guide the Jayhawks to the 1971 Final Four. KU lost to eventual national champion UCLA in the semifinals and then to Western Kentucky in the consolation game. Green held a seat next to Roy Williams on the Kansas bench for four seasons (1989-92) where he helped take the Jayhawks to the 1991 national championship game. The Jayhawks fell to Duke in the championship game.

The West Virginia Series

West Virginia leads the all-time series, 3-1, including a 1-0 mark in Morgantown.

Tennessee is making its first trip to Morgantown since Dec. 1, 1959 when Jerry Wests 21 points led the Mountaineers to a 93-78 win over the Vols. When the first Associated Press poll was released three weeks later, West Virginia was the No. 2 rated team in the country.

Tennessee is making its first visit to the WVU Coliseum, which originally opened for the 1970-71 season. It was closed for the 1999-2000 season for asbestos removal but reopened in time for this year.

Tennessee stopped West Virginias three-game winning streak in the series with a 94-54 win in Knoxville last year.

The games in this series havent been very close. Only one of the four meetings has been decided by less than 15 points. In fact, the average margin of victory in the series has been 18.8 points. Take away last years 40 point win by Tennessee and the margin is still 11.7 points.

Tennessee and West Virginia have met in the postseason one time. In the first round of the 1989 NCAA Tournament, the 17th-ranked Mountaineers defeated Tennessee, 84-68, in Greensboro, N.C. WVU lost to eventual Final Four participant Duke in the second round.

Jerry Green is 1-0 all-time against West Virginia. He did not coach against them at UNC-Asheville or Oregon prior to coming to Tennessee. WVUs Gale Catlett is 1-1 all-time against Tennessee.

Tennessee is 18-24 all-time against current members of the Big East Conference.

Last Meeting With West Virginia

After a good week of practice, Tennessee's Marcus Haislip still didn't know what to expect when he stepped out on the court. The uncertainty didn't last long. The freshman scored a career-high 22 points to help No. 16 Tennessee defeat West Virginia 94-54 on Dec. 12, 1999.

"I was surprised with myself," said Haislip, who was 9-of-9 from the floor. "I've been going hard every day in practice and it paid off for me tonight."

Vincent Yarbrough added 16 points and 14 rebounds, and Tony Harris had 17 points and eight assists for Tennessee. West Virginia was led by Calvin Bowman with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Keith Kincade added 11 points.

Tennessee put the game out of reach early, giving up only nine baskets in the first half. The Mountaineers trailed 12-9 six minutes into the game. Over the next seven minutes, Tennessee outscored the Mountaineers 16-6 to grab a 28-15 lead on Vegas Davis' 3-pointer. Harris' 3-pointer ended the half as the Vols led 53-22.

Harris was 6-of-8 from the floor with three 3-pointers in finishing the half with 17 points. Yarbrough added 14 on 6-of-10 shooting. Haislip's 15 second-half points led the way for Tennessee. Haislip also hit both of his 3-point tries, his two free throws and added four rebounds.

West Virginia was without freshman point guard Tim Lyles and junior center Jamar Gaither. Both were suspended for the game for missing a study hall.

Tennessee vs. Ranked Teams

Tennessee head coach Jerry Green is 14-8 (.636) against ranked opponents since coming to Tennessee before the 1997-98 season.

Tennessee has won nine straight games against ranked teams in Thompson-Boling Arena.

The Vols are 10-1 (.909) under Green when playing a ranked team in Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee's last home loss came to seventh-ranked Kentucky on Jan. 24, 1998.

UT has posted a 3-5 record on the road against ranked opponents and a 1-2 record in neutral sites.

Non-Conference Success

Tennessee is 35-7 (.833) in non-conference games under fourth-year head coach Jerry Green.

In home games against teams from outside the Southeastern Conference, UT is a perfect 27-0.

The Vols were 12-2 against non-conference teams during the 2000 season with both losses coming at neutral sites (Tulsa and North Carolina).

UT Tough At Home

Thompson-Boling Arena has been one of the most difficult places for opponents to play in Jerry Greens three seasons at Tennessee.

Green has led the Vols to a 47-4 (.922) record in Thompson-Boling Arena.

Tennessee is 33-2 (.943) since the 1998 season at home. UT recorded a 14-1 record in 1999, a 15-1 mark in 2000 and is 4-0 in 2001.

The Vols are 20-4 against SEC teams at home over the last three seasons.

UT has won 32 straight non-conference games at home.

This season Tennessee is 4-0 at home.

Numbers to Watch

Jerry Green needs 7 wins for 300 in his career.

