| VOLS LOOK TO EXTEND WIN STREAK TO FOUR
- After playing their last three games within the friendly confines of Thompson-Boling Arena, the Vols travel to Columbia, S.C., to meet the South Carolina Gamecocks at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17.
- Tennessee is riding a three-game winning streak and has won four of its last five games. UT's only loss during the four-game stretch came at No. 1 Florida (78-94).
- Despite struggling early in league play, including a stretch of four games without Chris Lofton, the Vols are within one game of second place in the overall league standings. UT's 6-5 SEC record is one game behind Vanderbilt and Kentucky's 7-4 marks and is tied with Georgia and SEC West leader Ole Miss.
- Tennessee has beaten ranked teams in each of its last two outings. The most recent was an 89-85 decision over 20th-ranked Kentucky Tuesday night in Knoxville. Chris Lofton led the Vols with 23 points while freshmen Duke Crews and Wayne Chism had 18 and 16 points, respectively. It is the first time since the 1999-2000 season that Tennessee has beaten ranked opponents in back-to-back games.
- UT's freshmen have been a huge factor for the Vols' success lately. The four freshmen combined to score 48 points against Kentucky. It was the sixth time this season they combined to score at least 40 points.
- Freshman forward Wayne Chism has been playing his best basketball over the last four games. During that time he has recorded career-highs for points (19), rebounds (12), assists (4), blocks (3) and steals (3) while averaging 14.5 points and 6.0 rebounds on 56.1 percent shooting from the field.
- All-America candidate Chris Lofton continues to improve after missing four games with an ankle injury suffered earlier this year against USC. Lofton, who leads the SEC with 20.7 points and 3.5 3-pointers per game, has seen his playing time and production increase with every game since returning.
Tennessee Trends
- UT is playing its first SEC game on ABC since Jan. 22, 1993 when the Vols met Florida. The Vols' only other appearance on the network since then was Feb. 7, 2004 when UT hosted Georgia Tech.
- Duke Crews needed just 18 minutes to score 18 points in the 89-85 win over Kentucky (2/13/07).
- JaJuan Smith is averaging 7.5 rebounds in his last two games.
- Chris Lofton needs four 3-pointers to tie Vanderbilt's Scott Draud (288 from 1986-91) for fourth on the SEC career 3-pointers made list. Lofton has made 284 career shots behind the 3-point arc.
- Tennessee has trailed its opponent for just six minutes and 16 seconds in its last three games (120 minutes) played.
- UT's 238 3-pointers this season ranks as the fourth-most in school history.
- Four times this season Tennessee has had three freshmen in the starting lineup. It is the first time since the 1996-97 season the Vols have had three freshmen in the starting lineup for a game.
- Three of UT's top five scorers are freshmen.
- Each of UT's four freshmen are averaging at least 17 minutes of action per game.
- Dane Bradshaw ranks second in the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.72), fourth in steals (1.89) and fifth in assists (4.92).
- Bradshaw has moved into 10th on UT's career charts with 349 career assists. He needs four dimes to pass Jon Higgins' (1999-00) 352 career assists.
- Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith are the highest scoring duo in the Southeastern Conference. Lofton averages 20.7 points while Smith adds 15.2 points.
- Wayne Chism and Duke Crews are the top two freshmen rebounders in the SEC. Chism leads all SEC freshmen with 5.5 rebounds and Crews is second with 5.2 boards.
- In league games, Ramar Smith leads all SEC freshmen in assists (3.27) and steals (1.36) and is second in scoring (13.8 ppg).
- Jordan Howell has made 12 of his last 21 3-point attempts (57.1 percent) and is averaging 7.8 points over his last five games.
- Chris Lofton (77) and JaJuan Smith (67) have combined to make nearly as many 3-pointers as Tennessee's opponents have (179).
- The Vols are forcing 18.8 turnovers per game.
- Tennessee is 27-2 at Thompson-Boling Arena over the last two seasons.
- The Vols are 15-0 in non-conference home games under Bruce Pearl.
- Bruce Pearl is 7-4 against ranked teams while at Tennessee. This year he is 4-3 with wins over No. 15 Oklahoma State, No. 16 Memphis, No. 20 Kentucky and No. 23 Vanderbilt and losses to No. 2 North Carolina, at No. 5 Ohio State and at No. 1 Florida.
- 11 different Vols have hit a 3-pointer this season. Eight have made at least 10 3-pointers.
- The Vols have made at least one 3-pointer in 310 consecutive games.
- Under Bruce Pearl, UT is 33-2 when leading or tied with five minutes left in the game.
- UT is 26-3 when scoring 80 or more points under the direction of Bruce Pearl.
- UT is 28-14 (.667) 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 1,385-900-2 in 98 seasons of basketball.
