Game Preview: Middle Tennessee vs. UT

Tennessee (3-0)		Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
F	1 Tyler Smith	6-7	215	So.	13.0	3.3	2.3
F	4 Wayne Chism	6-9	242	So.	11.0	7.0	0.3
G	5 Chris Lofton	6-2	200	Sr.	9.7	3.7	3.0
G	2 JaJuan Smith	6-2	195	Sr.	12.3	1.3	2.7
G	12 Ramar Smith	6-2	200	So.	12.0	3.0	2.7
Middle Tennessee (1-2)		Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
F	31 Desmond Yates	6-7	220	So.	11.0	2.7	0.3
C	45 Theryn Hudson	6-10	250	Jr.	7.3	5.3	1.0
G	23 Demetrius Green	6-4	190	Jr.	10.0	4.7	0.3
G	5 Kevin Kanaskie	6-2	182	Jr.	12.7	3.3	4.3
G	11 Nigel Johnson	6-2	185	Jr.	7.0	2.0	4.0

Vols Aim For Sixth Consecutive Win Versus Blue Raiders

The Vols will conclude their four-game homestand to open the season when the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders visit Thompson-Boling Arena at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 20. The game will be televised by SportSouth and will also be shown on MyVLT2 in Knoxville.
Tennessee improved to 3-0 on the season with an 89-75 victory over Prairie View A&M Friday, Nov. 16. Tyler Smith made 5-of-6 field goals to lead the Vols with 15 points to go with five steals while Chris Lofton added 14 points and three assists. UT struggled from the field, shooting 33.3 percent in the first half but rebounded to shoot 57.1 percent in the second.
The three Smiths are leading a balanced Tennessee scoring attack. Tyler Smith owns a team-best 13.0 points per game while JaJuan Smith is adding 12.3 and Ramar Smith is throwing in 12.0 points. Wayne Chism leads the team with 7.0 rebounds per game while scoring 11.0 points. Chris Lofton adds 9.7 points.
Through three games, Tennessee is averaging 14.0 steals off 26.3 opponent turnovers per game. Offensively, UT is averaging 90.0 points per game on 50.3 percent shooting from the field.
Since Thompson-Boling Arena opened for the 1987-88 season, 4,992,748 fans have watched the Vols play in the arena. Tennessee will surpass the five millionth fan at Thompson-Boling milestone Tuesday.
Middle Tennessee enters Tuesday???s game with a 1-2 overall record and will be playing its fourth game in six days. Preseason all-conference selection Kevin Kanaskie???s 12.7 points per game leads the team.
Tennessee will next be in action Friday, Nov. 23, when the Vols travel to Newark, N.J., to play West Virginia in championship round competition of the Legends Classic. UT will then meet either New Mexico State or Texas on Saturday, Nov. 24, at the Prudential Center.
The Vols are ranked No. 7 in the latest Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls. UT???s No. 7 preseason ranking was its highest in school history.

Tennessee Trends

Tennessee has forced an average of 26.3 turnovers off 14.0 steals per game this year.
UT???s 57-point (101-44) win over Arkansas-Monticello tied for the fourth-largest margin of victory in school history.
Despite averaging 90.0 points per game in their first three games, no Vol has scored more than 15 points in a game.
10 players are averaging at least 10 minutes of action. No player averages more than 25 minutes per game.
The 21,817 fans for Tennessee???s game against Temple (11/9/07) was the largest crowd for a home opener in the nation this year.
Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith were the highest scoring duo in the Southeastern Conference in 2006-07. Lofton averaged 20.8 points while Smith added 15.2 points.
Tennessee is 32-2 at Thompson-Boling Arena since the start of the 2005-06 season.
UT has a 19-game homecourt winning streak. The Vols??? last home loss was a 78-80 decision to Kentucky in the final home game of the 2005-06 season.
The Vols are 18-0 in non-conference home games under Bruce Pearl.
Bruce Pearl is 9-5 against ranked teams while at Tennessee.
The Vols have made at least one 3-pointer in 322 consecutive games.
Under Bruce Pearl, UT is 43-4 when leading or tied with five minutes left in the game.
UT is 32-4 when scoring 80 or more points under the direction of Bruce Pearl.
UT is 30-14 (.682) when playing before crowds of 20,000 or larger at Thompson-Boling Arena. In 2006-07 the Vols were 6-0 playing in front of 20,000 fans at home.
Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,394-903-2 in its 99th season of basketball.
UT???s 620 regular season SEC victories rank third all-time in the SEC. Only Kentucky and Alabama have won more league games.
Tennessee is 232-86 in its 21st season in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols have 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 fourth time in 2006-07.

Pearl Looking For Win No. 50

Bruce Pearl enters the Middle Tennessee game looking for his 50th win at Tennessee ... In his third season in Knoxville, Pearl has posted a 49-19 record ... With 68 games under his belt, Pearl could be one of the fastest Tennessee coaches to reach the 50-win mark ... Zora Clevenger (1911-16) needed 64 games to win 50 while Jerry Green (1997-2001) needed 68 and John Mauer (1938-47) needed 69 games to reach the milestone ... Legendary coach Ray Mears (1962-77) needed 76 games to reach the 50-win milestone.

Vols Bring Back Stripes

Tennessee went retro with their warm-ups in the season-opener against Temple ... The Vols wore orange and white striped warm-up pants that are reminiscent of those worn during the Ray Mears (1962-67) era ... UT will wear the warm-ups for the rest of the season.

Vols Receive Highest Preseason Ranking

Tennessee???s No. 7 ranking in the preseason Associated Press poll is the highest preseason ranking the Vols have ever received ... UT was also ranked seventh in the preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll ... Before this year, the highest Tennessee had ever been rated in the Associated Press poll was No. 9 (1975-76, 1998-99 and 2000-01).

The Smith Boys Are Leading The Vols

Tennessee???s leading scorer is Smith, followed by Smith and then Smith is third ... Sophomore forward Tyler Smith leads the Vols with 13.0 points per game and is shooting 65.2 percent (15-of-23) from the floor ... JaJuan Smith, a 6-2 senior guard, is second on the team with 12.3 points ... Ramar Smith, a 6-2 sophomore point guard, is third on the squad with 12.0 points per game.

Looking At Middle Tennessee

The Blue Raiders will be playing their fourth game in six days when they visit the Vols ... Middle Tennessee is 1-2 on the season after falling 79-84 to Appalachian State Saturday ... MT fell 77-78 to San Jose State in the opening round before bouncing back to defeat Lipscomb 68-62 Friday ... The Blue Raiders hosted the four-team First Shot Tournament in Murfreesboro over the weekend ... MT was picked to finish third in the SBC East Division in a preseason vote of the league???s head coaches ... Junior guard Kevin Kanaskie was a preseason Third Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection ... Kanaskie leads the Blue Raiders with 12.7 points and 4.3 assists per game this season ... Desmond Yates, who was the runner-up to Chris Lofton for Kentucky???s 2004 Mr. Basketball, is second on the team with 11.0 points ... MT returns 75 percent of its scoring, 68 percent of its rebounding and 68 percent of its minutes from last season ... The Blue Raiders return four starters and a total of eight letter winners from last season ... MT was 15-17 last season while playing the most difficult schedule in the Sun Belt Conference ... Kermit Davis is 84-69 in his sixth year at Middle Tennessee and 155-119 in his 10th season as a head coach.

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