Jerry Green needs 4 games to reach the 500 games coached mark. The Southern Methodist game on Dec. 7 will be Greens 500th as a head coach.

The UNC-Asheville game will be Charles Hathaways 100th career game.

Tony Harris needs 15 points to pass Herman Thompson (1,319 points from 1954-57) on Tennessees career scoring list. Harris currently has 1,305 points.

Isiah Victor needs 71 points to become the 33rd Vol to reach the 1,000 career point mark.

Charles Hathaway needs five blocks to become the eighth Vol to reach the 100 career blocks mark.

UT has won 32 straight non-conference games at home. UTs last loss to a non-conference team at Thompson-Boling Arena was a 62-73 defeat to Tennessee Tech on Dec. 4, 1996.

With 113 more minutes of action, Tony Harris will have played 3,000 career minutes.

Baker And Yarbrough Have High School Jerseys Retired

Senior guard Del Baker and junior forward Vincent Yarbrough had their basketball jerseys from Cleveland High School retired by the school on Monday, Nov. 20. Baker, who wore No. 32, and Yarbrough, who wore the No. 22 jersey, attended the event along with head coach Jerry Green. It is an honor to have our jerseys retired, Yarbrough said. It feels good to be able to go home and be recognized as one of the better players to come out of your high school.

Foul Mood

The referees whistles have been getting a workout in Tennessees first three games this season. A total of 138 fouls have been called in the three games. In the season-opener against UT-Chattanooga, the Vols were whistled for a Thompson-Boling record 31 fouls while the Mocs were tagged with 22 fouls. Three Vols fouled out against UTC while five Mocs had three or more fouls. Against ETSU, Tennessee was called for 24 fouls while the Bucs committed 26 fouls. Surprisingly, against Wisconsin, the two teams were only whistled for 35 total infractions.

Home Start

While Tennessee will spend most of the month of December on the road, the Vols start the season with a five-game homestand. Tennessee began the 2000-01 season with wins over UT-Chattanooga, East Tennessee State and Wisconsin before hosting Austin Peay (Nov. 27) and UNC Asheville (Nov. 30). Following a road game at West Virginia (Dec. 2) the Vols return to the confines of Thompson-Boling Arena for games against Memphis (Dec. 5) and SMU (Dec. 7).

In-State Rivals

Austin Peay is the third team that the Vols play this season that hails from the state of Tennessee. The Vols will play a total of six teams from the Volunteer state this season. This is the most in-state schools on the Tennessee schedule since the 1939-40 season when the Vols faced seven schools from the state of Tennessee (Tennessee Tech, Milligan, King College, Lincoln Memorial, Vanderbilt, Sewanee and Tennessee Wesleyan). Following is a list of teams from the state of Tennessee who are on the Vols' 2000-01 schedule: UT-Chattanooga (Nov. 17), East Tennessee State (Nov. 19), Austin Peay (Nov. 27), Memphis (Dec. 5), Middle Tennessee State (Dec. 15) and Vanderbilt (Feb. 3 and Feb. 24).

Del Baker Out Indefinitely With Broken Foot

Senior guard Del Baker suffered a fracture of the fifth metatarsal (also known as a Jones Fracture) in his left foot during practice on Wednesday, Nov. 1, that will keep him out of the lineup indefinitely.

On Tuesday, Nov. 7, Baker underwent surgery to insert a screw into the fifth metatarsal of his left foot.

No determination has been made on how long Baker will be out of the lineup.

Last season, Baker missed Tennessees final eight games when he suffered the exact same injury in his right foot during a Feb. 21 practice.

Vols Sign Two In Early Period

Tennessee head coach Jerry Green announced that Derek Stribling, a small forward from Rickards High School in Tallahassee, Fla., and Elgrace Wilborn, a power forward from South High School in Springfield, Ohio, have signed national letters of intent to play for the Vols beginning in the 2001-02 season.

The 6-foot-6, 185-pound Stribling is listed as a Top 50 prospect according to some recruiting services. Stribling averaged 22 points and five assists as a junior. He is considered one of the top five players in the state of Florida.

At 6-foot-8, 210 pounds, Wilborn averaged 13 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks as a junior. A Top 100 prospect by some recruiting services, Wilborn recently recorded a 44-inch vertical leap. Last summer, he attended the prestigious Nike Camp in Indianapolis.

reseason Rankings:

Vols Ranked 8th By Coaches, 9th by AP

Tennessee was ranked No. 8 in the Preseason ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Coaches' Poll that was released Thursday, Nov. 2, and No. 9 in the Preseason Associated Press poll released Monday, Nov. 7

The No. 9 preseason ranking ties for the highest preseason ranking ever for Tennessee in the Associated Press poll. In 1998-99, the Vols were listed No. 9 in the preseason AP poll. Last year UT was 19th in the medias preseason rankings.

