University of Tennessee Athletics
TENNESSEE VS. LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE -- GAME PREVIEW
November 20, 2005 | Men's Basketball
| QUICK FACTS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RADIO
TELEVISION: LIVE STATS RANKINGS: THE COACHES: Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FEATURES | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tennessee Trends
- Tennessee forced East Tennessee State (11/18/05) into making 33 turnovers. That is the most by a Vols opponent since American-Puerto Rico (11/21/99) turned the ball over 40 times.
- Although two of the games were exhibition contests and don't officially count, UT's opponents are averaging 26.0 turnovers per game this year.
- The 21,680 fans in attendance for the Vols' season-opening win over East Tennessee State (11/18/05) was the fourth-largest crowd to see a season-opener in school history. It was the largest crowd to watch a basketball game that night (including both NCAA and NBA attendance figures).
- Immediately following the win over East Tennessee State, Bruce Pearl and the Vols went out on the concourse of Thompson-Boling Arena to thank the fans for their support.
- Tennessee won both of its exhibition games this season, taking an 86-78 win over Division II power Southern Indiana and a 106-73 win over Carson-Newman.
- The Vols are playing with just 10 scholarship players this season. UT's roster sports 11 scholarship players but Tony Passley will sit out the season under NCAA transfer guidelines.
- Not only is UT's roster short on scholarship players but it is also short on size. Tennessee's roster lists just four scholarship players -- Andre Patterson (6-7), Ryan Childress (6-9), Damion Harris (6-10) and Major Wingate (6-10) -- taller than 6-foot-5.
- Tennessee returns 64.6 percent of its scoring, 66.2 percent of its rebounding, 80.4 percent of its assists and 69.5 percent of its minutes played from the 2004-05 season.
- Six walk-ons are listed on the Vols' roster. Eddie DeBro is the only returning walk-on while Ben Bosse, Jonah Cox, Justin Jackson, Jordan Smith and Tanner Wild are each in their rookie season with the squad.
- The Vols play 18 of their 27 regular-season games within the state of Tennessee. UT will play games in Knoxville (14), Nashville (2) and Memphis (1). The SEC Tournament will also be in Nashville.
- Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,346-884-2 in its 97th season of basketball.
- UT's 598 regular season Southeastern Conference victories rank third all-time in the SEC. Only Kentucky and Alabama have won more league games.
- Tennessee is 201-84 in its 19th season in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Volunteers have posted winning home records in 16 of their 18 previous seasons in the facility.
- The Vols return their 2004-05 statistical leader in 11 of 12 categories. Andre Patterson was UT's leading rebounder with 6.2 boards per game and C.J. Watson led the Vols with 155 assists last season. The only category the Vols don't return their leader from last year is scoring. Chris Lofton is Tennessee's top returning scorer after averaging 13.2 points as a freshman.
- UT returns a total of eight letterwinners, including three starters from last season's squad.
- The basketball court at Thompson-Boling Arena has been named "The Summitt" in honor of Pat Summitt, who recorded her 882nd career win in 2005.
| Team Statistical Comparisons | ||
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Louisiana-Lafayette |
| 106.0 | Points | 47.0 |
| 83.0 | Opponent Points | 65.0 |
| +23.0 | Scoring Margin | -18.0 |
| .538 | Field Goal % | .349 |
| .533 | Opponent Field Goal % | .379 |
| .429 | Three-Point % | .250 |
| .350 | Opponent Three-Point % | .407 |
| .686 | Free Throw % | .591 |
| 38.0 | Rebounds | 32.0 |
| 34.0 | Opponent Rebounds | 38.0 |
| +4.0 | Rebounding Margin | -6.0 |
| 25.0 | Assists | 10.0 |
| 23.0 | Turnovers | 17.0 |
| 15.0 | Steals | 4.0 |
| 2.0 | Blocks | 7.0 |
| 1-0 | Record | 0-1 |
| Individual Statistical Leaders | ||
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Louisiana-Lafayette |
| Lofton, 24.0 | Points | Southall, 15.0 |
| Bradshaw, 12.0 | Rebounds | Southall, 11.0 |
| Smith/Bradshaw, 6.0 | Assists | Barksdale, 3.0 |
| Wingate, .833 | Field Goal % | Southall, .667 |
| Watson, .600 | Three-Point % | Cameron, .400 |
| Lofton/Watson, 1.000 | Free Throw % | Mitchell, .615 |
Watson Needs 12 Points To Reach Milestone
C.J. Watson needs just 12 points to become the 38th player in school history to reach the 1,000 career point mark ... Watson, who has 465 career assists, would have more assists than any other member of Tennessee's 1,000-point club (Allan Houston currently leads all 1,000-point scorers with 460 career assists) ... He would become just the third Tennessee player to have 1,000 points and 400 career assists (joining Allan Houston and Tony Harris) ... In 90 career games the Las Vegas native has scored 988 points (10.9 ppg).
