| VOLS OPEN SEC SLATE AGAINST MISSISSIPPI STATE ON SUNDAY
- Tennessee will open the defense of its 2006 SEC Eastern Division championship Sunday, Jan. 7, when the Vols play host to Mississippi State.
- The Mississippi State game will conclude a four-game homestand for the Vols. After its meeting with the Bulldogs, Tennessee will play five of six games on the road.
- The Vols are riding an eight-game winning streak that includes wins over No. 16 Memphis, No. 15 Oklahoma State and Texas. It is UT's longest winning streak since an eight-game win streak last season. UT hasn't won nine consecutive games since opening the 2000-01 season with a 9-0 record.
- Tennessee has been scoring a lot of points as of late. UT has reached the 100-point mark in two of their last three games and is averaging 101.7 points in its last three games. The Vols scored 100 points in backto- back games (111 vs. Texas and 101 vs Tennessee Tech) for the just the second time in school history.
- Chris Lofton is leading the Southeastern Conference with 22.3 points per game. One of the top shooters in the nation, he is averaging 3.9 3-pointers per game and is connecting on 46.6 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.
- JaJuan Smith is averaging 21.7 points in his last three games and ranks second on the team with 15.4 points per game on the season. In each of his last two games he has tied his career-high with 23 points on 52.6 percent (10-of-19) 3-point shooting in the two contests.
- Tennessee's win over East Tennessee State gave the Vols their first undefeated month of December since 1997-98. The Vols, who were 7-0 last month, went 5-0 in December 1997.
Tennessee Trends
- According to the Jan. 1 NCAA Statistics, Tennessee ranks No. 8 in the nation by averaging 85.5 points per game.
- Chris Lofton tied a school record for free throw percentage (minimum 12 attempts) by going 13-of- 13 from the line against East Tennessee State (12/20/06).
- UT scored 100 or more points in back-to-back games against Texas (111) and Tennessee Tech (101). The only other time in school history that the Vols reached the century mark in back-to-back games was during the 1957-58 season when the Vols won at Florida (100-91) and over Mississippi State (104-83).
- Tennessee is 21-2 at Thompson-Boling Arena over the last two seasons.
- The Vols are 15-0 in non-conference home games under Bruce Pearl.
- Chris Lofton (54) and JaJuan Smith (35) have combined to make nearly as many 3-pointers as Tennessee's opponents have (90).
- Bruce Pearl is 5-2 against ranked teams while at Tennessee. This year he is 2-1 with wins over No. 15 Oklahoma State and No. 16 Memphis and a loss to No. 2 North Carolina.
- Chris Lofton has moved into second place on UT's career 3-pointers list with 54 triples this season pushing his career total to 261. Allan Houston (1989-93) holds the school record with 346 3-pointers.
- Tennessee leads the SEC with 15.1 offensive rebounds per game.
- 11 different Vols have hit a 3-pointer this season.
- Chris Lofton has made at least one 3-pointer in 73 of his 75 career games.
- The Vols have made at least one 3-pointer in 298 consecutive games.
- The Vols have forced 293 turnovers this season (20.9 per game).
- UT's bench is averaging 25.1 points per game this season. In 2005-06, Tennessee's bench averaged 21.0 points per game.
- 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 28-2 when leading or tied with five minutes left in the game.
- UT is 22-1 when scoring 80 or more points under the direction of Bruce Pearl.
- UT is 25-14 (.641) 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 1,379-894-2 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 221-86 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.
