Duke Crews | VOLS TAKE ON UPSTART GEORGIA
- Tennessee will play a home game for just the third time this month as the Vols play host to the Georgia Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. EST Wednesday, Jan. 31, at Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Five of Tennessee's last six games have been on the road. The Vols played three consecutive road games (at Vanderbilt, at Ohio State and at Auburn) before hosting South Carolina on Jan. 20. UT then hit the road again to play at Ole Miss and Kentucky before returning home.
- The Georgia game begins a stretch where the Vols play four of five games at home. UT will travel to Florida on Saturday and will then open a three-game homestand that includes games against LSU, Vanderbilt and Kentucky.
- Tennessee is looking to bounce back from a 57-76 loss at Kentucky Sunday. UT trailed by one point (46-47) with 10 minutes left but the Wildcats went on a 20-2 run to gain control of the game. JaJuan Smith led the Vols with a career-high 25 points.
- UT has dropped five of its last six games. Each of those five losses has come on the road and three of them were decided by three points or less.
- JaJuan Smith has scored 20 or more points in each of his last three games, including a career-high 25 points at Kentucky Sunday. He is shooting 52.2 percent from the field and has made 12 3-pointers over his last three games. The Cleveland, Tenn., native averages 15.4 points on the season and ranks fourth in the SEC with 17.0 points per game in league play.
- Chris Lofton, the SEC's leading scorer with 21.5 points per game, is out indefinitely after suffering an ankle injury Jan. 20 against South Carolina. The All-America guard has missed UT's last two games.
Tennessee Trends
- Tennessee has had three freshmen in the starting lineup for each of its last two games. It is the first time since the 1996-97 season the Vols have had three freshmen in the starting lineup for a game.
- Dane Bradshaw ranks second in the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.81), third in steals (2.00) and fourth in assists (4.81).
- Bradshaw recorded his 100th assist of the season Sunday at Kentucky. The Memphis native, who has 101 assists on the year, has registered 100 or more assists in each of the last two seasons.
- In league games, Ramar Smith leads all SEC freshmen in scoring (14.2 ppg), assists (3.67) and steals (1.67). He ranks fifth in rebounding (4.3 rpg).
- Wayne Chism leads all SEC freshmen with 5.0 rebounds in league games.
- Three of UT's top five scorers are freshmen.
- UT is getting outscored 235-188 (47.0-37.6) in the second half of its five SEC games.
- Tennessee is shooting just 55.2 percent (48-of-87) from the free throw line in its last six games. UT's opponents are shooting 74.1 percent (80-of-108) at the line during that time.
- Chris Lofton (70) and JaJuan Smith (56) have combined to make nearly as many 3-pointers as Tennessee's opponents have (143).
- The Vols are forcing 19.4 turnovers per game.
- Tennessee is 23-2 at Thompson-Boling Arena over the last two seasons.
- 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).
- The Vols are 15-0 in non-conference home games under Bruce Pearl.
- Bruce Pearl is 5-3 against ranked teams while at Tennessee. This year he is 2-2 with wins over No. 15 Oklahoma State and No. 16 Memphis and losses to No. 2 North Carolina and at No. 5 Ohio State.
- 11 different Vols have hit a 3-pointer this season.
- Chris Lofton has made at least one 3-pointer in 77 of his 80 career games.
- The Vols have made at least one 3-pointer in 305 consecutive games.
- Under Bruce Pearl, UT is 30-3 when leading or tied with five minutes left in the game.
- UT is 23-3 when scoring 80 or more points under the direction of Bruce Pearl.
- UT is 26-14 (.650) 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 1,381-899-2 in 98 seasons of basketball.
- UT's 612 regular season Southeastern Conference victories rank third all-time in the SEC. Only Kentucky and Alabama have won more league games.
