| VOLS FACE UNCW FOR TRIP TO BIG APPLE
- Tennessee advanced to the South region championship game of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off with a first round win over Fordham. The Vols will meet UNC Wilmington at 8 p.m. CST at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville. The winner of the game will advance to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City next week.
- Chris Lofton scored 30 points for the third time in his career in leading the Vols to a 78-71 victory over Fordham in the first round of the NIT Season tip-Off. He was 9-of-16 from the field, 5-of-10 from 3-point range and 7-of-8 at the free throw line against the Rams. His 19 points in the first half tied his career mark for most points in a half, a feat he accomplished twice (at Kentucky and at Georgia) last season. Duke Crews had 11 points and Ryan Childress added nine. UT and Fordham combined to commit 55 turnovers and 51 personal fouls.
- UNC Wilmington advanced to the championship game with an 88-83 win over Belmont Monday.
- The Vols are looking to start the season 3-0 for the second consecutive season.
- 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 Trends
- Tennessee improved to 2-1 all-time in the NIT Season Tip-Off.
- Ten Vols are averaging at least 10 minutes per game. No one has played 30 minutes in a game this year.
- The Vols have forced 51 turnovers in its first two games this season.
- Tennessee will be playing the second of four games this season in Nashville on Tuesday. The Vols play two NIT Season Tip-Off games, before playing Oklahoma State (Dec. 18) at the GEC and then returning to play at Vanderbilt (Jan.10).
- With an 83-52 season-opening win over Middle Tennessee, the Vols won their eighth season-opener in a row and improved to 39-2 in their last 41 home-openers.
- UT's bench has scored 60 of the Vols' 161 points (37.3 percent) this season. In 2005-06, Tennessee's bench averaged 21.0 points per game.
- Tennessee's 83-52 (+31) win over Middle Tennessee in the season-opener was the largest margin of victory in a season opener since UT defeated Elon 95-56 (+39) to open the 1999-200 campaign.
- Entering the 2006-07 season, six of UT's 11 scholarship players had never played in a Division I game before.
- UT is faced with replacing more than half of its scoring (54 percent), rebounds (51.8) and minutes played (51.3%) from the 2005-06 squad.
- UT's roster lists just three scholarship players taller than 6-foot-5. Duke Crews (6-7), Wayne Chism (6-9) and Ryan Childress (6-9) are the only Vols topping the 6-5 mark.
- In 2005-06 games, Tennessee's SEC 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 20-2 when leading or tied with five minutes left in the game.
- UT is 15-0 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 1,369-892-2 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 214-86 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 is the only Division I school ever to rank in the top five nationally in attendance for football, men's basketball and women's basketball in the same season. The Vols turned the trick for the third time in 2005-06.
- Seven walk-ons are listed on Tennessee's roster this season. Ben Bosse, Quinn Cannington, Rick Daniels-Mulholland, Justin Jackson, Marq Murden, Steven Pearl and Tanner Wild are each on the Volunteer squad.
The Vols In Nashville
The Vols are 42-52 all-time when playing in Nashville ... Eighty-four of Tennessee's games in Nashville have been against Vanderbilt with the Commodores holding a 48-35 advantage ... The Vols are 4-2 all-time when playing in the Gaylord Entertainment Center ... UT defeated Middle Tennessee State 99-83 Dec. 15, 2000 at the GEC and have gone 1-2 in the SEC Tournament at the facility ... Last season, Tennessee defeated Murray State 64-53 and fell to South Carolina 71-79 at the GEC. Tennessee In The NIT
The Vols are making their second appearance in the NIT Season Tip-Off ... The Vols first appeared in the preseason tournament in November 1992 when they earned an 87-79 win at Rutgers (11/19/92) before falling 64-72 at Seton Hall (11/21/92). Tennessee On The "U"
Tennessee is making its second appearance on ESPNU ... The first was UT's first round NIT game against Fordham ... The Vols have appeared on the ESPN family of networks 47 times since the 1989-90 season ... In that time, UT has made 40 appearances on ESPN, six on ESPN2 and one on ESPNU. Early Bird Gets The Worm
Tennessee got its earliest start to a season in school history when the Vols hosted Middle Tennessee on Nov. 10 ... The previous record for earliest start came in the 1998-99 season when the Vols opened the regular season on Nov. 13 against Arizona ... UT was also one of the first teams to play an exhibition game this year, playing LeMoyne-Owen on Oct. 31 -- the first date the NCAA allowed teams to play exhibition games. UT's Preseason Ranking Is First Since 2000-01
The Vols received their first preseason Top 25 ranking in six years ... Tennessee wa ranked 24th by ESPN/USA Today and 25th by the Associated Press in the preseason... It was the first time since the 2000-01 season that the Vols have opened the season ranked ... UT was ranked eighth by ESPN/USA Today and ninth by the Associated Press to open the 2000-01 campaign. Freshmen Starters
Two true freshmen ( Duke Crews and Ramar Smith) were in the starting lineup for Tennessee's season-opener against Middle Tennessee ... It was the first time since 2002-03 and the fourth time in the last 10 years that a pair of true freshmen were opening day starters ... Tennessee also had multiple freshmen in the opening day lineup in 2002-03 ( C.J. Watson and Stanley Asumnu), 2001-02 ( Derek Stribling and Elgrace Wilborn) and in 1996-97 (C.J. Black, Charles Hathaway and Cornelius Jackson). Looking At UNCW