Vanderbilt Time Change
The start time for Tennessee's Feb. 10 game against Vanderbilt has been changed to 1 p.m. EST. Lincoln-Financial Sports will televise the game from Thompson-Boling Arena. Looking At Mississippi State
Mississippi State is looking to end a two-game losing streak that has dropped the Bulldogs' record to 9-4 on the season ... MSU has dropped consecutive road games at George Mason (69-63) and Missouri (75- 83) ... MSU is one of the younger teams in the SEC with nine players that are freshmen or sophomores ... Those nine players are combining to average 64.3 points per game (84.1 percent of MSU scoring) ... Jamont Gordon, a preseason second team All-SEC selection, leads the Bulldogs with 15.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game ... Freshman sharpshooter Barry Stewart comes off the bench to rank second on the squad with 11.6 points on 38.2 percent 3-point shooting ... Charles Rhodes adds 11.2 points and 5.8 rebounds ... Freshman Jarvis Varnado, a 6-foot-9 forward/center, ranks 13th in the nation with 2.7 blocked shots per game ... Dietric Slater, a senior guard/forward, saw his first action of the year against Missouri Jan. 2 ... Mississippi State ranks sixth nationally with 7.2 blocks per game ... The Bulldogs lead the SEC and rank fifth in the latest NCAA statistics by holding their opponents to just 36.5 shooting from the field ... Rick Stansbury is 173- 94 in his ninth season at Mississippi State. The Mississippi State Series
Tennessee leads the all-time series 71-38 ... The Vols hold a 41-9 all-time advantage when the series is played in Knoxville ... Mississippi State holds a narrow 26-24 advantage when the series is played in Starkville ... Tennessee has won the last two meetings, including an 88-65 decision in Starkville last year ... 10 of the last 14 meetings have been decided by eight points or less ... The Vols and Bulldogs have met three times in the SEC Tournament with Mississippi State winning two of those meetings ... The Mississippi State series dates back to the 1924 season ... UT defeated MSU, 20-17, on Jan. 15, 1924, in the first meeting between the two schools. Last Meeting With Mississippi State
Playing just four days after upsetting second-ranked Florida in Knoxville, the 19th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers didn't have a letdown as they took an 88- 65 win at Mississippi State Jan. 25, 2006 ... The win was the largest SEC road win for the Vols since beating MSU 87-63 on Feb. 17, 1998, in Starkville ... Tennessee took control of the game early, opening up a 14-5 lead less than seven minutes into the game ... The Bulldogs fought back to tie it at 14 but the Vols responded with a 21-5 run to take a 35-19 advantage with 5:27 remaining in the first half ... Mississippi State rallied to cut the lead to 10 points but JaJuan Smith hit a 3-pointer as time expired in the first half to give UT a 44-29 lead at the break ... In the second half Tennessee quickly built a 19-point lead before MSU rallied with a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 12 points ... A Dane Bradshaw layup ended the rally and the Bulldogs never got closer than 15 points the rest of the game ... The Vols shot 52.4 percent from the field while limiting the Bulldogs to just 32.8 percent shooting ... MSU made just 18.5 percent (5-of-27) of its 3-point attempts in dropping its fifth game in a row ... C.J. Watson led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting to go with five assists and four steals ... Andre Patterson, who was making just his second start of the season, recorded a double-double for the second consecutive game with 13 points and 11 rebounds ... Stanley Asumnu came off the bench to add 12 points while JaJuan Smith had 11 ... Charles Rhodes, Jamont Gordon and Jamall Edmondson each had 15 points to lead MSU. Tennessee In SEC Openers
Tennessee has won six of its last seven conference openers ... This will be the first time since 2003-04 that the Vols have opened SEC play at Thompson- Boling Arena ... Last year Tennessee opened SEC action with a 76-69 win at South Carolina. Last Game: Smith & Lofton Lead Vols Over ETSU
Tennessee extended its winning streak to eight games as the Vols took a 93-88 victory over East Tennessee State Saturday, Dec. 30, at Thompson-Boling Arena ... The game was Tennessee's final tune-up before starting SEC action ... UT led by as many as 18 points (35- 17) in the first half but ETSU went on an 18-1 run to cut the Vols' lead to one point less than two minutes before halftime ... The Buccaneers came out of the locker room on fire, building a 58-52 lead with just over 15 minutes left in the game ... JaJuan Smith scored seven points in leading the Vols on an 11-0 run to regain the lead ... UT continued to build its lead to as much as 12 points with 9:19 remaining ... ETSU battled back but could never get any closer than five points ... Chris Lofton scored a game-high 28 points and tied a school record by going 13-of-13 at the free throw line ... JaJuan Smith tied his career-high with 23 points on 5-of-9 3-point shooting ... Tennessee shot a season-high 85.7 percent (30-35) at the free throw line ... After 16 first half turnover, UT settled down to commit eight in the second half ... Andrew Reed led the Bucs with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Fab Freshmen? Don't Forget These Guys
The Vols will play against three of the most highlyrated freshmen in the nation this season ... Tennessee has faced North Carolina's Brandan Wright and Texas' Kevin Durant and will meet Ohio State's Greg Oden Jan. 13 in Columbus, Ohio ... However, Tennessee's freshmen are deserving of some attention too ... UT's recruiting class was rated sixth in the nation by Rivals.com and they have not disappointed. - Duke Crews (Rivals.com No. 26 overall) is averaging 10.3 points and leads SEC freshmen with 6.0 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-7 forward is shooting 53.2 percent from the field and has started 12 games this season.
