Tennessee Travels to No. 2 Ranked Kentucky Wednesday | Thaydeus Holden | Renewing a series that dates back to 1910, Tennessee will travel to Lexington, Ky., to meet the Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 8 p.m. Kentucky holds a 131-62 all-time advantage in the series, including a 77-15 mark when playing in Lexington. However, UT's 62 wins are considerably more than that of Vanderbilt, which has the second-most victories against the Wildcats with 36. Kentucky won the first meeting this season, a 74-71 decision in Knoxville on Jan. 8. The Vols are looking to get back on the winning track after dropping back-to-back games at South Carolina and to Alabama. The losses dropped UT's record to 15-8 on the season and 7-5 in the SEC. Tennessee's 7-5 league mark is tied for the fourth-best in the Southeastern Conference but is just fourth in the SEC's Eastern Division, one game behind Georgia's 8-4 record. Ron Slay, an all-America candidate, is leading the Southeastern Conference with 21.9 points per game. The senior has led the Vols in scoring in 20 of their 23 games this season. Freshman point guard C.J. Watson leads the SEC with 5.7 assists per game while also contributing 9.7 points and 4.6 rebounds. Thaydeus Holden, who is coming off a career-high 22 points against Alabama, is adding 8.2 points per game. Team Statistical Comparisons | TENNESSEE | Stat Category | Kentucky | 69.7 | Points | 77.2 | 65.4 | Opponent Points | 65.1 | +4.3 | Scoring Margin | +12.0 | 45.6 | Field Goal % | 48.7 | 41.8 | Opponent Field Goal % | 41.6 | 37.2 | Three-Point % | 35.1 | 33.0 | Opponent Three-Point % | 33.8 | 73.5 | Free Throw % | 70.6 | 36.4 | Rebounds | 36.4 | 30.8 | Opponent Rebounds | 31.1 | +5.6 | Rebounding Margin | +5.3 | 16.6 | Assists | 16.6 | 15.3 | Turnovers | 14.2 | 3.4 | Blocks | 5.0 | 6.1 | Steals | 7.7 | 15-8 | Record | 22-3 | Individual Statistical Leaders | TENNESSEE | Stat Category | Kentucky | Slay, 21.9 | Points | Bogans, 16.4 | Slay, 7.5 | Rebounds | Hayes, 6.7 | Watson, 5.7 | Assists | Hawkins, 3.9 | Crump, 55.8 | Field Goal % | Estill, 57.5 | Holden, 43.7 | Three-Point % | Fitch, 40.2 | Holden, 81.8 | Free Throw % | Hayes, 79.5 | The Series Kentucky leads the all-time series, 131-62 ... This will be the 194th meeting all-time between the two schools ... The Wildcats hold a 77-15 all-time advantage when playing in Lexington ... UK won the first meeting this season with a 74-71 win in Thompson-Boling Arena on Jan. 8 ... Last year Tennessee took a 76-74 overtime win in Knoxville while Kentucky won 64-61 in Lexington ... Kentucky leads the series 45-43 when played in Knoxville ... Tennessee has won three of the last five meetings in Thompson-Boling Arena ... Tennessee was the second team ever and the first SEC team to defeat Kentucky at Rupp Arena when the Vols took a 71-67 win on Jan. 12, 1977 ... Utah was the opponent to win in Rupp when the Utes defeated the Wildcats 68-70 on Dec. 18, 1976 in the finals of the UK Invitation Tournament ... Tennessee's 62 wins against the Wildcats are almost double that of any other Kentucky opponent ... Vanderbilt has beaten UK 36 times to rank second ... Kentucky's 131 wins against Tennessee are the most of any Volunteer opponent ... Tennessee is 15-12 all-time against Kentucky when the Wildcats are not ranked ... The Kentucky series is Tennessee's oldest among SEC opponents ... The Vols and Wildcats first met on Feb. 5, 1910 ... That was just the second season that the University of Tennessee fielded a basketball team. Last Meeting Jules Camara's jumper from the foul line with 53 seconds left gave Kentucky the lead for good as the 18th-ranked Wildcats held on for a 74-71 in both school's conference opener on Jan. 8. After leading by two points at halftime, Tennessee found itself trailing by five points with 6:27 remaining in the game. Ron Slay helped rally the Vols to cut the lead to one, 69-70, with 1:45 left in the game. Then UT's freshman point guard C.J. Watson stole the ball from the Wildcats and gave the Vols a 71-70 lead on the fast break layup with 1:21 left. Camara then gave the lead back to Kentucky with his 15-foot jumper. After Tennessee was unable to score on its next possession, Gerald Fitch pushed the lead to 74-71 with 16.5 seconds left on the clock. The Vols got one last chance but John Winchester's