Vols Take Break From Homestand; Travel To Auburn Saturday
 | | Freshman Stanley Asumnu sparked the Vols off the bench in UT's win over South Carolina Wednesday. | The Volunteers, who are in the midst of playing four of five games at home, will venture out of the friendly confines of Thompson-Boling Arena for their lone road game during the five-game stretch when they visit Auburn Saturday (4 p.m.-EST). This weekend's game will match the Southeastern Conference's top two scorers against each other. Tennessee's Ron Slay leads the league with 21.2 points per game while Auburn's Marquis Daniels is second with 18.7 points. Tennessee improved to 10-6 on the season and 3-3 in the SEC with a 60-56 win over South Carolina Wednesday in Knoxville. Slay, who played a season-low 20 minutes due to foul trouble, led the Vols with 16 points while Brandon Crump added 13 points and nine rebounds. For the seventh time this season Tennessee shot 50 percent or better from the field, going 23-of-44. Slay, a 6-foot-8 senior forward, needs eight points to become the 19th player in Tennessee history to score 1,300 career points. The Nashville native, who currently has 1,292 career points, need 13 points to pass Isiah Victor (1998-2001) for 18th on the all-time scoring lists. One of the more surprising teams in the SEC this season, Auburn is 15-4 overall and 4-2 in the league. The Tigers boast the league's best field goal percentage (50.0 percent) and field goal percentage defense (39.0 percent). Auburn has one of the conference's best home records, going 10-1 at home this season.
| Team Statistical Comparisons | | Tennessee | Stat Category | Auburn | | 70.2 | Points | 75.9 | | 66.0 | Opponent Points | 63.4 | | +4.3 | Scoring Margin | +12.5 | | 45.3 | Field Goal % | 50.0 | | 40.6 | Opponent Field Goal % | 39.0 | | 37.0 | Three-Point % | 35.1 | | 33.2 | Opponent Three-Point % | 30.5 | | 74.4 | Free Throw % | 65.6 | | 37.7 | Rebounds | 38.1 | | 30.3 | Opponent Rebounds | 31.6 | | +7.4 | Rebounding Margin | +6.5 | | 16.5 | Assists | 15.0 | | 16.6 | Turnovers | 17.3 | | 3.5 | Blocks | 5.8 | | 6.9 | Steals | 8.8 | | 10-6 | Record | 15-4 | | Individual Statistical Leaders | | Tennessee | Stat Category | Auburn | | Slay, 21.2 | Points | Daniels, 18.7 | | Slay, 7.7 | Rebounds | Daniels, 6.9 | | Watson, 5.4 | Assists | Daniels, 3.7 | | Crump, 54.8 | Field Goal % | Killingsworth, 61.5 | | Higgins, 47.5 | Three-Point % | Watson, 44.4 | | Slay, 83.3 | Free Throw % | Bird, 79.5 |
The Series
Tennessee leads the all-time series, 63-33 ... Tennessee has won the last four meetings between the schools ... Last year Tennessee won 82-59 on Jan. 27, 2002, at Thompson-Boling Arena ... The Vols' last trip to Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum resulted in the 96-88 double-overtime win for the Vols on Jan. 6, 2001 ... The win ended a six-game losing streak against the Tigers when playing at Beard-Eaves ... This will be the 97th meeting between the two schools ... UT holds a 7-2 advantage over Auburn when the two teams meet in the SEC Tournament ... The Vols lead the series 38-7 in Knoxville ... The Tigers hold a 23-20 advantage in Auburn ... The margin of victory over the Tigers during Tennessee's four-game winning streak has been 16.8 points (67 points in four games). Last Meeting
Tennessee capped off a busy week with a big 82-59 win over Auburn Sunday, Jan. 27, 2002, at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols, who were playing their fourth game in eight days, never trailed after beginning the game with an 11-3 run and building a lead a big as 18 points before taking a 39-26 advantage into the locker room at halftime. In the second half Auburn briefly cut the lead to nine points on a Marquis Daniels three-pointer with 14:17 remaining but never got below double digits again.