- Tennessee is 223-86 in its 20th season in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Volunteers have posted winning home records in 18 of their 20 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 Georgia
Georgia will be opening a two-game road trip when the Bulldogs visit Thompson-Boling Arena Wednesday ... Georgia is 13-6 on the season and is in a three-way tie for second in the SEC East with a 5-2 league mark ... UGA has won five of its last six games ... The Bulldogs are coming off a 57-54 win over nationally-ranked LSU after Levi Stukes hit a 3-pointer at the final horn ... Takais Brown leads the Bulldogs with 14.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game ... The 6-foot-8 junior college transfer is averaging 6.4 rebounds and shooting 57.0 percent from the field in SEC games ... Mike Mercer averages 14.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game ... Stukes adds 12.3 points and leads the team with 48 3-pointers this season ... Stukes (224) needs eight 3-pointers to pass D.A. Layne (231) for first on UGA's career 3-pointers made chart ... Each of Georgia's 10 scholarship players average at least 12.2 minutes per game ... Georgia ranks third in the SEC with 79.1 points per game ... The Bulldogs are second in the league with their 48.2 field goal and 40.4 3-point percentages ... Five Georgia players shoot 40 percent or better from 3-point range ... Dennis Felton is 52-55 in his fourth season at Georgia and 152-109 in his ninth year as a head coach. The Georgia Series
Wednesday's meeting will be the 135th in the series with Tennessee holding an 83-51 advantage ... Last year the Vols swept the season series with an 89-76 win in Knoxville and an 83-78 victory in Athens ... The Vols have a four-game winning streak in the series and have won six of the last seven meetings ... Tennessee holds a 50-13 series lead when playing in Knoxville ... Tennessee is 29-33 all-time when the series is played in Athens ... The last six games in Athens have been decided by a total of 33 points with one game going into overtime and another going into double overtime ... The Vols are 19-24 all-time against Georgia in Stegeman Coliseum ... Tennessee's 83 wins over the Bulldogs are the second-most by the Vols over any opponent. Last Meeting with Georgia
Chris Lofton turned in his second career-high scoring effort in as many games as he scored 33 points in leading the Vols to an 83-78 victory at Georgia Saturday, Feb. 11, 2006 ... Lofton torched the nets with 9-of-12 shooting from 3-point range to break Allan Houston's school record of eight 3-pointers in a single-game set in 1993 ... The win was UT's seventh consecutive SEC win and was the second of the season over the Bulldogs ... Georgia led by as many as 12 points (19-7) in the first half but the Vols went on a 12-0 run to tie the score 19-19 ... UT finished the first half on a 13-4 run to take a 38-29 advantage at halftime ... The Vols led 60-42 with 12:32 left in the game when the Bulldogs went on a 14-1 run to pull within 63-58 with 8:25 left ... A Billy Humphrey bucket with 4:41 remaining cut the Vols' lead to 67-65 ... Soon after, Dane Bradshaw penetrated Georgia's zone and found Lofton in the corner for the 3-pointer that gave UT a 71-65 lead ... Georgia never got closer than four points the rest of the game ... Tennessee matched its season-high with 23 turnovers while Georgia committed just 13 ... Andre Patterson had 15 points and six rebounds for UT while C.J. Watson added 11 points and JaJuan Smith contributed 10 ... Bradshaw finished the game with nine points and eight assists ... Levi Stukes led Georgia with 20 points on 5-of-6 3-point shooting ... The Vols shot 53.1 percent from the field and outrebounded the Bulldogs 37-25. Last Game: Smith's Career-High Not Enough
With the SEC's leading scorer sitting on the bench for the second straight game with an ankle injury, JaJuan Smith stepped up with a career-high scoring output but it wasn't enough as the Vols fell 57-76 to Kentucky Sunday, Jan. 28, at Rupp Arena ... The Wildcats led 47-46 with 10 minutes left when they went on a 20-2 run to seal the win ... UK hit five of their 11 3-pointers during the run ... Tennessee had led 32-31 at halftime ... Smith scored a career-high 25 points on 5-of-11 shooting from 3-point range ... Ramar Smith was the only other Vols player in double figure scoring with 10 points ... Josh Tabb got his first career start and was one of three freshmen in the starting lineup for the Vols ... Maysville, Ky., native Chris Lofton, who was leading the SEC with 21.5 points per game, missed his second consecutive contest with an ankle injury ... Ramel Bradley led the 'Cats with 21 points while Jodie Meeks added 16 points ... Kentucky outrebounded the Vols 42-27 ... The game concluded a stretch where the Vols played five of six games on the road. Vols Starting Three Freshmen
Tennessee has had three freshmen in the starting lineup for each of its last two games ... It is the most freshmen in the starting lineup for the Vols since the 1996-97 season when four Vols started an SEC Tournament game against Auburn ... Ramar Smith, Wayne Chism and Duke Crews started UT's game against Ole Miss (1/24/07) and then Josh Tabb joined Smith and Chism in the starting lineup for the Kentucky game (1/28/07) ... South Carolina is the only other SEC school to have three freshmen in the starting lineup for a game this season (one player was a redshirt freshman) ... The four freshmen who drew starting assignments for Tennessee's 1997 SEC Tournament game were Cornelius Jackson, C.J. Black, Charles Hathaway and Vegas Davis. Lofton A Wooden Award Midseason Top 30 Pick