- Wayne Chism (Rivals.com No. 34 overall) is second on the team with 5.7 rebounds and is fourth on the team with 8.5 points.
- Ramar Smith (Rivals.com No. 20 overall) has shown a lot of versatility and athleticism to his game as he learns the point guard position after playing primarily the two-guard spot for much of his career. Against Texas (12/23/06) he had nine assists and no turnovers to go with 16 points.
Comeback Kids
Tennessee has overcome a second half deficit to win three of its last four games ... The Vols took a 79-77 decision over No. 15 Oklahoma State and a 111-105 overtime thriller against Texas. - Oklahoma State led by as many as seven points in the second half and it took a Dane Bradshaw tip-in with 1.9 seconds left to give the Vols the win.
- The Vols trailed by as many as 17 points in the second half against Texas and were down by seven with less than two minutes left. Chris Lofton made a pair of 3s, Duke Crews scored a bucket and Ramar Smith hit a free throw to send the game to overtime.
- East Tennessee State held a six-point (58-52) lead with just over 15 minutes left but the Vols went on an 11-0 run and took a 93-88 win.
Lofton Leading UT On Eight-Game Win Streak
Tennessee has won each of its eight games since dropping consecutive games to Butler and North Carolina at the NIT Season Tip-Off finals in New York ... During the eight-game winning streak Chris Lofton has been averaging 26.8 points on 52.8 percent (65-of-123) shooting, including 48.6 percent (35-of-72) 3-point shooting ... Four times in the last eight games he has scored 30 or more points ... As a team, UT is averaging 89.9 points and is outscoring its opponents by 13.0 points per game. Vols Bring The Pressure
Tennessee's pressure defense has made the simple act of inbounding the ball a headache for its opponents ... The Vols are forcing 6.8 turnovers per game off inbounds plays, most of which are coming off their press ... Three times their opponents have had 10 or more turnovers just from trying to inbound the ball ... Tennessee has forced and average of 20.9 turnovers per game this year. - Opponents have had to call timeout 16 times because they could not get the ball inbounds.
- They have been whistled for a five-second count 14 times on inbounds plays.
- Coppin State (11/19/06) committed a season-high 13 turnovers on inbounds plays alone.
Small Lineup Not Keeping Vols Off The Boards
Small Lineup Not Keeping Vols Off The Boards Much has been made about Tennessee's lack of size this year ... Who can blame them when the Vols' starting lineup lists just one player taller than 6-foot- 4, and that player is only 6-7 ... That hasn't stopped the Vols from crashing the boards ... Duke Crews leads the Vols 6.0 rebounds per game and Wayne Chism is adding 5.7 boards. - UT has outrebounded nine of its 14 opponents.
- The Vols own a +2.2 rebounding advantage.
- UT leads the SEC with 15.1 offensive rebounds.
