University of Tennessee Athletics
TENNESSEE VS. SOUTH ALABAMA -- GAME PREVIEW
January 02, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2006
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RADIO: TELEVISION: LIVE STATS: RANKINGS: THE COACHES: South Alabama Jaguars | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tennessee Trends
- Tennessee had a season-high 28 assists and a season-low nine turnovers against Alabama A&M (12/27/05).
- The Vols have scored 80 or more points six times this season.
- C.J. Watson is leading the SEC with his 89.5 (51-of-57) free throw percentage. Watson entered the season with a career average of 73.3 percent.
- UT has recorded nearly twice as many steals as its opponents. The Vols have 102 steals compared to just 52 by their opponents.
- The Vols have recorded at least 10 steals in each of their last five games.
- Tennessee's opponents are averaging 21.7 turnovers per game this year. East Tennessee State's (11/18/05) 33 turnovers are the most by a UT opponent since American-Puerto Rico (12/21/99) turned the ball over 40 times.
- UT has shot better than its opponent in seven of its nine games this season. The only opponents to have a better field goal percentage than the Vols are Murray State (11/30/05) and Oklahoma State (12/22/05).
- Tennessee has shot 50 percent or better from the field in five of nine games.
- The Vols are playing with just 10 scholarship players this season. UT's roster lists 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,353-885-2 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 206-84 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.
| Team Statistical Comparisons | ||
| Tennessee | Stat Category | South Alabama |
| 84.9 | Points | 75.5 |
| 71.6 | Opponent Points | 64.8 |
| +13.3 | Scoring Margin | +10.6 |
| .479 | Field Goal % | .454 |
| .455 | Opponent Field Goal % | .423 |
| .409 | Three-Point % | .348 |
| .403 | Opponent Three-Point % | .279 |
| .711 | Free Throw % | .692 |
| 33.7 | Rebounds | 35.1 |
| 36.9 | Opponent Rebounds | 34.5 |
| -3.2 | Rebounding Margin | +0.5 |
| 18.2 | Assists | 14.5 |
| 13.2 | Turnovers | 14.3 |
| 11.3 | Steals | 9.4 |
| 4.0 | Blocks | 1.7 |
| 8-1 | Record | 9-2 |
| Individual Statistical Leaders | ||
| Tennessee | Stat Category | South Alabama |
| Lofton, 17.0 | Points | Jointer, 13.0 |
| Patterson, 6.2 | Rebounds | Law, 5.1 |
| Watson, 4.2 | Assists | Smith, 3.2 |
| Patterson, .538 | Field Goal % | Law, .550 |
| Watson, .487 | Three-Point % | Smith, .483 |
| Watson, .895 | Free Throw % | Smith, .885 |
Looking At South Alabama
South Alabama enters Wednesday's game with a 9-2 record following an 81-59 victory over Western Michigan on Friday, Dec. 30 ... Six players scored at least nine points for the Jaguars against Western Michigan ... Mario Jointer, a 6-foot-2 senior guard, leads USA with 13.0 points per game and is second on the squad with 5.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game ... Jointer is averaging 18.0 points over his last two games ... Richard Law, a 6-6 senior forward, is the only other Jaguar in double-figure scoring with 11.1 points per game while averaging an team-best 5.1 rebounds ... Law, a native of Houston, is connecting on 55.0 percent of his field goals this season ... Seven Jaguars are averaging at least seven points per game ... South Alabama runs a system similar to that of Florida's and is averaging 75.5 points per game ... They are forcing 18.4 turnovers per game ... Only one player on the Jaguars' roster (Jason McGriff) is taller than 6-7 ... USA had a seven-game winning streak ended by a 75-78 loss at Alabama State on Dec. 22 ... The Jaguars had started their seven-game streak with an 82-65 victory over Alabama State on Nov. 25 ... USA upset 25th-ranked Houston on Dec. 17, the school's first win over a ranked opponent since the 1997-98 season ... USA's roster lists six players who have transferred from NCAA Division I schools, four who came from junior colleges and one from an NCAA Division III institution ... John Pelphrey, who played for Eddie Sutton and Rick Pitino at Kentucky and sat next to Billy Donovan as an assistant coach at Florida, leads the Jaguars ... Pelphrey is 45-50 in his fourth season as South Alabama's head coach.
Did You Know?
Tennessee sophomore guard Chris Lofton and South Alabama head coach John Pelphrey both earned Mr. Basketball honors in the state of Kentucky ... Lofton was the 2004 Kentucky Mr. Basketball at Mason County HS while Pelphrey earned the honor in 1987 while playing for Paintsville HS.
The South Alabama Series
This is the first meeting between the schools ... The Vols are 13-3 all-time against current members of the Sun Belt Conference, including an 83-76 win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Nov. 22, 2005 ... South Alabama is 8-25 all-time against members of the Southeastern Conference, including wins over Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi.