NOTES: Marcus Haislip led the Vols with 24 points and eight rebounds while Vincent Yarbrough chipped in 16 points ... Marquis Daniels led Auburn with 14 points while Brandon Robinson had 12 points ... UT outrebounded the Tigers 43-27 ... The Vols gathered 19 offensive rebounds while limiting Auburn to just eight, including two in the first half ... Tennessee, already without forward Ron Slay who was out with a knee injury, was also missing freshman forward Elgrace Wilborn sat out the Auburn game after spraining his knee in practice two days earlier .... The Auburn game ended a week in which the Vols played four games in eight days ... Tennessee posted a 3-1 record during the stretch with wins over Syracuse, Middle Tennessee State and Auburn ... Their lone loss was to South Carolina ... The 23-point victory was Tennessee's second-largest win of the season ... The Vols' largest margin of victory was a 97-66 win over Appalachian State Nov. 29. Looking At Auburn
Auburn enters Saturday's game with a 15-4 record on the season and a 4-2 mark in the SEC ... The Tigers had and off day on Wednesday and have not played since a 79-85 loss at Georgia on Saturday, Jan. 15 ... Auburn is in the midst of a two-game losing streak, dropping games at Kentucky (51-67) and at Georgia (79-85) ... Quadruple-threat Marquis Daniels leads the Tigers in scoring (18.7 ppg), rebounding (6.9 rpg), assists (3.7 apg) and steals (2.6 spg) ... Marco Killingsworth leads the SEC with his 61.5 field goal percentage ... As a team, the Tigers are shooting an SEC-best 50.0 percent from the field while holding opponents to an SEC-leading 39.0 percent field goal shooting ... Kyle Davis leads the SEC with 4.05 blocks per game ... Head coach Cliff Ellis became just the 34th coach to win 500 games with a 100-71 win over Georgia State on Nov. 26, he currently has 513 career wins ... Auburn is 10-1 at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum this season with its only loss coming to Western Michigan on Dec. 17. Last Game: Asumnu Sparks Vols To Win Over South Carolina
Freshman Stanley Asumnu came off the bench in the second half to score six points in sparking the Vols to a 60-56 win over South Carolina Wednesday, Jan. 29, at Thompson-Boling Arena. Asumnu scored three straight baskets to break a 42-42 tie and give the Vols a 48-42 lead they would not relinquish. South Carolina cut the lead to 57-54 on a pair of Chuck Eidson free throws with 1:06 left and then a Carlos Powell bank shot put the lead down to one. Freshman C.J. Watson gave the Vols a 59-56 lead on a pair of free throws with 10.8 seconds left. USC's Ivan Howell missed a shot at the other end and Asumnu got the rebound and was fouled. The Houston, Texas, native iced the game with a free throw to give the Vols a 60-56 win. Ron Slay led the Vols with 16 points despite playing a season-low 20 minutes because of foul trouble. Brandon Crump added 13 points and nine rebounds while Watson had nine points, eight rebounds and five assists. Kerbrell Brown led the Gamecocks with 17 points, but only had two points in the second half. Chuck Eidson had 14 points and Tony Kitchings added 12. Tennessee overcame 21 turnovers and shot 52.3 percent from the field in handing USC its fifth loss in a row. He's Back: Slay Leading The SEC In Scoring
Senior Ron Slay has made it known that he has returned to the lineup following a knee injury that cut his junior season short ... Conference opponents have definitely taken notice as Slay has seen constant double and triple teams and even some quadruple teams against Florida ... Against New Mexico (1/4/03) he recorded a career-high 38 points, the most by a Vol since Allan Houston had 43 against LSU (2/10/90) ... The 38-point outburst against the Lobos is tied for the most by an SEC player this season ... Through his first 16 games, Slay leads the SEC with 21.2 points per game and is fifth in the SEC with 7.7 rebounds per game ... A player who draws several fouls, he is shooting 83.3 percent (95-of-114) from the free throw line to rank second in the SEC ... He also moved past Bernard King (340 from 1974-77) for 12th on UT's career free throws made with 346 ... He has scored 20 or more points in nine games this season and 30 or more two times ... Slay missed UT's final 15 games of the 2001-02 season when he suffered a knee injury on Jan. 19, 2002 against Syracuse. Allan Houston Honors Father With Scholarship
Tennessee's all-time leading scorer Allan Houston has established an academic scholarship program in his father's name at UT ... The Wade Houston Scholarships will be awarded to four African American undergraduate students ... The first of the $6,250 awards, which may be renewed annually, will be made for the 2003-04 academic year ... Wade Houston served as UT's head coach from 1990-94 ... Allan Houston, who is currently a member of the New York Knicks, ranks second all-time in the SEC with 2,801 career points ... The announcement of the gift was made during the Louisville game on Jan. 25. Reunion A Success