Lofton Lately
- Leads the SEC with 22.3 points per game.
- Leads the SEC with 3.9 3-pointers per game.
- According to the Jan. 1 NCAA statistics, he ranks seventh in the nation in scoring (22.3), fifth in 3- pointers per game (3.9), 32nd in 3-point percentage (46.6).
- Made at least five 3-pointers in a game six times.
- Made at least two 3s in 24 of his last 25 games.
- Owns four of the top five scoring performances in the SEC this year.
- Scored 30 or more points five times this season.
- Shooting 46.6 percent (54-of-116) from behind the arc this season. Jon Higgins (2000-01) owns the school record at 48.6 percent (53-of-109).
- Scored 28 of his career-high 35 points after halftime to lead the Vols from a 17-point second half deficit to a 111-105 overtime win over Texas (12/23/06).
- Scored his first career double-double with 35 points and 11 rebounds against Texas (12/23/06).
- Scored 34 points in Tennessee's win over 16thranked Memphis (12/6/06). With less than a minute left in the first half his 21 points were more than the Tigers' 20 points.
- He reached the 1,000 career scoring mark Nov. 22 against Butler in New York's Madison Square Garden ... He currently ranks 24th on UT's career scoring lists with 1,239 career points ... 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.
Bench Contributing
Tennessee's bench has played a key role in the Vols' success early this season ... UT's bench is averaging 25.1 points per game ... Two times this season the bench has contributed at least 40 points in a game ... Wayne Chism is giving the Vols 8.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game coming off the bench ... Last year UT got 21.0 points per game from its bench ... Part of the reason for the production off the bench is that no one averages more than 30 minutes per game. Scholarly Vols
Nine of the 17 players on Tennessee's roster have earned the right to wear the VOLScholar patch on their jersey following the fall semester ... The VOLScholar program, an initiative of UT's Thornton Athletics Student Life Center in cooperation with the men's and women's athletics departments, is a comprehensive academic and citizenship-building program that has gained enthusiastic support from several of UT's athletic teams ... Student-athletes earn the right to wear the VOLScholar patch by achieving a 3.0 grade-point average in the previous fall and/or spring semester. Pearl Is A League Leader
Bruce Pearl has coached 57 consecutive regular season league games where his team has either been in first place or within a game of first place ... The streak began at UW-Milwaukee where he coached 41 consecutive games in that situation and it has continued through his 16 SEC games at Tennessee ... In 2005-06 the Vols won the SEC's Eastern Division championship with a 12-4 conference mark ... The last time Pearl was not within a game of first place was Jan. 23, 2003 when UWM was entering a game with Butler, 1 1/2 games behind the Bulldogs in the conference standings ... The Panthers won that contest to move to within a half game of Butler and eventually took over the league lead. Bomb Squad Is Back
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. - UT is leading the SEC 9.5 3-pointers per game.
- Lofton leads the SEC with 3.9 triples per game.
- JaJuan Smith adds 2.5 treys per game.
- Combined, Lofton (54) and Smith (35) have made as nearly many 3-pointers as Tennessee's opponents (90).
- Tennessee's 15 3-pointers against second-ranked North Carolina (11/24/06) came just one short of tying the school record of 16.
JaJuan Smith Earns Star(ting) 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 21 points and five steals in just 27 minutes of action.
- He scored 19 points in UT's win over Texas (12/23/06).
- Scored a career-high 23 points on 5-of-10 3-point shooting against Tennessee Tech (12/28/06).
- He tied that mark with 21 points on 5-of-11 3- point shooting against Western Kentucky (12/16/06).
- Led UT's scoring efforts five times this season after leading the Vols in scoring once last year.
- He ranks second on the team with 15.4 points per game.
- Last three games is averaging 21.7 points.