Last Game: Watson's 18 Leads UT Over Lipscomb
Tennessee overcame one of its worst shooting nights of the season to defeat the upstart Lipscomb Bisons 69-58 on Thursday, Dec. 29 ... The Vols shot 38.2 percent from the field but made just 25 percent (5-of-20) of their 3-pointers ... The Vols led 27-26 at halftime and quickly increased the lead to nine points (37-28 with just under 18 minutes left in the game ... The Bisons battled back to cut the lead to two points before Tennessee went on a 13-5 run to take a 52-42 advantage ... Lipscomb got no closer than five points the rest of the way ... C.J. Watson, who made 9-of-10 free throws in the game's final four minutes, led the Vols with 18 points ... Watson was 13-of-14 from the free throw line for the game ... Major Wingate added 13 points and seven rebounds while Stanley Asumnu had 11 points ... Chris Lofton was held to single-digit scoring for the first time all season with six points ... Eddie Ard led the Bisons with a game-high 24 points while Brian Fisk added 19 ... Tennessee had 12 steals on 21 Lipscomb turnovers.
Watson Approaching Milestones
Senior guard C.J. Watson needs two assists to reach the 500 career assist milestone ... Watson enters the South Alabama game ranking 34th all-time at UT with 1,114 career points and fourth all-time with 498 career assists ... He would be just the second Tennessee player to have 1,000 points and 500 assists ... Tony Harris (1998-01) is the only other Vol to accomplish the feat with 1,588 points and 509 assists ... Watson would be just the ninth player in Southeastern Conference history to be a member of the 1,000/500 club.
Improved Vols
| Player | 2005 Pts | 2006 Pts | Differential |
| S. Asumnu | 2.4 | 10.3 | +7.9 ppg |
| M. Wingate | 5.0 | 11.6 | +6.6 ppg |
| J. Smith | 1.9 | 7.8 | +5.9 ppg |
| C. Watson | 11.9 | 16.4 | +4.5 ppg |
| C. Lofton | 13.2 | 17.0 | +3.8 ppg |
| A. Patterson | 7.4 | 10.7 | +3.3 ppg |
| D. Bradshaw | 3.0 | 5.7 | +2.7 ppg |
| J. Howell | 1.1 | 2.3 | +1.2 ppg |
Pearl Won 87 Percent Of Games In 2005
| Coach (team) | 2005 Record | Pct. |
| 1. Bruce Weber (Illinois) | 37-2 | .949 |
| 2. Rick Pitino (Louisville) | 34-4 | .895 |
| 3. Bruce Pearl (Tennessee/UWM) | 27-4 | .871 |
| 4. Mike Krzyzewski (Duke) | 31-5 | .861 |
| 5. Roy Williams (North Carolina) | 29-5 | .853 |
| 6. Gregg Marshall (Winthrop) | 25-5 | .833 |
| 7. Lorenzo Romar (Washington) | 29-6 | .829 |
| 8. Billy Donovan (Florida) | 28-6 | .824 |
| 9. Bob Thomason (Pacific) | 28-6 | .824 |
| 10. Mark Fox (Nevada) | 27-6 | .818 |
Pearl's Start Second Best All-Time
| Coach (first season) | Start |
| 1. Jerry Green (1997-98) | 10-0 |
| 2. Bruce Pearl (2005-06) | 6-0 |
| 3t. Ray Mears (1962-63) | 5-0 |
| 3t. Emmett Lowery (1947-48) | 5-0 |
| 3t. John Mauer (1938-39) | 5-0 |
It's Getting Crowded
The crowds at Tennessee's home games this season have increased by nearly 3,000 fans per game over last season and the Vols haven't even played a conference game yet this year.
- Tennessee ranks second in the SEC in home attendance with an average of 15,282. Kentucky leads the league with 21,750.
- The Vols' attendance of 15,282 this season is an increase of 2,832 fans per game over last year's average of 12,450 per game.
- 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.
- Two of the largest holiday crowds (games between Dec. 20 and Jan. 4) in school history came to see the Vols play. Against Lipscomb (12/29/05) 15,967 fans were in attendance and against Alabama A&M (12/27/05) 15, 797 fans came to see the Vols.