Looking At Louisiana-Lafayette
Louisiana-Lafayette opened its season with a 47-65 loss at Southern Illinois Nov. 18 ... Senior center Michael Southall fought through double-teams to record a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Cajuns ... Louisiana-Lafayette shot just 34.9 percent from the field and converted just 25 percent (4-of-16) of its 3-pointers against the Salukis ... The trip to Carbondale, Ill., was the first of three consecutive road games to open the 2004-05 season for the Ragin' Cajuns ... Louisiana-Lafayette is coming off a campaign in which it recorded a 20-11 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament ... The Cajuns return a pair of starters and a total of seven letterwinners from their NCAA Tournament team ... For the fourth straight year, the Ragin' Cajuns were picked to win the Sun Belt Conference's West Division ... A pair of Cajuns were named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Team ... Senior forward/center Chris Cameron was a first team selection and senior guard Dwayne Mitchell was a second team pick ... Mitchell is the squad's top returning scorer after averaging 10.4 points and 5.8 rebounds last season ... Cameron added 8.2 points per game in 2004-05 ... Southall, who originally signed with Kentucky and then Georgia Tech, is returning to the court after a two-year absence ... The 6-foot-10 Southall had 25 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks in an exhibition game against Saint Gregory's Nov. 10 ... Ed Turner, a 6-7 guard/forward who originally signed with Pittsburgh, had 14 points in the exhibition contest against Saint Gregory's ... Robert Lee is 20-12 in his second season as the head coach at Louisiana-Lafayette and as a head coach.
The Louisiana-Lafayette Series
Tennessee leads the all-time series 4-1 ... This is the first meeting between the schools since the 2000 NCAA Tournament when the Vols took a 63-58 first round win over the Cajuns ... The Vols lead the series 2-0 when it is played in Knoxville ... Three of the five previous meetings between the schools have been at neutral sites ... The Vols and Cajuns have met two times in the NCAA Tournament and once in the National Invitation Tournament ... Louisiana-Lafayette's lone win in the series was a 79-78 double overtime thriller at the Sugar Bowl Classic in New Orleans on Dec. 27, 1985 ... Tennessee is 12-3 all-time against current members of the Sun Belt Conference.
Last Meeting With Louisiana-Lafayette
Tony Harris made two free throws with 10.8 seconds to play to help Tennessee seal a 63-58 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette in the first round of the NCAA South Region March 17, 2000 ... Louisiana-Lafayette cut Tennessee's lead to two at 60-58 on Brett Smith's jumper with 45 seconds to play, but Smith was called for a foul that sent Harris to the line with 15 seconds to play ... Harris missed the front end of the 1-and-1 and Ron Slay got the rebound and was flagrantly fouled by Smith with 13 seconds to go ... After Slay missed both free throws, Tennessee inbounded to Harris, who was promptly fouled ... The Vols trailed by as many as 12 in the first half, but took the lead for good at 56-54 on Slay's jumper with 4:07 to play ... Harris and Slay led Tennessee with 15 points each ... C.J. Black added 14 and Vincent Yarbrough scored 11 ... Lonnie Thomas led Louisiana-Lafayette with 19 points.
Last Game: Bruce Pearl Era Opens With A Win
The Tennessee debut of Bruce Pearl's fact-paced style of play brought more than 20,000 fans to Thompson-Boling Arena to see the Vols take a 106-83 victory over East Tennessee State Friday, Nov. 18 ... Chris Lofton led the Vols with 24 points on 6-of-12 shooting from 3-point range while C.J. Watson added 22 points and six assists ... Junior Dane Bradshaw recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds to go with six assists ... Stanley Asumnu registered a career-high 18 points for the Vols ... Tennessee built a 27-10 lead less than 10 minutes into the game and took a 46-31 advantage at halftime ... The Vols' lead never got below 13 points in the second half ... ETSU committed 33 turnovers, including 20 in the first half ... Both teams shot better than 50 percent from the field ... UT shot 53.8 percent while ETSU converted 53.3 percent of its shots ... Tim Smith led all scorers with 26 points but turned the ball over nine times ... The crowd of 21,280 was the fourth-largest crowd in school history for a home-opener ... The 106 points scored were the most since December 2003 ... The win marked UT's seventh consecutive victory in a season opener ... The UT has won 38 of its last 40 home-openers.