Big Game Dane
Three times in his career Dane Bradshaw has made a late shot to knock off a nationally ranked team ... Two of the teams that fell victim to his late-game heroics were unbeaten entering the game. - Jan. 21, 2006 his lay-up with 20 seconds left gave UT a 78-76 lead and eventually an 80-76 victory over No. 2 Florida. The Gators entered the game with a 17-0 record and were the last unbeaten team in the nation.
- Feb. 22, 2006 his steal of an inbounds pass and layup with 15 seconds left gave Tennessee a 74-72 lead and a 76-72 win at 12th-ranked Florida. The win gave the Vols the 2005-06 SEC Eastern Division title.
- Dec. 18, 2006 against 11-0 and 15th-ranked Oklahoma State he stole the ball with 20 seconds left and then hit the game-winning tip-in over OSU's 6-7 Mario Boggan and 6-8 David Monds with 1.9 seconds left to give the Vols a 79-77 victory.
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 as a junior last year. - Bradshaw leads the Vols in assists (64), blocks (11) and is second on the team in steals (29).
- He has led the Vols in assists nine out of 14 games this year and recorded a career-high nine dimes against Coppin State (11/19/06).
- Had nine assists against one turnover while adding seven points and seven rebounds against Tennessee Tech (12/28/06).
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 10.3 points and 6.0 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.
- Scored career marks with 17 points and nine rebounds against a larger Oklahoma State (12/18/06) front line. Five of his game-high nine rebounds came at the offensive end of the floor.
- He earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors on Dec. 24 after averaging 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in victories over No. 15 Oklahoma State and Texas.
- Earned his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Tennessee Tech (12/28/06).
Big Wayne Strong In The Paint
Freshman center Wayne Chism has played a key role for a Tennessee team that lists just two players taller than 6-foot-7 ... A6-9 native of Boliver, Tenn., Chism became the first Vols freshman to record a doubledouble since Vincent Yarbrough (22 points and 11 rebounds vs. Georgia) did it during the 1998-99 season when he had 11 points and 11 rebounds against Coppin State (11/19/06) ... Chism is second on the team with 5.7 rebounds and is fourth on the squad with 8.5 points per game. - Chism has been the first Vol off the bench in 10 of Tennessee's 14 games.
- Had nine points and six rebounds in 14 minutes of action against 15th-ranked Oklahoma State (12/18/06).
- Scored a career-high 18 points to go with eight rebounds in the win over Texas (12/23/06).
Ramar Rebounds
Freshman point guard Ramar Smith has shown several different dimensions to his game this season ... Having played primarily the two-guard in high school, the 6-foot-2 Smith is averaging 7.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 22.7 minutes per game this year. - He has earned eight starting assignments on the season.
- Against 15th-ranked Memphis (12/6/06) he gathered seven rebounds.
- Against Texas (12/23/06) he turned in a careerhigh 16 points to go with nine assists and no turnovers.
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 is averaging 5.9 points and 4.6 rebounds. - Childress needed just four games this season to score more points than he did all season as a freshman. He scored 43 points through UT's first four games after having 33 points in 29 games as a freshman.
- This season he has set or tied career highs for points (14), rebounds (11), assists (4), blocks (3) and steals (2).
- He doubled his previous career rebounding best of five when he grabbed 10 boards against Western Kentucky (11/16/06).
- Recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds against Tennessee Tech (12/28/06).
- He earned his first career start against East Tennessee State (12/30/06).
Injury Interrupts Strong Season For Howell
Jordan Howell suffered a fracture to his right (shooting) hand during practice Dec. 21 that is expected to keep him out of the lineup for 6-8 weeks ... The injury has interrupted what was a very strong season for the junior point guard ... A starter for five games before the injury, Howell hadn't been putting up big numbers and that was just fine with head coach Bruce Pearl ... Howell, who made his first career start against the Louisiana-Lafayette (11/27/06), is averaging 3.1 points, 2.2 assists and 0.9 rebounds per game ... But the most significant statistic for Howell has been his assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.75-to-1 ... In 174 minutes played this season, the 6-foot-3 junior guard has turned the ball over just eight times. 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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