Several former basketball letterwinners at the Louisville game on Jan. 25 ... Players from nine decades of Tennessee basketball attended the reunion, including two players from UT's first SEC championship team in 1935-36 ... Fred Brown, who is the oldest living Tennessee letterman after lettering during the 1929 and 1930 seasons, was one of the lettermen in attendance ... The lettermen had a dinner with the current members of the UT basketball team on Friday night and were recognized on the court prior to the Louisville game. Backcourt On Fire From Long Range
Jon Higgins, C.J. Watson and Thaydeus Holden are all shooting 50 percent or better from three-point range in Southeastern Conference games ... As a team, the Vols are shooting 41.1 percent from downtown in league games ... Higgins leads the Vols by hitting 56.7 percent (17-of-30) of his three-pointers in conference games ... Watson is connecting on 50.0 percent (5-of-10) and Holden is converting 50.0 percent (8-of-16) of his treys. Tennessee Is Leading The SEC In Free Throw Shooting
Behind the solid shooting of Ron Slay, the Vols lead the Southeastern Conference in free throw shooting ... The Vols are shooting an SEC-best 74.4 percent from the free throw line this season ... Ron Slay, a 6-foot-8 forward, is second in the conference with an 83.3 percent (95-of-114) success rate at the line ... Freshman C.J. Watson shot just 50 percent (11-of-22) from the line before the start of conference play but is connecting on 73.5 percent (36-of-49) in his last six games. Vols Are Crashing The Boards
Tennessee ranks third in the Southeastern Conference by out-rebounding its opponents by 7.4 rebounds per game ... The Vols' 7.3 rebounding margin ranked in a tie for 14th in the nation according to the Jan. 27 NCAA statistics ... UT is averaging 12.2 offensive rebounds per game ... The only teams to out-rebound the Vols this season are Gardner-Webb (42-41 on 11/22/02), Kentucky (35-27 on 1/8/03) and Georgia (41-40 on 1/22/03). Tennessee Not A One-Horse Slay
While Ron Slay has been UT's primary scoring threat this season, the senior forward has been getting some help from the Vol backcourt recently ... In six SEC games, senior guard Jon Higgins is averaging 12.3 points on 57.8 percent shooting from the field and 56.7 percent three-point shooting ... Freshman guard C.J. Watson has become a bigger scoring threat, averaging 11.5 points on 50.0 percent shooting from the field in SEC contests. UT's Shooting Improves In SEC Action
After shooting just 43.2 percent in its first nine games, the Vols are shooting 48.3 percent from the field in their last seven games ... UT's three-point shooting has improved from 35.1 percent in its first nine games to 40.2 percent in its last seven contests ... Four times in their last seven games the Vols have made at least 50 percent of their field goals ... Against Vanderbilt (1/18/03) the Volunteers shot 53.3 percent (24-of-45) from the field and a blistering 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from three-point range ... UT's best shooting performance of the season came on the road at Ole Miss (1/11/03) when the Vols shot 54.5 percent (24-of-44) from the field in a 66-64 win. Freshmen Playing Key Role In SEC Games
Freshmen have been a key part of Tennessee's game plan during the SEC season ... In fact, three freshmen were on the floor when Stanley Asumnu scored the winning bucket at Ole Miss (1/11/03) with 2.6 seconds left and four freshmen were in the game when the contest ended ... Point guard C.J. Watson is averaging 11.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 37.8 minutes of action against SEC teams ... Stanley Asumnu is playing his best ball of the season by averaging 3.5 points in 10.5 minutes against SEC teams, including the game-winning shot at Ole Miss ... John Winchester, who gained his first career start against South Carolina (1/29/03) is averaging 1.7 points in 8.5 minutes in SEC play and is giving the Vols a big boost off the bench ... Boomer Herndon, a 6-foot-10 center, has seen action against Ole Miss and South Carolina. Slay Joins 1,000-Point Club; Ranks 19th All-Time With 1,292
Ron Slay became the 36th Vol to score 1,000 career points when he reached the milestone in the second half of the VMI game on Nov. 25 ... He currently ranks 19th on UT's scoring lists with 1,292 career points ... He carded a career-high 38 points against New Mexico on Jan. 4 ... In an injury-shortened junior season he averaged 14.8 points in 14 games before suffering a knee injury on Jan. 19 against Syracuse. Slay's Big Day Against New Mexico
Ron Slay recorded a career-high 38 points against New Mexico on Jan. 4 ... It is the most points by a Vol since Allan Houston had 43 against LSU on Feb. 10, 1990 ... Slay shot 60 percent (9-of-15) from the field, including 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from three-point range, and 78.9 percent (15-of-19) from the free throw line ... He also added 11 rebounds to complete the double-double ... He also had career marks for three-pointers made (5), free throws made (15) and attempted (19) ... He tied his career-high for three-pointers attempted ... His 19 free throws attempted set a Thompson-Boling Arena record and his 15 free throws made tied the facility record for the most by a UT player ... His 38 points ties for the most in the SEC this year. Higgins Named To SEC Good Works Team
