Duke Crews | VOLS RETURN HOME FOR COPPIN STATE
- UT returns home after a pair of games at the Dicks Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off in Nashville earlier in the week to meet the Coppin State Eagles at 4 p.m. (EST) Sunday, Nov. 19, at Thompson-Boling Arena.
- The Vols improved to 3-0 on the season and earned a trip to New York City with an 87-75 victory over UNC Wilmington the NIT Season Tip-Off South Region championship Tuesday night at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville. JaJuan Smith led the Vols with a career-high 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. Chris Lofton added 17 points while freshman forward Duke Crews had 13 points and eight rebounds.
- The Vols are averaging 82.7 points per game while forcing their opponents into committing 27.7 turnovers. UNC Wilmington had 32 turnovers on 13 Tennessee steals. Last year the Vols forced an average of 18.2 turnovers per game.
- Chris Lofton leads three Vols in double figure scoring on the season. Lofton is averaging 17.7 points per game while JaJuan Smith is adding 14.3 and Ryan Childress is coming off the bench for 11.0 points.
- Coppin State is 0-2 on the season following losses at Virginia Tech and Hawaii. The Eagles are led by preseason All-MEAC selection Tywain McKee's 16.0 points per game. CSC is starting its season by playing 12 of its first 13 games on the road before opening conference play in January.
- The Vols are looking to start the season 4-0 for the second consecutive season.
- After meeting Coppin State Sunday, Tennessee will travel to New York City for the Dicks Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off. The Vols will meet Butler in the semifinals at 7 p.m. (EST) Wednesday, Nov. 22, and will then face either North Carolina or Gonzaga Friday, Nov. 24.
Tennessee Trends
- Tennessee improved to 3-1 all-time in the NIT Season Tip-Off with the win over UNC Wilmington.
- 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 83 turnovers in its first three games this season (27.7 per game).
- UT's bench has scored 88 points in three games (29.3 points per game) this season. In 2005-06, Tennessee's bench averaged 21.0 points per game.
- 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.
- 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 21-2 when leading or tied with five minutes left in the game.
- UT is 16-0 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 1,370-892-2 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.
Vols Go To The Big Apple
Tennessee won the South Region of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off to advance to the semifinals in New York City ... The Vols will depart for New York Tuesday morning and will participate in a press conference at the Marriott Marquis at 1 p.m. that afternoon ... UT will play Butler at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Madison Square Garden ... Tennessee will meet either North Carolina or Gonzaga (4:30 or 7 p.m.) Friday before returning to Knoxville ... The team will be staying at the Marriott Marquis during its stay in New York. Looking At Coppin State
Coppin State is 0-2 on the season following losses at Virginia Tech and Hawaii ... The Eagles play 12 of their first 13 games on the road this season ... After visiting Knoxville, Coppin State will return home to play Winston Salem State before embarking on a nine-game road trip ... CSC has lost 28 consecutive non-conference regular season games ... Junior guard Tywain McKee leads the Eagles with 16.0 points per game ... McKee, who has scored in double figures in 25 of his last 27 games, is a first team All-MEAC pick ... Darryl Roberts is second on the team with 8.5 pointer per game coming off the bench ... The Eagles average 55.0 points per game this season ... Coppin State is coming off a 12-18 overall record and a 12-6 mark in the MEAC ... The Eagles were picked to finish fourth in the MEAC ... CSC returns 78 percent of its scoring, 98 percent of its 3-pointers and 74 percent of its rebounds from last year ... The Baltimore school is 1-30 all-time against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 ... Its only win over a ranked opponent was in 1997 when the 15th seeded Eagles upset sixth-ranked and second-seeded South Carolina in first round of the NCAA Tournament ... Ron "Fang" Mitchell has led Coppin State to 10 MEAC regular season titles, three NCAA Tournament appearances and two NIT appearances ... The six-time MEAC coach of the year is 330-263 in his 21st season at Coppin State and 557-308 in his 29th year as a head coach. The Coppin State Series
This is the first meeting between Tennessee and Coppin State ... This is the first time the Vols have played a current member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference ... Coppin State is 2-2 all-time against current members of the Southeastern Conference ... The most significant win in the school's history came in the first round of the 1997 NCAA Tournament when the Eagles upset second-seeded South Carolina 78-65 ... Coppin State plays at Alabama on Dec. 23. Last Game: Vols Win Trip To New York
The Tennessee Vols earned a trip to New York for the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals with an 87-75 victory over UNC Wilmington at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville Tuesday, Nov. 14 ... JaJuan Smith led the Vols with a career-high 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting ... Chris Lofton added 17 points while Duke Crews had 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds ... The Vols forced 32 UNCW turnovers, 13 of which came off steals ... Tennessee never trailed in the second half and led by as many as 21 (83-62 with just over four minutes left) ... The Vols outrebounded the taller Seahawks 38-27 and gathered 17 of their rebounds at the offensive end of the floor ... UNCW shot 53.1 percent from the field while UT was 47.8 percent from the field and just 26.9 percent from 3-point range ... Darryl Felder and Temi Soyebo each had 15 points to lead UNCW ... Vladimir Kuljanin added 14 points to go with his game-high 10 rebounds. UT's Preseason Ranking Is First Since 2000-01
The Vols received their first preseason Top 25 ranking in six years ... Tennessee was 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 when UT was ranked eighth by ESPN/USA Today and ninth by the Associated Press to open a 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). 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. 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 20 points to become the 39th player in school history to reach the 1,000 career point mark ... The Maysville, Ky., native has scored 980 points in his first 64 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 216 career 3-pointers made and sixth with 485 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. - Against UNC Wilmington (11/14/06) in the NIT Season Tip-Off he recorded career-highs with 21 points and five steals in just 27 minutes of action.
- Led UT's scoring efforts in two of three games this season after leading the Vols in scoring once last year.
Hard Work Pays Off For Childress
There is an old saying that goes, "The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores." .. That couldn't be more true for UT sophomore forward Ryan Childress ... As a true freshman last season the Cincinnati, Ohio, product averaged 1.2 points and 1.2 rebounds in 29 appearances for the Vols ... After a summer of hard work that resulted in him dropping 20 pounds and adding more than seven inches to his vertical leap ... That hard work in the offseason has paid huge dividends for the 6-foot-9 Childress as he ranks third on the team with 11.0 points and 4.7 rebounds. - After three games this season he has scored 33 points. In 29 games as a freshman last year he scored a total of 36 points.
Crews Missile
One of the most heralded freshmen in the Southeastern Conference this season, Duke Crews has not disappointed ... The 6-foot-7 forward earned a starting assignment in the Vols season-opener and has won over Tennessee fans with his hustle and athleticism ... Named the SEC Newcomer of the Year by Lindy's and Athlon, the Hampton, Va., native is averaging 9.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. - In the South Region championship game of the NIT Season Tip-Off against UNC Wilmington (11/14/06) he narrowly missed a double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds.
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.
|