Holiday Crowds Coming To See The Vols
Two of Tennessee's largest holiday crowds (games played between Dec. 20 and Jan. 4) have come out to see the Vols play this season ... The crowd of 15,967 that attended the Vols' Dec. 29 game against Lipscomb was the largest holiday crowd to see a Tennessee basketball game in more than a decade ... It is the largest since Dec. 28, 1994 when 17,594 came to Thompson-Boling Arena to see the Vols play Virginia Tech ... Coupled with the 15,797 that saw the Alabama A&M game (12/27/05), they mark two of the top 10 largest holiday crowds in school history.Date Opponent Attendance 1. Dec. 29, 1988 *Memphis State 22,015 2. Dec. 21, 1987 Ohio 19,086 3. Dec. 28, 1988 *Miami (OH) 19,078 4. Dec. 29, 1987 *Pepperdine 19,027 5. Dec. 28, 1987 *Army 18,649 6. Dec. 23, 1987 Furman 18,561 7. Dec. 28, 1994 Virginia Tech 17,594 8. Dec. 29, 2005 Lipscomb 15,967 9. Dec. 27, 2005 Alabama A&M 15,797 10. Dec. 29, 1987 *Fordham 15,115 *Volunteer Classic
A Band Of Thieves
Tennessee's pressure defense has given its opponents all kinds of trouble this season as the Vols' opponents are averaging 21.7 turnovers per game this year. - UT leads the SEC in steals (11.33 spg) and turnover margin (+8.44).
- Chris Lofton is second in the SEC with 2.56 steals per game. C.J. Watson ranks fourth (2.44 spg) and Dane Bradshaw is seventh (2.00 spg).
- Bradshaw leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.92) while Watson is sixth (1.81).
- The Vols have had more assists than turnovers in eight of their nine games this year.
- On the season, UT has 164 assists to 119 turnovers (1.38 assists-to-turnovers).
- Conversely, the Vols' opponents have had more turnovers than assists in against the Vols seven of nine games (0.75 assists-to-turnovers).
Vols In The NCAA Stats
Tennessee has is prominently listed among the national leaders according to the Dec. 19 NCAA statistics. Following is where the Vols rank nationally: - Scoring offense: 88.2 ppg / 4th
- 3-point percentage: 44.3 percent / 5th
- 3-pointers per game: 9.7 3pg / 7th
- Steals per game: 11.3 spg / 10th
- Assists per game: 18.5 apg / 18th
- Scoring margin: +16.7 ppg / 20th
- 3-pointers per game: Chris Lofton - 4.0 3pg / 6th
- 3-point percentage: Chris Lofton - 47.1 % / 29th
Rally Vols
Tennessee has rallied from deficits of at least nine points in two games this season ... Murray State (11/30/05) built a nine-point lead early in the second half before the Vols rallied for a 64-53 victory in Nashville ... At one point during the Tennessee rally, Chris Lofton outscored the Racers 12-1 ... Appalachian State (12/5/05) took a 12-point lead with just over six minutes left in the first half but UT went on a 19-2 run to take a 48-46 lead at halftime ... Against Oklahoma State (12/22/05) the Vols rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to cut the lead to one point but could never overtake the Cowboys.Watson & Lofton Earn Back-To-Back SEC Player Of The Week Honors
Chris Lofton was named the co-SEC Player of the Week on Dec. 19 after leading the Vols to a 95-78 upset at sixth-ranked Texas ... Lofton, who shared the award with Kentucky's Rajon Rondo, scored a game-high 21 points on 5-of-9 3-point shooting against the Longhorns ... It marked the second consecutive week a UT player earned the honor ... C.J. Watson took home player of the week honors Dec. 12 after scoring a season-high 23 points against Appalachian State Dec. 5.National Recognition For Vols
- UT was named the national team of the week on Dec. 19 by Dick Vitale and Andy Katz on ESPN.com and by Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News.
- ESPN commentator Dick Vitale took time in his weekly "Roundball Chatter" column on Dec. 16 to mention a pair of Vols by saying, "The backcourt of C.J. Watson and Chris Lofton is one of the most underrated in America... ."
- Lofton was called by ESPN's Dick Vitale, "... one of the most underrated players in America"
- CBS SportsLine.com's Gregg Doyel named Bruce Pearl as one of his 10 best stories for 2005.
Watson Reaches 1,000 Points In Unique Way
C.J. Watson became the 38th player in Tennessee history to reach the 1,000 career point milestone in a 17-point outing against Louisiana-Lafayette (11/22/05) ... Watson, who now has 1,114 career points, reached the milestone when he was fouled on a made 3-pointer and then scored his 1,000th point on the free throw.Las Vegas Dealer: Watson Deals Assists
One could only dream of sitting down at a blackjack table and seeing a dealer as friendly as Tennessee's point guard C.J. Watson ... The senior from Las Vegas has dealt nothing but aces and face cards while running the Vols' attack ... Twice he has led the Southeastern Conference in assists and this year he has taken on a larger scoring role while also dishing out the assists ... This year the 6-foot-2 Watson is averaging 16.4 points and 4.2 assists per game. - In 2004-05 (5.00 apg) and 2002-03 (5.44 apg) he led the SEC in assists against league opponents.
- Watson owns three of the top 13 single-season assist marks in Tennessee history.
- Watson is the Southeastern Conference's active career leader in assists with 498.