three-pointer bounced off the back of the rim. Slay led all scorers with 22 points while Jon Higgins, who fouled out with 7:38 to go, had 17 and Watson added 15 points. Keith Bogans led the Cats with 20 points and nine rebounds while Gerald Fitch had 17 points. Kentucky out-rebounded the Vols, 35-27. It marked just the second time all season that the Vols' opponent out-rebounded them. Throughout the game Tennessee struggled with foul trouble. Four Vols finished the game with four or more fouls, including Higgins who had five. Tennessee Tidbits UT is 5-2 in the month of February ... UT's win over fourth-ranked Florida was its first victory over a top five opponent since a 78-77 win over second-ranked Kentucky on Feb. 24, 1993 ... UT leads the SEC with a 73.5 free throw percentage, the Vols' opponents are shooting 71.6 percent from the free throw line which would rank fourth in the SEC ... The Vols went 3-0 on the road against teams from the SEC West this season for just the second time since the conference expansion in 1992 ... In seven of its 12 SEC games, UT has held its opponents under their season field goal percentage ... UT has held 20 of 23 opponents to under 50 percent shooting from the field ... UT has shot 50 percent or better in the first half of five of their last nine games, including 59.3 percent against UMass (2/5/03) ... UT is 14-1 when holding opponents under 70 points ... The Vols are 12-4 when leading at halftime ... UT is 11-2 when leading with five minutes left in the game ... Tennessee was named Dick Vitale's Team of the Week on Feb. 17th after wins at Arkansas and over No. 4 Florida ... Assistant coach Kerry Keating currently ranks fourth on Collegeinsider.com's Fashion Power Index ... Keating was also listed among Collegeinsider.com's "College Basketball's 50 Most Eligible Bachelors" ... Buzz Peterson has brought one of his children along on road trips three times this season ... Rob Peterson is 0-2 on the road with trips to West Virginia and Georgia while Olivia Peterson is 1-0 after going to Auburn ... UT filled both of its breaks in the SEC schedule with non-conference games (Louisville on Jan. 25 and UMass on Feb. 5) so the Vols with play two times a week for nine straight weeks before the SEC Tournament. Looking at Kentucky Kentucky enters Wednesday's game as one of the hottest teams in the nation with a 22-3 overall record hold a two-game lead in the SEC with a 12-0 mark in the conference ... UK is ranked second in both major polls ... The Wildcats' 16 game winning streak is the longest in the nation and includes a 70-62 win over Mississippi State Sunday in Lexington ... Kentucky is 10-1 at Rupp Arena this season with its only loss coming to Michigan State (67-71 on Dec. 14) ... UK's average margin of victory in SEC games has been +14.3 points ... Kentucky's three-point (74-71) win over Tennessee on Jan. 8 is its closest SEC game this season ... In SEC games, the Wildcats lead the league in nine of 19 categories, including scoring defense (58.1 ppg), scoring margin (+14.3), field goal percentage (47.8 percent), field goal percentage defense (40.1 percent), three-point field goal percentage defense (28.4 percent), rebounding defense (28.8 rpg), rebounding margin (+6.5 rpg), assists (15.67 apg) and turnover margin (+3.17) ... Four UK players average in double-figure scoring ... Keith Bogans leads the Cats and ranks sixth in the SEC with 16.4 points per game. Last Time Out: Vols Can't Overcome Alabama's Hot Shooting Alabama shot 56.3 percent from three-point range in escaping Knoxville with a 76-71 win over Tennessee on Saturday, Feb. 22. Alabama extended its 39-29 halftime to as many as 18 points before the Vols rallied to cut the lead to five points with 1:26 left in the game. Alabama's Erwin Dudley scored off a Kennedy Winston missed free throw to put the Tide's lead at 70-63 with 45.9 seconds left. C.J. Watson responded with a jumper for the Vols and then a Jon Higgins trey brought the Vols within three points with 19.8 seconds left. Alabama's Maurice Williams made a pair of free throws but Watson came back with a three-pointer to make it 73-71 with 13.8 seconds left. The Vols were unable to get any clear looks at the basket while the Tide hit three more free throws to seal the win. Ron Slay led all scorers with 23 points and nine