| VOLS HOST LeMOYNE-OWEN IN PRESEASON EXHIBITION
- The Tennessee Volunteers will take the court for their first exhibition contest of the season at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31, when the LeMoyne-Owen College Magicians visit Thompson-Boling Arena.
- When Tennessee takes the court Oct. 31 against LeMoyne-Owen, it will mark the earliest start to a regular season schedule in school history. It is the only time that the Vols have played a game in the month of October.
- Tennessee is 49-16 all-time in exhibition games and has won 26 of its last 28 home exhibition contests.
- The Vols return two starters, including their top scorer from last season. Chris Lofton, a preseason Wooden Award candidate, led the Vols with 17.2 points in 2005-06 while making 114 3-pointers, the second-highest total in Southeastern Conference history. Dane Bradshaw, the lone senior on the squad, returns after averaging 7.1 points and 5.4 rebounds while leading the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.76). One of the best sixth-men in the league last season, junior guard JaJuan Smith averaged 9.5 points last year.
- Tennessee will conclude its two-game exhibition schedule Friday, Nov. 3, when the Vols host Tusculum. UT defeated the Pioneers 117-89 in an exhibition contest to open the 2004-05 season.
Tennessee Trends
- UT's roster lists just three scholarship players taller than 6-foot-5. Duke Crews (6-8), Wayne Chism (6-9) and Ryan Childress (6-9) are the only Vols topping the 6-5 mark.
- In 2005-06 games, Tennessee's Southeastern Conference opponents had a 4-12 record in the game immediately following their contests against the Vols. The only teams to win their next game after playing UT were Arkansas, Georgia, LSU and Vanderbilt.
- Under Bruce Pearl, UT is 18-2 when leading or tied with five minutes left in the game.
- UT is 14-0 when scoring 80 or more points under the direction of Bruce Pearl.
- UT is 23-14 (.622) when playing before crowds of 20,000 or larger at Thompson-Boling Arena. In 2005-06 the Vols were 4-2 playing in front of 20,000 fans at home.
- Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,367-892-2 in 98 seasons of basketball.
- UT's 610 regular season Southeastern Conference victories rank third all-time in the SEC. Only Kentucky and Alabama have won more league games.
- Tennessee is 213-86 in its 20th season in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Volunteers have posted winning home records in 17 of their 19 seasons in the facility.
Tennessee In Exhibition Games
The Vols are 49-16 all-time in exhibition games, including a 40-8 mark in home exhibition games ... Tennessee has won 26 of its last 28 home exhibition games dating back to the 1992 season ... Last year the Vols swept both of their exhibition games with an 86-78 win over Southern Indiana and a 106-73 win over Carson-Newman ... UT hosts Tusculum Nov. 3 in its final exhibition game of the 2006-07 season. Kids Dressed For Halloween Get In Free
Kids in costume under age 12 will receive free admission to the LeMoyne-Owen game ... Tickets are available for pick-up two hours prior to tip-off in the ticket office, and the child must be present ... Gates will open at 6 p.m., and pre-game festivities will include trick-or-treating and an autograph opportunity with the Lady Vols basketball team ... Other festivities for the evening will include a costume contest and a 3-point contest between members of the women's basketball team during halftime ... Parking for the game is free and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Experimental Rule Used In Exhibition Games
The NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee is experimenting with eliminating the first lane space nearest the basket on each side of the lane and using the present, second, third and fourth marked lane spaces on each side of the lane. Looking At LeMoyne-Owen College
LeMoyne-Owen College is an NCAA Division II school that competes in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ... LOC is coming off an 8-20 overall record and a 6-16 mark in the SIAC ... The Magicians are coached by former Harlem Globetrotter David "Smokey" Gaines ... Gaines is the all-time leading scorer at LeMoyne-Owen College and has his No. 32 jersey retired at the school ... The former University of Detroit and San Diego State coach has a 167-147 career record ... He is 8-20 entering his second season at LOC. The LeMoyne-Owen Series
This is the first meeting between the schools ... It is also Tennessee's first game against a current member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Vols Enter 20th Season At Thompson-Boling
Thompson-Boling Arena is celebrating its 20th season in 2005-06 ... The Vols have won 71.2 percent of their games in Thompson-Boling Arena and have ranked in the top 10 nationally in attendance nine times, including in 2005-06 when UT ranked fifth nationally with 17,954 fans per game ... The arena is getting ready to undergo its first major facelift as construction has already begun on a practice facility and construction will begin on the inside of the arena immediately following the 2006-07 season. - In October 2006 Tennessee Athletics had a ground-breaking ceremony to officially recognize construction on the Pratt Pavilion, the state-of-art basketball practice facility named in UT alumnus Larry F. Pratt's honor for his $5 million lead gift to the basketball programs. The Pratt Pavilion will house two full-size gymnasiums, one for each of the men's and women's varsity basketball teams, as well as space for an athletic training room, a weight room and a film study room.