Five Of UT's Non-Conference Opponents Picked To Win Their Leagues
Tennessee's non-conference schedule features the favorites to win the Big 12, Conference USA, Ohio Valley, Sun Belt and SWAC regular season titles in polls of each respective league's coaches ... Eight of the Vols' 11 non-conference games will be against teams picked to finish no worse than second in their respective divisions ... Additionally, the Vols will play against four players who earned preseason player of the year honors from the league's coaches.
- East Tennessee State was picked to finish second in the Atlantic Sun Conference and was picked to win the league's postseason tournament. Tim Smith was named the league's preseason player of the year.
- Louisiana-Lafayette, a team that has been to the NCAA Tournament the last two years, is picked to win the Sun Belt Conference's West Division. Senior guard Dwayne Mitchell was a preseason first team all-conference pick.
- Murray State is tabbed to win the Ohio Valley Conference while Eastern Kentucky is picked second. Murray State junior Trey Pearson was named the league's preseason player of the year while EKU's Matt Witt earned preseason first team all-conference honors.
- Appalachian State was picked to tie for second in the Southern Conference North Division while D.J. Thompson earned a spot on the Preseason All-Southern Conference Men's Basketball Team.
- Texas is an overwhelming favorite to win the Big 12 Conference title while Oklahoma State is picked fourth. The Longhorns list two preseason first team all-conference selections (Daniel Gibson and P.J. Tucker) while the Cowboys had one (JamesOn Curry).
- Alabama A&M is predicted to win SWAC. Senior guard Obie Trotter was selected the league's preseason player of the year while Joseph Martin earned preseason first team all-conference honors.
- Memphis, led by preseason conference player of the year Rodney Carney, is the unanimous favorite to win the Conference USA title.
Vols' Recruiting Class Ranked Among Top 10 In The Nation
Bruce Pearl's first recruiting class at the University of Tennessee has drawn rave reviews and has been rated as one of the best classes in the Southeastern Conference and among the top 10 classes in the nation. The Vols signed four players during the early signing period in November: Wayne Chism, Duke Crews, Marques Johnson and Josh Tabb.
- Chism, a 6-foot-9 forward from Bolivar, Tenn., is a four-star prospect who is rated the No. 42 overall player in the country. As a junior he led Bolivar Central High School to the Class AA state title while averaging 13.6 points, 10 rebounds, seven blocks and 2.2 assists per game. At the Reebok ABCD Camp last summer he was rated the No. 2 center.
- One of the highest-rated players to sign with the Vols in recent years, Crews is a 6-7 forward from Hampton, Va. Rated the No. 14 player in the nation, he is considered a five-star prospect. As a junior he averaged 16 points per game while leading Bethel High School to a 22-4 record last year. Last summer Crews was rated as the No. 2 player at the 2005 Nike Camp in Indianapolis.
- Ranked among the top-50 players by several scouting services, Johnson is a 6-5 guard from Fort Wayne, Ind. A starter since his freshman season, the two-time all-conference selection has led Snider High School to a 50-15 record in his three years. As a junior he averaged 21 points, 6.2 rebounds and four assists.
- A four-star prospect, Tabb is a 6-4 guard from Harmony Christian Prep in Cincinnati. A two-time Class A All-State selection who is originally from Carbondale, Ill., Tabb averaged 21 points, five assists and six rebounds as a senior while leading Carbondale High School to the 2005 state championship game.
Watson And Lofton Receive Preseason Accolades From SEC Coaches
Tennessee's backcourt combination of C.J. Watson and Chris Lofton were named to the second annual men's basketball preseason All-SEC first and second teams as announced by the Southeastern Conference office October 21 ... Watson, a senior point guard, earned first team honors while Lofton, a sophomore shooting guard, was named to the season team ... The preseason All-SEC first and second teams consist of a minimum of eight players on each squad, voted on by the SEC men's basketball coaches.
Watson Leads SEC In Assists For Second Time In Three Years
C.J. Watson averaged 5.0 assists in 16 Southeastern Conference games in 2004-05 ... It marked the second time in three years the point guard has been the conference's assists leader in league games ... He also led the league with 5.44 assists against SEC foes as a freshman in 2002-03 ... His 465 career assists are fifth all-time at Tennessee ... Watson owns three of the top 13 single-season assist marks in Tennessee history.