UNC Wilmington won its first ever game under new head coach Benny Moss when the Seahawks defeated Belmont 88-83 in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off ... The defending Colonial Athletic Association champions, UNCW has made four NCAA Tournament appearances in the last seven seasons ... UNCW won its exhibition games against Francis Marion and UNC Pembroke by an average of 31.5 points ... Preseason All-CAA selection T.J. Carter is out indefinitely after undergoing groin surgery on Nov. 1 ... The senior guard was named MVP of the CAA Tournament and averaged a team-high 13.6 points per game last season ... Todd Hendley, a 6-9 junior forward who began his career at Wake Forest, averaged 10.5 points and 4.0 rebounds last season ... A preseason poll of the league's coaches, SID's and media picked the Seahawks to finish fifth in the CAA this season ... Moss, who was named the seventh head coach in UNCW history on April 20, 2006, made his head coaching debut on Monday after serving as an assistant at Pfeiffer, Phillips, Henderson State and UNC Charlotte. The UNCW Series
Tennessee leads the all-time series with UNC Wilmington 1-0 ... The Vols won the only meeting 85-57 in the championship game of the 1985 Volunteer Classic in Knoxville ... The Vols are 15-4 all-time against current members of the Colonial Athletic Association. UNC Wilmington Connections
Last year the Seahawks and Vols both played their opening NCAA Tournament games in Greensboro, N.C., but were in different Regions ... Tennessee freshman walk-on Steven Pearl and UNCW junior forward Jeff Horowitz represented the United States at the Maccabi Games in Sydney, Australia, last summer ... The duo helped lead the U.S. to the gold medal at the international event. Last Game: Vols Win In First Round Of NIT
It wasn't pretty but the youthful Tennessee Vols will take it ... Tennessee defeated Fordham 78-71 in the first round of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off at Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville Monday, Nov. 13 ... The two teams combined to commit 55 turnovers (26 by UT) and 51 fouls (26 by UT) in the game ... 18 of UT's turnovers came in the first half ... The Vols led by as many as 14 points (65-51) with 7:51 left but Fordham pulled within 75-71 on a Marcus Stout dunk with 1:31 remaining ... Tennessee went 3-of-4 from the free throw line in the final minute to seal the win ... After scoring just six points in the season-opener, Chris Lofton lit up the scoreboard with 30 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and 5-of-10 shooting from 3-point range ... Freshman Duke Crews was the only other Vols player in double figure scoring with 11 points to go with five rebounds ... Ryan Childress added nine points ... Brenton Butler led Fordham with 20 points while Marcus Stout had 16 ... UT's freshman duo of Crews and Wayne Chism held Ram's star Bryant Dunston to eight points and five rebounds in 19 minutes of action ... With the victory, Tennessee earned a second round match with UNC Wilmington for the right to go to New York City. Vols Enter 20th Season At Thompson-Boling
Thompson-Boling Arena is celebrating its 20th season in 2006-07 ... The Vols have won 71.3 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.
Vols Are A Hot Ticket
In 2005-06 Tennessee's average attendance grew by more than 5,000 fans per game to 17,954 -- the fifth-highest average in the nation ... This year UT has sold more than 13,100 season basketball tickets which is an increase of more than 4,000 season tickets from 2005-06 ... As of the start of the regular season there were less than 150 chair back seats available as season tickets ... Tennessee's season ticket sales are the best they have been since the first year Thompson-Boling Arena opened when the Vols averaged a school record 20,823 fans. 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 214-86 (.713) entering its 20th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 115-27 (.810) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- The Vols are 52-20 against SEC teams at home over the last nine seasons.
- UT has won 68 of its last 75 home games against non-conference opponents.
Bomb Squad Returns
Tennessee returns 80.3 percent of its SEC-leading 8.8 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 needs just 37 points to become the 39th player in school history to reach the 1,000 career point mark ... The Maysville, Ky., native has scored 963 points in his first 63 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. - Lofton ranks fourth all-time with 214 career 3-pointers made and sixth with 474 triples attempted.
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 Finally Gets Starting Role
Named the "Best Player Off The Bench" in the SEC by The Tennessean, JaJuan Smith has worked 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. Two Sign In Early Period
On the first day of the early signing period Cameron Tatum and Brian Williams signed national letters of intent to play basketball at the University of Tennessee beginning with the 2007-08 season. - Tatum, a versatile 6-foot-5, 190-pound wing from Patterson Prep in Lenoir, N.C., can put the ball on the floor and create, hit the 3-pointer or take the ball to the rim ... Rated as a four-star prospect and the No. 13 shooting guard in the nation by Rivals.com, he averaged 21 points and 7.7 rebounds as a senior at Tucker High School in Tucker, Ga.
- A 6-9, 300-pound post player at Harmony Community Prep in Cincinnati, Williams will give the Vols much needed depth and size in the paint ... A player with exceptional hands, good feet and a soft shooting touch, he attended Christopher Columbus High School in Bronx, N.Y., before going to Harmony Prep where he was a teammate of current Vols freshman Josh Tabb.
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