On Jan. 30 the John R. Wooden Award Committee announced the Wooden Award Midseason All-American Team which is composed of the top 30 players who will compete for this season's player of the year award ... The Southeastern Conference lists six candidates for the award ... The 10-player Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced March 27. Close Calls
Tennessee has dropped five of its last six games with four of those games being decided by one possession ... Two of those losses were decided by shots in the final seconds ... Vanderbilt's Shan Foster tipped in a miss as time expired to give the Commodores an 82-81 in Nashville Jan. 10 ... Ohio State's Ron Lewis hit a 3-pointer with 11.2 seconds remaining to give the fifth-ranked Buckeyes a two-point (68-66) win in Columbus, Ohio, Jan. 13 ... UT is 6-3 in games decided by 10 points or less and 3-3 in games decided by five points or fewer this season. UT One Of SEC's Top Scoring Teams
Tennessee is second in the SEC and ranks 14th nationally in scoring offense with 81.2 points per game ... Leading the league in scoring is nothing new for a Bruce Pearl coached team ... Pearl's teams have led their conference in scoring each of the last seven seasons ... The last time one of his squads did not lead the league in scoring was in 1998-99 when Southern Indiana finished second in the Great Lakes Valley Conference with 81.2 points per game. Tough Schedule
Tennessee's schedule ranked as the fourth toughest in the nation according to CollegeRPI.com on Jan. 30 ... The Vols' non-conference slate has featured seven teams currently ranked and another two receiving votes in the Associated Press poll ... UT has played No. 3 North Carolina, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 11 Memphis, No. 12 Oklahoma State, No. 13 Butler, No. 22 Texas and No. 24 Vanderbilt (current rankings listed) ... Additionally, the Vols have nine more games remaining on their schedule against teams that are currently ranked or receiving votes in the Associated Press poll. Lofton Lately
- Missed his first career game Jan. 24 at Mississippi after suffering an ankle injury four days earlier against South Carolina.
- Leads the SEC with 21.5 points per game.
- Leads the SEC with 3.7 3-pointers per game.
- According to the Jan. 28 NCAA statistics, he ranks 11th in the nation in scoring (21.5), sixth in 3-pointers per game (3.7), 14th in 3-point percentage (46.1).
- 70 3-pointers this season rank eighth on UT's single-season charts.
- Shooting 46.1 percent (70-of-152) from behind the arc this season. Jon Higgins (2000-01) owns the school record at 48.6 percent (53-of-109).
- Made at least five 3-pointers in a game eight times.
- Made at least two 3s in 27 of his last 30 games.
- Owns five of the top six scoring performances in the SEC this year.
- Scored 30 or more points five times this season.
- Has shot 88 free throws this season after shooting just 60 free throws all of last season.
- 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 16th-ranked 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 19th on UT's career scoring lists with 1,336 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.
Free Throw Woes
Free throws have been a key component to Tennessee dropping five of its last six games ... The Vols are shooting just 55.2 percent (48-of-87) from the line over the last six games, three of which have been decided by just three points or less ... UT's opponents are shooting 74.1 percent (80-of-108) during the stretch ... Through their first 15 games, the Vols were averaging 27.7 free throw attempts per game but are getting to the stripe just 14.5 times in the last six games ... Chris Lofton averaged 5.7 free throw attempts in his first 15 games but has shot less than one free throw per game since then. Vols In The NCAA Stats
Tennessee is prominently listed among the national leaders according to the January 28 NCAA statistics. - Scoring offense: 81.2 ppg / 14th
- 3-pointers per game: 9.2 3pg / 15th
- Steals per game: 9.6 spg / 16th
- Assists per game: 15.5 apg / 59th
- Points per game: Chris Lofton - 21.5 pts / 11th
- 3-pointers per game: Chris Lofton - 3.7 3pg / 6th
- 3-point percentage: Chris Lofton - 46.1 % / 14th
- Steals per game: JaJuan Smith - 2.1 spg / 47th
- Steals per game: Dane Bradshaw - 2.0 spg / 61st
- Assists per game: Dane Bradshaw - 4.8 apg / 67th
Vols Bring The Pressure
Tennessee's pressure defense has made the simple act of inbounding the ball a headache for its opponents ... The Vols have forced 122 turnovers 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 ... UT is forcing an average of 19.4 turnovers per game. - 23 times a timeout has had to be called due to the pressure.
- 18 5-second counts have been called on UT's foes.
- Coppin State (11/19/06) committed a season-high 13 turnovers on inbounds plays alone.
Comeback Kids
Tennessee has overcome a second half deficit in six of its last 11 games ... The Vols have come back to win four of those games, including a 79-77 decision over No. 15 Oklahoma State and a 111-105 overtime thriller against Texas ... Three times in the last 10 games UT has rallied from a double digit deficit. - 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.
- Mississippi State held a five-point (67-62) with 10 minutes left but UT rallied to win92-84.
- Vanderbilt led by 11 points (59-48) with less than 11 minutes left but Tennessee rallied to take the lead and it took a tip-in as time expired for the Commodores to take the win.