The No. 8 preseason ranking in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll is the highest preseason ranking ever for Tennessee. In 1998-99, the Vols were listed No. 9 in the preseason coaches poll. Last year Tennessee was 16th in the coaches preseason rankings.

SEC Media Picks Vols

In a poll of media attending SEC Media Days in Birmingham, Ala., Nov. 1-2, Tennessee was selected the favorite to win this years Southeastern Conference title and the SEC Eastern Division championship while Tony Harris and Vincent Yarbrough garnered some preseason accolades.

Tennessee gathered 19 of the 28 first place votes to win the Southeastern Conference title. Arkansas received four votes while Kentucky received three and two voted for Florida. Two media members did not list a conference champion on their ballots.

The Vols collected 21 of the first place votes in the SEC Eastern Division race. Kentucky was picked second followed by Florida, South Carolina, Georgia and Vanderbilt.

In the SEC West, Arkansas was the favorite followed by Alabama, Mississippi State, Auburn, LSU and Ole Miss.

Senior guard Tony Harris and junior forward Vincent Yarbrough were both voted first team Preseason All-SEC by the media attending the two-day event.

In what is believed to be an SEC first, Tennessees men and womens teams were picked to win their respective conference titles. I think it's safe to say it's the first time that the same school's teams have been picked to win the men's and women's titles," SEC associate commissioner Charles Bloom told the Knoxville News-Sentinel at SEC Media Days.

SEC Media Predictions
Eastern Division	Western Division
1. Tennessee*	1. Arkansas
2. Kentucky	2. Alabama
3. Florida	3. Mississippi State
4. South Carolina	4. Auburn
5. Georgia	5. LSU
6. Vanderbilt	6. Ole Miss
* Selected to win overall league championship

Preseason All-SEC
First Team	Second Team
Joe Johnson, AR	D.A. Layne, UG
Tony Harris, UT	Keith Bogans, UK
Udonis Haslem, UF	Rod Grizzard, UA
Vincent Yarbrough, UT	Chuck Eidson, SC
Tayshaun Prince, UK	Greg LaPointe, VU

Tickets Available for Jimmy V Classic

(UT vs. Virginia - Dec. 19)

Tickets are available for UT's game in the Jimmy V Classic Dec. 19 in East Rutherford, N.J. The event, which is held at Continental Airlines Arena (formerly the Meadowlands), features Tennessee and Virginia playing the first game followed by Michigan State and Seton Hall in the second game. Tickets, which are $32 for the two games, went on sale Oct. 23 and are available through Ticketmaster. The tickets may be purchased by calling 201-507-8900 or by accessing Ticketmaster's website (ticketmaster.com).

Tennessee On TV

At least 20 of Tennessees 30 scheduled regular season games this year will be broadcast on television including eight national appearances. Additionally, all of the SEC Tournament games will be broadcast on Jefferson Pilot Sports and the championship game will be shown on CBS.

ESPN will show six games this season (vs. Virginia, at Syracuse, Alabama, at Kentucky, at Florida, and at South Carolina).

CBS will broadcast Tennessees games against Florida and LSU.

Fox Sports Net South will show four of the Vols games (Wisconsin, Austin Peay, Southern Methodist, and at Mississippi).

Comcast/CSS will carry two Tennessee games (UT-Chattanooga and Memphis).

Jefferson Pilot Sports will broadcast six of UTs games (South Carolina, Mississippi State, at Arkansas, Kentucky, Georgia and at Vanderbilt).

Houston Brings Home The Gold

Allan Houston became the second Vol to earn an Olympic gold medal in the sport of basketball when he helped lead the U.S. Mens Senior National Team to the gold medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Ernie Grunfeld helped lead the U.S. to the gold medal at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada.

Houston averaged 8.0 points and 1.9 rebounds while shooting 60 percent (12-of-20) from three-point range in seven Olympic contests.

He scored 17 points in 19 minutes of action in a 102-56 U.S. rout of New Zealand during the preliminary round.

The National Team posted an 8-0 record in the tournament, including an 85-75 win over France in the gold medal round.

Green Climbing Coaching Charts

Jerry Green became the fastest Tennessee coach to reach the 50-win mark with a 74-69 triumph over the Memphis Tigers on Dec. 18, 1999. 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. Green, who is 291-203 (.589) in his 18th season as a head coach, is in his fourth season at Tennessee with a 69-25 (.734) record. In just over three seasons he already ranks as one of the six winningest coaches in Vol history.