- Thompson-Boling Arena will receive a dramatic facelift prior to the 2007-08 basketball season. With all new black seats, a center hung scoreboard, renovated concourses, 32 luxury suites and 160 loge seats, Thompson-Boling Arena will look and feel like a state-of-the-art arena ready for its next 20 years of service.
Thompson-Boling Provides Homecourt 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 213-86 (.712) entering its 20th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 114-27 (.809) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- The Vols are 52-20 against SEC teams at home over the last nine seasons.
- UT has won 67 of its last 74 home games against non-conference opponents.
Bomb Squad Returns
Tennessee returns 80.3 percent of its SEC-leading 8.80 3-point field goals per game from last season ... Leading the way is junior guard Chris Lofton who set a single-season school record with 114 triples in 2005-06 ... Junior JaJuan Smith was second on the team with 61 treys while senior Dane Bradshaw contributed 20 3-pointers and Jordan Howell had 15 ... Tennessee's 264 3-pointers in 2005-06 fell two shy of tying the school record set in 1999-2000. Lofton A Preseason Wooden Award Candidate
Junior guard Chris Lofton was named one of the top 50 preseason candidates for the 2006-07 Wooden Award All-American Team on Oct. 25 ... The Maysville, Ky., native was one of six players from the Southeastern Conference named to the watch list ... A finalist for the 2005-06 Wooden All-American Team, Lofton led the Vols with 17.2 points while breaking the school record for 3-pointers in a season with 114, the second-highest total in SEC history ... In January, the Wooden Award committee will release the midseason top 30 followed by the national ballot in early March ... On Tuesday, March 27, the 10-player Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced. Lofton Earns Honors From SEC Coaches
Chris Lofton was a first team selection on the 2007 SEC Coaches Preseason All-SEC Team ... Lofton joined Alabama's Ronald Steele, Florida's Joakim Noah and LSU's Glen Davis as unanimous selections ... As a sophomore in 2005-06, the Maysville, Ky., native was a consensus All-SEC selection after averaging 17.2 points per game and making 114 3-pointers, the second-highest total in SEC history. Lofton Nearing 1,000 Points
Chris Lofton enters his junior season needing 73 points to become the 39th player in school history to reach the 1,000 career point mark ... The Maysville, Ky., native has scored 927 points in his first 61 games at Tennessee ... Only Allan Houston (1,415), Bernard King (1,290), Mike Edwards (962) and Ernie Grunfeld (928) scored more points in their first two seasons at Tennessee. Lofton Hits Them Often
Chris Lofton has established himself as one of the top shooters in the nation in his first two seasons on Rocky Top ... As a sophomore in 2005-06 he set school records for 3-pointers made (9) and attempted (18) in a game and 3-pointers made (114), attempted (261) and 3-pointers per game (3.80) in a single-season ... His 43.7 3-point percentage (114-of-261) was the third-best percentage in school history and was best in the nation among players who had at least 260 attempts. Bradshaw Does It All
One of the most versatile players in the nation, Dane Bradshaw can and will play any position for the Vols from point guard through power forward ... Originally recruited to UT as a point guard, the 6-foot-4 Bradshaw started every game last season at power forward for the Vols ... In 2005-06 the Memphis native was second on the team in assists (116), rebounding (5.4 rpg), and third in steals (56) and blocks (11) while his assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.76 led the SEC ... Had a streak of 181 minutes (seven games) without a turnover come to an end in the first half of the Vols' game against Georgia (1/11/06). JaJuan Smith Looking For Starting Role
Named the "Best Player Off The Bench" in the SEC by The Tennessean, JaJuan Smith is looking to work his way into the starting lineup for the Vols this season ... The Cleveland, Tenn., native saw his minutes increase from 8.0 per game as a freshman in 2005 to 24.0 as a sophomore last season ... Smith saw his production increase along with his minutes as he averaged 11.3 points against SEC opponents 2005-06 ... His 61 3-pointers ranked second and 57 assists were third on the team last season. |