- Fifth-ranked Ohio State led 51-41 with 13 minutes left but UT but needed a 3-pointer with 11.2 seconds remaining after UT had taken a 66-65 lead with under a minute to play.
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. Bench Contributing
Tennessee's bench has played a key role in the Vols' success early this season ... UT's bench is averaging 21.7 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 5.4 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. 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 second in the SEC 9.24 3-pointers per game.
- Lofton leads the SEC with 3.68 triples per game.
- JaJuan Smith is tied for second in the SEC with 2.67 3-pointers per game.
- Combined, Lofton (70) and Smith (56) have made as nearly many 3-pointers as UT's opponents (143).
- 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 ranks second on the team with 15.4 points, is first with 44 steals and third with 30 assists while making 56 3-pointers this year. - He ranks tied for second in the SEC with 2.67 3-pointers per game on the season.
- He has scored 20 or more points in a game seven times this season.
- Led UT's scoring efforts eight times this season after leading the Vols in scoring once last year.
- He scored 19 points in UT's win over Texas (12/23/06).
- Scored a career-high 25 points on 5-of-11 3-point shooting at Kentucky (1/28/07).
- His 17.0 points in SEC games ranks fourth in the league.
- Last three games is averaging 22.7 points on 52.2 percent shooting from the field and 40.0 percent (12-of-30) 3-point shooting.
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 (101) and is second in steals (42) and blocks (13).
- He has led the Vols in assists 13 out of 21 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).
- In SEC games he is averaging 6.2 assists per game and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.4.
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 9.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. - 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.
- 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).
- 58 of his 117 rebounds (49 percent) have come at the offensive end of the floor.
- He leads all SEC freshmen with 5.6 rebounds.
- Ranks fifth in the SEC with 2.8 offensive rebounds per game.
Remarkable Ramar
Freshman point guard Ramar Smith has made significant improvements to his game as the season has worn on ... In his first 11 games this season he averaged 5.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game and had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.7 while struggling to adjust to the point guard position ... In the 10 games since then he is averaging 13.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game ... On the season, the 6-foot-2 Smith is averaging 9.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 26.1 minutes per game. - He has earned 15 starting assignments.
- Against Texas (12/23/06) he scored 16 points to go with nine assists and no turnovers.
- Gathered a career-high nine rebounds at No. 5 Ohio State (1/13/07).
- Scored 17 points to go with seven assists and one turnover at Vanderbilt (1/10/07).
- Scored a career-high 19 points at Auburn (1/17/07).
- He has scored 10 or more points in 11 of his last 12 games.
- He was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Jan. 8 after he had 13 points, seven assists (one turnover), six rebounds and two blocks in the SEC opener against Mississippi State.
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 ... A 6-9 native of Boliver, Tenn., Chism became the first Vols freshman to record a double-double 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 5.4 rebounds and is fifth on the squad with 8.5 points per game. - Chism has been the first Vol off the bench in 15 of Tennessee's 21 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).
- Registered a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds against South Carolina (1/20/07).
Hard Work Pays Off For Childress
There's a 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 ... A summer of hard work 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 is averaging 5.1 points and 3.8 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 year 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).
Howell Returns After Missing 7 Games
Jordan Howell suffered a fracture to his right (shooting) hand during practice Dec. 21 that caused him to miss seven games ... He returned to the lineup against South Carolina (1/20/07) ... The injury interrupted 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 3.2 points, 1.9 assists and 1.3 rebounds per game ... But the most significant statistic for Howell has been his assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.00-to-1 ... In 232 minutes played this season, the 6-foot-3 junior guard has turned the ball over just eight times. Thompson-Boling Provides Homecourt Advantage
Thompson-Boling Arena is celebrating its 20th season in 2006-07 ... The Vols have won 72.2 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. - Tennessee is 223-86 (.722) in its 20th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 124-27 (.821) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- The Vols are 54-20 against SEC teams at home over the last nine seasons.
- UT has won 75 of its last 82 home games against non-conference opponents.
- UT is 15-0 in home games against non-conference opponents under Bruce Pearl.
- Tennessee is 10-0 at home this 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.
Prince Joins Vols
Bruce Pearl announced Jan. 16 that J.P. Prince has enrolled at Tennessee and will join the Vols' basketball team ... A 6-foot-6 guard, Prince will be allowed to practice with the team immediately and will be eligible to play as a sophomore beginning in January 2008 ... Prince transferred to Tennessee from the University of Arizona where he made three appearances for the nationally-ranked Wildcats this season ... As a freshman last year he averaged 2.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 28 games ... At White Station High School in Memphis he led the Spartans to a 142-12 record and three state championships (2002-04) ... He was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Tennessee as a senior in 2005 after averaging 27.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game. |