Coach	Seasons	Years	Record	Pct.
Ray Mears	1963-77	15	278-112	.713
Don DeVoe	1979-89	11	204-137	.598
Emmett Lowery	1948-59	12	169-110	.606
John Mauer	1939-47	8	127-41	.756
W.H. Britton	1927-35	9	80-73	.523
Jerry Green	1997-Pres.	4	71-25	.740

Southeastern Conference Success

Tennessees success has not been limited to non-conference teams since Jerry Greens arrival in Knoxville. The Vols have won two SEC Eastern Division titles and one overall SEC championship in Greens three seasons. Green has compiled a 33-15 record against Southeastern Conference teams.

In 2000, UT won its first overall SEC crown since 1982 and its second straight SEC Eastern Division title when the Vols posted a 12-4 league record.

In 1999, Tennessee posted a 12-4 conference mark to win the SEC Eastern Division title.

In 1998, Green led the Vols to a 9-7 league mark, the schools first winning record against SEC teams since the 1990 campaign.

December Road Trips

The month of December is a busy month for the travel industry and Tennessee is doing its share to help this season. Of Tennessees nine games scheduled during the month, just two are to be played in Thompson-Boling Arena. UT begins the month with a game at West Virginia (Dec. 2) before returning home for games against Memphis (Dec. 5) and Southern Methodist (Dec. 7). Tennessee hits the road again on Dec. 15 when UT travels to Nashville to play Middle Tennessee State (Dec. 15). The Vols then travel to East Rutherford, N.J., to play Virginia in the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 19. From there, the Volunteers travel to Syracuse, N.Y., to play the Syracuse Orangemen. After briefly returning to Knoxville, UT travels to Hawaii to play three games in the Rainbow Classic. Tennessees first round opponent in the eight-team tournament is George Washington.

Return To Sender; Victor And Hathaway
Climbing Blocked Shots Charts

Seniors Isiah Victor and Charles Hathaway both rank among the top 10 shot blockers in Tennessee history.

Career Blocked Shots
1.	212 C.J. Black 1996-00
2.	151 Reggie Johnson 1985-89
3.	146 Doug Roth, 1985-89
4.	142 Dyron Nix, 1985-89
5.	122 Steve Hamer, 1992-96
6.	112 Rob Jones, 1982-86
7.	107 Isiah Victor, 1998-present
8.	95 Charles Hathaway, 1997-present
9.	90 Willie Burton, 1980-84

Harris Joins 1,000-Point Club;
Victor And Yarbrough Close Behind

The 2000 season saw Tennessees 1,000-point club grow to a total of 33 with the addition of two more members. C.J. Black finished his career with 1,261 career points to at the time rank 16th on Tennessees career scoring lists while Tony Harris also joined him in the 1,000-point club. This year two other Vols are nearing the career 1,000-point mark.

Career Scoring
1.	2801 Allan Houston 1989-93
2.	2249 Ernie Grunfeld 1973-77
3.	2219 Tony White 1983-87
4.	2103 Reggie Johnson 1976-80
5.	2065 Dale Ellis 1979-83
6.	1962 Bernard King 1974-77
7.	1877 Dyron Nix 1985-89
8.	1683 Carl Widseth 1952-56
9.	1651 Brandon Wharton 1995-99
10.	1600 Michael Brooks 1981-85
11.	1432 Ron Widby 1965-67
12.	1418 Steve Hamer 1993-96
13.	1407 Jimmy England 1969-71
14.	1343 Mike Edwards 1971-73
15.	1319 Herman Thompson 1954-57
16.	1305 Tony Harris 1998-present
17.	1261 C.J. Black 1997-2000
18.	1243 Mike Jackson 1974-77
19.	1236 Bill Justus 1967-69
20.	1225 A.W. Davis 1963-65

Harris On The Three-Point Charts

Senior guard Tony Harris has established himself as a serious threat from behind the three-point arc in his career. He has also established himself as one of the biggest three-point threats in UT history.

Career Three-Pointers
1.	346 Allan Houston 1989-93
2.	231 Brandon Wharton 1995-99
3.	200 Tony Harris 1997-present
4.	171 Greg Bell 1987-91

Harris Dishing Out The Assists

Tony Harris became just the fifth Vol to reach the 400 career assists mark against Wisconsin Nov. 21.

Career Assists
1.	715 Johnny Darden 1975-79
2.	525 Rodney Woods 1972-75
3.	491 Tyrone Beaman 1980-84
4.	460 Allan Houston 1989-93
5.	416 Tony Harris 1997-present
6.	397 Michael Brooks 1981-85

University of Tennessee Athletics

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