Jon Higgins is being featured as the SEC Good Works Team Player of the Week on Jefferson-Pilot's telecasts this week ... Higgins has visited patients at the UT Medical Center, mentored youth from the Knoxville Boys and Girls Clubs, regularly reads to children at local schools and serves as on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) among other activities ... It is the third time that Higgins has been named to the Good Works Team. Higgins Coming Up With Big Shots
Senior Jon Higgins has established himself as one of the best long-range shooters in the SEC during his career at UT ... This year he is being asked to carry a larger part of the scoring load ... Through 16 games he is averaging 10.0 points on 47.5 percent shooting from three-point range ... Quite possibly the biggest shot of his career came against Georgia Tech (12/15/02) when he sank a three-pointer from mid-court with a half-second left to lead the Vols to a 70-69 win in Atlanta ... Against Gardner-Webb (11/22/02) his shooting helped rally the Vols from a 13-point halftime deficit while setting a career-high with 20 points on 5-of-9 shooting from three-point range ... Defensively, he has pushed his career steals total to 119. Higgins In The Record Books
Senior Jon Higgins is one the best three-point shooters and one of the top setup men in Tennessee history ... He ranks fourth all-time with 194 career three-pointers ... Ranks fifth with 476 career three-point attempts ... His 40.8 three-point percentage is second on the UT charts ... Ranks ninth with 316 career assists. UT's Iron Man: Higgins Has Played In Every Game
Senior Jon Higgins has played in all of the Vols' game since arriving on the UT campus prior to the 1999-2000 season ... The Shaker Heights, Ohio, native has started 111 of his 113 career games ... He has played at least 13 minutes in all of his 113 career games. Quiet Storm: Watson Stepping It Up In SEC Action
Las Vegas, Nev., native C.J. Watson has taken over the point guard duties for Jon Higgins, allowing Higgins to return to his more natural shooting guard position this season ... Watson is the first true freshman to start the season-opener at point guard for the Vols since Tony Harris in 1997-98 ... Through his first 16 collegiate games he is averaging 9.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists against just 3.1 turnovers in 36.5 minutes of action ... He ranks second in the SEC with 5.4 assists per game ... He has recorded seven or more assists in a game four times ... Against Ole Miss (1/11/03) he scored a career-best 17 points ... In Southeastern Conference play he has improved his scoring to 11.5 points to go with 5.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 37.8 minutes of action ... He has reached double-figure scoring in five of his last seven games. Watson Is Leading The Vols And SEC In Minutes
Freshman point guard C.J. Watson is making a bid to become the first true freshman since Allan Houston (36.1 minutes per game in 1989-90) to lead the Vols in minutes played ... Through 16 games Watson is averaging a team-high 36.5 minutes per game ... Watson's 36.5 minutes per game not only leads the Vols but it is also the most minutes in the SEC ... Ron Slay currently ranks second on the team with 33.8 minutes per game ... Alabama's Maurice Williams is second in the league with 34.8 minutes per game ... Against Florida (1/15/03) he became the first Vol since Brandon Wharton in 1998 to play every minute of a game when he had a 12 point, five assist outing in 40 minutes against the sixth-ranked Gators. | TENNESSEE CAREER STATS VS. AUBURN | | Player | G-GS | FG-A | 3FG-A | FT-A | Reb | Avg | Ast | To | Blk | Stl | Pts | Avg | | Brandon Crump | 1-1 | 3-5 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 2-1-3 | 3.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7.0 | | Jon Higgins | 4-4 | 8-22 | 7-15 | 3-4 | 3-8-11 | 2.8 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 26 | 6.5 | | Thaydeus Holden | 1-0 | 2-7 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 2-4-6 | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 6.0 | | Ron Slay | 3-0 | 12-20 | 3-3 | 14-18 | 7-15-22 | 7.3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 41 | 13.7 | | Derek Stribling | 1-0 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1-2 | 2.0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | | Zach Turner | 2-0 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-3-3 | 1.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | | Elgrace Wilborn | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | BACK TO TOP | 
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