Lofton Is A Triples Threat
Chris Lofton, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, took the SEC by storm as a freshman by leading the league in 3-point percentage (.465) and 3-pointers made per game (3.00 3pg) ... He ranked fourth nationally in 3-point accuracy on his way to earning a spot on the SEC All-Freshman team ... His 93 3-pointers were the most ever by an SEC freshman and rank ... With six 3-pointers already this season, Lofton ranks in a tie for 10th on Tennessee's career lists with 99.
Straight Shooter: Patterson LLeads Vols In Field Goal Percentage
When Andre Patterson led the Vols with his 56.8 percent field goal shooting in 2004-05, it marked the second school he had led in field goal percentage ... As a sophomore at UCLA in 2002-03 he led the Bruins and Pac-10 Conference with a 60.8 field goal percentage ... As a junior at Tennessee last season, Patterson averaged 7.4 points per game while leading the Vols and ranking 10th in the SEC with 6.2 rebounds per game.
Bradshaw Is Tennessee's Power/Point
With only four scholarship players taller than 6-foot-5 on the roster, junior guard Dane Bradshaw will be called upon to play big, quite literally ... The 6-4 backup point guard earned a spot in the starting lineup at power forward for the Vols' season-opener against East Tennessee State (11/19/05) ... He recorded a career game against the Bucs with 13 points and 12 rebounds to go with six assists ... Playing in the paint isn't anything new for the Memphis native ... In 2005 he drew difficult defensive assignments by guarding 6-foot-8, 252-pound Brandon Bass against LSU (2/5/05) and 6-foot-10 Jermareo Davidson of Alabama (2/9/05) ... Bradshaw also started both of Tennessee's exhibition games at the power forward position.
Asumnu Hopes To Build On Strong Finish To 2005
Senior guard/forward Stanley Asumnu finished the 2004-05 campaign strong and is looking to build on that momentum ... The ultra-athletic Houston native scored 24 points in 27 minutes of playing time over Tennessee's final four games of the 2005 season ... Against Georgia (3/5/05), the 6-foot-5 Asumnu scored a career-high 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field in just 10 minutes of action ... In 83 career games Asumnu has averaged 3.6 points in 12.6 minutes per game.
Home Court Advantage
Thompson-Boling Arena has provided the Vols with a definite home court advantage since the facility opened in time for the 1987-88 season.
- Tennessee is 201-84 (.705) in its 19th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 102-25 (.803) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- The Vols are 47-16 against SEC teams at home over the last six seasons.
- UT has won 61 of its last 68 home games against non-conference opponents.
SEC Throwback Week
Each Southeastern Conference school has designated a previous year's uniform to be worn as a part of "SEC Throwback Week" ... The week of February 18-26 (Saturday through Sunday) has been designated as "SEC Throwback Week" ... Additionally, the uniforms will be worn during the SEC Tournament in Nashville ... Tennessee took a poll of fans on UTsports.com to determine which era to choose their uniforms ... The fans selected the Ernie & Bernie era so UT's uniforms will resemble those worn in the 1970s.
Parking
Limited individual game parking for the 2005-06 men's basketball season will be sold for $5 for the following parking lots on a first come, first served basis:
- Lot 23 Corner of Volunteer Blvd and Pat Head Summitt Street
- Lot 23B (next to Music Building) - Corner of Pat Head Summitt Street and Volunteer Blvd.
- Lot 4 and Lot 5 - Phillip Fulmer Way between Thompson-Boling Arena and Neyland Stadium
- Lot 30A - Peyton Manning Pass, off of Volunteer Blvd.
- Lot C15 - Chamique Holdsclaw Drive
- Lot 9A - Volunteer Blvd. between the Humanities Plaza & the Architecture Bldg.
- Lot C18/Staff 7 - accessed from Cumberland Avenue at 11th Street, or from Neyland Drive across from the Tennessee Grill
- Lot G10 on Phillip Fulmer Way between Thompson-Boling Arena and Neyland Stadium
Special parking arrangements for disabled persons may be requested by calling Parking Services at (865) 974-6031. The UT Athletic Department also provides FREE parking at the Ag Campus with a free shuttle service to and from Thompson-Boling Arena. The KAT shuttle begins 1 1/2 hours prior to game time, and runs for one hour postgame.