rebounds. Thaydeus Holden scored a career-high 22 points on 6-of-8 three-point shooting while Watson added 13 points and seven assists. Dudley led four Alabama players in double figure scoring with 18 points. Williams added 17 and Winston had 15 points. UA, which entered the game shooting 28.4 percent from three-point range in SEC games, went 9-of-16 (56.3 percent) from behind the arc. Vols Have Won Six Of Their Last Eight Following a 72-69 loss to No. 9 Louisville on Jan. 25, a frustrated Buzz Peterson gave his coaching staff and players the day off to get refreshed ... Since taking the day off, Tennessee has won six of its eight games ... UT had a six-game winning streak until the Vols fell 77-63 at South Carolina Wednesday, Feb. 19 ... Following a 76-71 loss to Alabama on Feb. 22, the Vols have lost two in a row ... The six-game winning streak was UT's longest since winning seven in a row during the 2001 season ... The Vols' five-game SEC winning streak was its longest since winning their final six league games of the 1999 campaign. It's Elementary: Watson Is One Of SEC's Top Freshmen C.J. Watson leads the Vols and the SEC with 5.69 assists per game ... In SEC games, his 5.5 assists per game also leads the league ... He is attempting to become just the second freshman in SEC history to lead the conference in assists ... Sean Tuohy of Ole Miss led the SEC with 6.2 assists as a freshman in 1979 ... When compared with the SEC's other freshmen, Watson ranks near the top of several major statistical categories ... The true freshman point guard ranks among the SEC freshmen leaders who have played in at least 75 percent of their team's games in scoring (seventh with 9.7 ppg), rebounding (second with 4.6 rpg), field goal percentage (seventh with 44.0 percent), three-point shooting (fourth with 38.9 percent) and steals (sixth with 1.17 spg). Tennessee Against Ranked Teams Tennessee is 2-4 against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 this season ... UT is 78-179 all-time against teams ranked among the Associated Press Top 25 ... The Vols are 17-26 against teams ranked in the Top 5 and 39-112 against teams ranked in the Top 10 ... In 2001-02 Tennessee was 3-5 against ranked foes. Oak Hill Connections Tennessee forward Ron Slay and Kentucky guard Cliff Hawkins helped lead Oak Hill Academy to a 31-0 record and a No. 1 ranking in the final USA Today poll in 1998-99 ... Also members of Oak Hill's undefeated 1999 team were Maryland's Steve Blake, Virginia's Travis Watson and George Mason's Terry Reynolds ... Kentucky's Jules Camara attended Oak Hill in 1998. More Kentucky Connections Tennessee track and field coach Bill Webb and Kentucky basketball coach Tubby Smith attended High Point University in North Carolina together in the 1970s ... Teammates on both the High Point basketball and track and field teams, they comprised half of the shuttle hurdle relay team that set a school record that still stands today ... Webb has led the Tennessee men's track and field team to 2001 outdoor and 2002 indoor national championships ... Smith led UK to the 1998 NCAA basketball championship. Slay Named To NABC All-District Team Ron Slay has been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division I All-District Team on February 19 ... Slay is a first team All-District 7 selection ... The teams are selected by a panel of member coaches of the NABC ... Joining Slay on the District 7 first team are Keith Bogans (Kentucky), Reece Gaines (Louisville), Matt Freije (Vanderbilt) and Ricky Minard (Morehead State). Slay Earns Back-To-Back SEC Player Of The Week Honors; Named National Player Of The Week On Feb. 17 Ron Slay became the first player to win back-to-back SEC Player of the Week honors since Florida's Dan Cross during the 1993-94 season ... The first honor came Feb. 10 after averaging 27.0 points on 66.7 percent shooting from the field in Tennessee's wins over UMass and Georgia ... His 33 points against Georgia are a career-high against an SEC team ... The second honor came Feb. 17 after averaging 21.5 points in leading the Vols to their first win ever at Arkansas' Bud Walton Arena and a 66-59 victory over fourth-ranked Florida ... He became just the third player in SEC history to win back-to-back Player of the Week awards, joining UT's Dyron Nix in 1989 and Cross ... Slay was also named the national player of the week by ESPN.com and FOXSports.com on Feb. 17 ... The national player of the week honors came one week after being named runner-up for FOXSports.com's National Player of the Week. He's Back: Slay Leading The SEC In Scoring Ron Slay has made it known that he has returned to the lineup following a knee injury that cut his junior season short ... Slay leads the SEC with 21.9 points per game and is fourth in the SEC with 7.5 rebounds per game ... In conference games, the 6-foot-8 Slay's 21.5 points per game also leads the league ... He is attempting to become the first Vol since Allan Houston to lead the SEC in scoring ... Houston averaged 22.3 points per game as a senior in 1992-93 ... It would be the ninth time a Vol has led the league in scoring ... Slay is also attempting to become the first Tennessee player to average 20 or more points per game in a season since Houston averaged 22.3 in 1992-93 ... Since the 1950-51 season, a Vol has averaged 20 or more points in a season 21 times. Slay Joins 1,000-Point Club; Ranks 14th All-Time With 1,456 Points Ron Slay became the 37th 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 14th on UT's scoring lists with 1,456 career points ... He carded a career-high 38 points against New Mexico Jan. 4 ... His career-best effort against an SEC foe came against Georgia (2/8/03) when he had 33 points. 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 ... 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. Holden Heats Up Senior Thaydeus Holden tied a school record for three-point field goal percentage when he went 5-for-5 from behind the arc against Vanderbilt (1/18/03) ... He tied the school record set by Shane Carnes, who also went 5-for-5 from three-point range, against Michigan State (12/20/94)... He finished with 17 points against the Commodores ... Against Alabama (2/22/03) he scored a career-high 22 points on 6-of-8 shooting from three-point range ... His six treys are the most by a Vol this season ... On the season he is averaging 8.2 points on 43.7 percent (38-of-87) three-point shooting ... Over his last 12 games he has made 26 of his 49 (53.1 percent) three-point attempts ... Against Georgia he drilled six consecutive free throws down the stretch to give the Vols a 78-72 win over the 17th-ranked Bulldogs ... He has made 23 of his last 27 free throw attempts (85.2 percent). Higgins Named To SEC Good Works Team Jon Higgins was featured as the SEC Good Works Team Player of the Week on Jefferson-Pilot's telecasts the week of Jan. 8 ... 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; Becoming King of Buzzer-Beaters 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 23 games he is averaging 8.7 points on 41.7 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 ... He also hit a buzzer beater when he swished a long three-pointer as time expired in the first half of the Vols' win over Georgia (2/8/03). 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 201 career three-pointers ... Ranks fifth with 504 career three-point attempts ... His 39.9 three-point percentage is tied for fifth on the UT charts ... Ranks eighth with 342 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 118 of his 120 career games ... He has played at least 13 minutes in all of his 120 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 23 collegiate games he is averaging 9.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.7 assists against just 2.8 turnovers in 36.5 minutes of action ... He leads in the SEC with 5.69 assists per game ... In games against SEC teams only, he leads the league with 5.50 assists per game ... He has recorded seven or more assists in a game nine times ... Against Ole Miss (1/11/03) he scored a career-best 17 points ... He recorded a career-high nine assists in Tennessee's 78-72 win over 17th-ranked Georgia (2/8/03) ... In Southeastern Conference play he has improved his scoring to 10.9 points to go with 5.