University of Tennessee Athletics
VOLS OPEN SEC PLAY VERSUS MISSISSIPPI STATE THIS AFTERNOON
January 07, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 7, 2007
Chris Lofton has carried Tennessee during its eight-game winning streak.
The junior guard looks to continue his solid play Sunday afternoon when the 19th-ranked Volunteers host Mississippi State in the SEC opener for both teams.
Lofton has emerged as a leading candidate for SEC player of the year. He's averaging 26.8 points during Tennessee's win streak while shooting just under 49 percent from 3-point range in that stretch.
In his two previous games against Mississippi State, though, Lofton has averaged just 8.0 points on combined 6-of-17 shooting. Bulldogs coach Rick Stansbury, however, isn't expecting a similar effort from Lofton on Sunday.
"I don't think there's any question he's as good as is any two guard in the league," Stansbury said. "He's putting the ball on the floor a lot better, (and) his range - he's in areas that you don't guard."
Tennessee (12-2) is beginning defense of its SEC East Division crown. The Vols went 12-4 in conference play a season ago, finishing ahead of eventual national champion Florida and Kentucky.
Freshmen Wayne Chism and Duke Crews, who have emerged as starters, will be making their debuts in SEC play for Tennessee. Chism and Crews are combining to average nearly 19 points and 12 rebounds a contest.
The two freshmen hail from Tennessee and second-year coach Bruce Pearl is emphasizing getting recruits from the state. The Vols have had trouble doing so in the past, evidenced by how four of the Bulldogs' five starters hail from Tennessee.
"They have a lot of kids from the state of Tennessee," Pearl said. "Many of their players are guys on their roster that we would love to have."
Mississippi State leading scorer Jamont Gordon, who's averaging 15.3 points, is one of those players. The Nashville native is an undersized 6-foot-4 power forward, but makes up for it with his toughness and aggressiveness.
"I think he has the ability to be a versatile player," Stansbury said. "He's a guy that creates mismatches at the four spot 'cause he can handle and he still has the ability to rebound and defend in there because of his strength at that position."
Gordon complements a small, three-guard lineup that includes twins Reginald and Richard Delk and freshman Ben Hansbrough - the younger brother of North Carolina star Tyler Hansbrough. Freshman center Jarvis Varnado rounds out the starters.
The Bulldogs (9-4) are shooting 37.5 percent on 3-pointers this season with the small lineup after finishing last in the SEC in 2005-06 at 31.4 percent.
"They're shooting the ball from the perimeter better than they were last year which opens up some of that inside stuff for Varnado and (Charles) Rhodes and Gordon," Pearl said.
"And with (Barry) Stewart and the Delks shooting the ball better and Hansbrough, I think they've got a more balanced attack because they've got a good inside-outside attack."
The Bulldogs dropped all eight SEC road games last season and have lost their last three visits to Tennessee. They went 1-3 in a difficult road schedule before conference play this season in an effort to reverse that.
"There's no question playing at Clemson, at Miami, George Mason and at Missouri, we've been road-tested nonconference wise," Stansbury said. "I got to hope to think that will help us somewhere in conference play."
Tennessee built a 15-point halftime lead in an 88-65 victory in last season's lone meeting between these teams.