- His 497 career assists are fourth all-time at UT.
- He ranks 19th in SEC history in assists with 498. Only 17 previous players in SEC history have reached the 500 career assist mark.
- Watson's 4.22 assists per game are currently seventh in the SEC.
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. - Lofton ranks fifth in the SEC with 17.0 points per game and is second in the league with 2.56 steals per game.
- With 34 3-pointers already this season, Lofton ranks ninth on Tennessee's career lists with 127.
- He is currently leading the Southeastern Conference with 3.78 3-pointers per game.
- Against Murray State (11/30/05) he scored 12 consecutive points to help the Vols rally to a 64-53 win.
Patterson Leading 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 the Pac-10 Conference with a 60.8 field goal percentage ... As a junior at UT last season, Patterson averaged 7.4 points per game while leading the Vols with 6.2 rebounds per game. - He is currently shooting 53.8 percent (35-of-65) from the field and is averaging 10.7 points per game off the bench.
- Patterson recorded a career-high 14 rebounds against Murray State (11/30/05) while recording his third career-double-double.
Asumnu Builds On Strong Finish To 2005
Senior guard/forward Stanley Asumnu started his senior season like he ended his junior year ... The Houston native scored a career-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting in the Vols' season-opening win over East Tennessee State (11/18/05) ... In nine games he is averaging 10.3 points per game ... The ultra-athletic Asumnu 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 then career-high 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field in just 10 minutes of action. - It took Asumnu just seven games this season to score 67 points, surpassing the 63 points he scored in 26 contests as a junior.
Bradshaw Playing Power/Point
With only four scholarship players taller than 6-foot-5 on the roster, junior guard Dane Bradshaw has been called upon to play big, quite literally ... The 6-4 backup point guard has earned starting assignments at power forward for each of the Vols' games this year ... Playing in the paint isn't anything new for the Memphis native ... In 2005 he drew difficult defensive assignments by guarding 6-8, 252-pound Brandon Bass against LSU (2/5/05) and 6-10 Jermareo Davidson of Alabama (2/9/05). - He recorded a career game against East Tennessee State (11/18/05) with 13 points and 12 rebounds to go with six assists.
- Bradshaw is second on the team in free throw percentage (.882), rebounding (6.1 rpg), assists (3.9 apg) and is third in steals (2.0 spg) and blocks (0.7 bpg).
- His assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.92 is leading the SEC.
- Three times this season he has led the Vols in rebounding, including a career-high 12 boards against ETSU (11/18/05).
- His 2.00 steals per game are seventh in the SEC.
Wingate Stepping Up In The Paint
Major Wingate wasn't going to let anything stop him from playing against Louisiana-Lafayette on Nov. 22 ... After suffering a foot injury in practice two days earlier that left him on crutches, Wingate spent the next two nights in the training room rehabbing the injury so he could play ... When it came time to play, Wingate was there standing in the center circle ready for the jump ball ... The junior from Florence, S.C., scored 12 points and blocked three shots in 28 minutes of action against the Ragin' Cajuns ... Defensively, he held Louisiana's star center Michael Southall to just four points and four rebounds. - On the year he is averaging 11.6 points per game.
- Wingate has scored in double-figures in seven of UT's nine games ... In two previous season at Tennessee he had reached double-figure scoring just three times.
- Against sixth-ranked Texas (12/19/05) Wingate played a key role in limiting LaMarcus Aldridge to just four field goals. Aldridge, who finished with 15 points total, scored just one point when Wingate was guarding him.
JaJuan Smith Setting Career Marks
JaJuan Smith, a 6-foot-2 guard from Decatur, Tenn., has seen his role grow from 8.0 minutes per game as a freshman last year to 23.9 minutes per game this season ... Already this year he has tied or established new career marks for scoring (16), rebounds (6), assists (6), steals (3), blocks (1) and minutes played (25) ... Smith, who has been the first player off the bench in each of Tennessee's games this season, is averaging 7.8 points per game ... His 22 assists are third on the team. - Smith had his best game of his career at sixth-ranked Texas when he came off the bench to score 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range.
- He scored a career-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field to go with five assists and two steals against Alabama A&M (12/27/05).
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 206-84 (.710) in its 19th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 107-25 (.811) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- The Vols are 47-16 against SEC teams at home over the last six seasons.
- UT has won 68 of its last 73 home games against non-conference opponents.
Great Starts
| Year | Start |
| 1. 1999-2000 | 11-0 |
| 2. 1997-98 | 10-0 |
| 3. 2000-01 | 9-0 |
| 4t. 1982-83 | 8-0 |
| 4t. 1956-57 | 8-0 |
| 6. 1964-65 | 7-0 |
| 7t. 2005-06 | 6-0 |
| 7t. 1970-71 | 6-0 |
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.
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.
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.
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 Neyland Drve 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.