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists in 37.6 minutes of action ... He has reached double-figure scoring in eight of his last 132 games. Watson Leading SEC In Minutes Played 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 23 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 ... Alabama's Maurice Williams is second in the league with 35.2 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. Six Of UT's Games Decided By One Possession Eleven of Tennessee's 23 games have been decided by five points or less ... The Vols are 6-5 in games decided by five points or less ... Six games have been decided by one possession (three points or less) ... UT is 3-3 in games decided by a single possession ... Last year Tennessee had 10 games decided by 10 points or less ... In 2001-02, UT went 3-7 in games decided on three points or less. Tennessee Leads 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 73.5 percent from the line this season ... Slay is fifth in the conference with an 79.3 percent (130-of-164) success rate at the line ... C.J. Watson shot just 50 percent (11-of-22) from the line before the start of conference play but is connecting on 72.2 percent (52-of-72) in conference games. Congratulations Stacey & Chad Basketball trainer Chad Newman and his wife, Stacey, welcomed Katherine Alexis to the world at 8:18 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 24 ... The Tennessee basketball family is happy to report that mother and daughter are doing well although dad was left speechless ... Lady Vols Coach Pat Summitt has been notified of the new prospective student-athlete but will have to wait a few years before she can begin recruiting young Katherine. Vols Crashing The Boards Tennessee ranks third in the SEC by out-rebounding its opponents by 5.6 rebounds per game ... The Vols' 25.0 defensive rebounds per game is second in the SEC ... 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), at Georgia (41-40 on 1/22/03), Georgia (38-25 on 2/8/03), Florida (31-30 on 2/15/03) and Alabama (36-31 on 2/22/03). Rally Vols Three times the Vols have trailed by 12 points or more in the second half this season and rallied tie the score or take the lead ... Against Gardner-Webb the Vols rallied from a 39-26 deficit at the half for a 71-69 win ... At Texas A&M (Dec. 4) the Vols trailed the Aggies 39-27 at the break before rallying to cut the lead to 63-62 ... Tennessee couldn't get any closer to the Aggies as they went on to an 83-66 win ... Against Georgia Tech, the Vols rallied from a 62-49 deficit with 7:25 remaining to take a 70-69 win. 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. Vols Notch 1,300th Win In School History The Volunteers' victory over Gardner-Webb in the season-opener marked the 1,300th in the program's history ... In the 94th season of Tennessee basketball, the Vols have recorded a 1,314-849-2 all-time record ... Since garnering their 1,200th win against Appalachian State on Nov. 28, 1997, it took UT just 152 games to win their next 100 (a 65.8 winning percentage) ... It marked one of the fastest periods in school history to win 100 games ... Tennessee ranks fourth in the Southeastern Conference in terms of all-time wins to start the year. TENNESSEE CAREER STATS VS. KENTUCKY | Player | G-GS | FG-A | 3FG-A | FT-A | Reb | Avg | Ast | To | Blk | Stl | Pts | Avg | Justin Albrecht | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | Stanley Asumnu | 1-0 | 1-4 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-1-1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | Brandon Crump | 2-2 | 2-4 | 0-1 | 1-3 | 0-6-6 | 3.0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2.5 | Boomer Herndon | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | Jon Higgins | 7-7 | 18-38 | 13-27 | 6-7 | 6-17-23 | 3.2 | 17 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 55 | 7.8 | Thaydeus Holden | 3-0 | 5-13 | 0-6 | 6-8 | 1-3-4 | 1.3 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 5.3 | Ron Slay | 5-2 | 20-47 | 2-8 | 13-19 | 13-15-28 | 5.6 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 55 | 11.0 | Derek Stribling | 3-1 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 3-3-6 | 2.0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1.6 | Zach Turner | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | C.J. Watson | 1-1 | 3-5 | 1-2 | 8-11 | 0-4-4 | 4.0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 15.0 | Elgrace Wilborn | 3-0 | 4-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-2-4 | 1.3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2.6 | John Winchester | 1-0 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | BACK TO TOP |