- UT's 616 regular season SEC victories rank third all-time in the SEC. Only Kentucky and Alabama have won more league games.
- Tennessee is 227-86 in its 20th 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 third time in 2005-06.
Looking At South Carolina
South Carolina dropped its fifth consecutive game Wednesday night in Nashville when the Gamecocks fell 68-78 to Vanderbilt ... USC fell to 12-12 on the season and 2-9 in the Southeastern Conference with the loss ... The Gamecocks have played three of their last four games on the road, visiting Tuscaloosa, Lexington and Nashville ... Senior guard Tre' Kelley leads USC and ranks third in the SEC with 8.0 points per game ... In SEC games his 19.8 points per game leads the conference ... Kelley also ranks fourth in the league with 5.04 assists per game ... His 36-point effort against Kentucky (2/7/07) is the most points scored by an SEC player this year ... Brandon Wallace, a 6-foot-9 senior center, is second in the SEC with 9.7 rebounds and 2.67 blocked shots per game ... He ranks second on the team with 10.4 points per game ... Wallace leads the league in minutes played at 36.92 while Kelley is second at 36.04 ... USC averages just 11.5 turnovers per game, the fewest in the SEC ... Dave Odom is 112-82 in his sixth season at South Carolina and 390-256 in 22 years as a head coach. The South Carolina Series
Tennessee leads the all-time series 26-22 ... The Vols won the first meeting this season 64-61 in Knoxville ... The Vols have won 13 of the last 20 meetings between the schools ... South Carolina leads the series 13-7 when it is played in Columbia ... UT is 1-3 against South Carolina in the Colonial Center ... When the series is played in Knoxville, the Vols own an 18-7 advantage ... The two teams have met three times in the Southeastern Conference Tournament with South Carolina holding a 2-1 advantage ... Tennessee and South Carolina met for the first time on Jan 15, 1927 in Columbia ... The two teams played off-and-on between the 1927 and 1972 seasons but did not play each other from 1972 until 1988 when the series was renewed. Last Meeting with South Carolina
Tennessee ended its three-game losing streak with a 64-61 victory over South Carolina Saturday, Jan. 20, at Thompson-Boling Arena ... The Vols had dropped consecutive road games at Vanderbilt, at Ohio State and at Auburn by a combined six points ... Tennessee led most of the game but the Gamecocks would not go away ... UT led by as many as 15 points early in the second half but USC cut it to three points with 2:50 remaining ... The Vols scored two times to bring the score to 59-52 with 53.8 seconds left and then finished the game 5-of-6 from the free throw line to seal the win ... UT had to earn the win without All-America guard Chris Lofton who suffered an ankle injury early in the second half after scoring just four points ... JaJuan Smith stepped up to lead the Vols with 21 points while adding seven rebounds ... Wayne Chism came off the bench to record his second career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds ... Ramar Smith added 10 points and eight rebounds ... Tre' Kelley led the Gamecocks with 18 points while Brandon Wallace had nine points and 15 rebounds ... The crowd of 23,238 ranked as the 10th-largest in Thompson-Boling Arena history. Last Game: Lofton Leads Vols Over Kentucky
Former Vol great Bernard King's influence in the Kentucky game remained strong, 30 years after he last donned the orange and white ... King, who only lost to the Wildcats once in his three-year career, was honored in a halftime ceremony when his No. 53 was retired and then watched as the Vols upset the 20th-ranked 'Cats 89-85 ... Chris Lofton, who did not play in the season's first meeting, hit back-to-back 3-pointers to key a 15-5 run that helped Tennessee take a 40-30 lead at the half ... The Vols pushed their lead to 16 with 16:38 remaining but the 'Cats wouldn't give up ... UK used a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 70-68 with just over six minutes left ... A Jodie Meeks free throw tied the game at 77 with 3:54 but UT never let Kentucky take the lead ... JaJuan Smith returned the lead towards Tennessee's favor for good with a lay-up less than 10 seconds later ... Lofton sealed the game by going 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the game's final 30 seconds ... Lofton led the Vols with 23 points to go with five assists ... Duke Crews came off the bench to add 18 points while Wayne Chism added16 points, four assists and three blocks ... Ramar Smith had 10 points and Dane Bradshaw had nine assists ... Joe Crawford led UK with 24 points ... Ramel Bradley and Randoph Morris each had 14 points ... Tennessee had 10 steals on 19 Kentucky turnovers ... The Vols recorded 25 assists on 33 field goals ... UK shot 56.4 percent from the field while UT shot 49.3 percent ... Kentucky shot 66.7 percent from the field and 58.3 percent from behind the 3-point arc in the second half. Bernard King's Number 53 Retired
Tennessee retired Bernard King's No. 53 at halftime of the Vols' Feb. 13 game against Kentucky ... King became the first men's basketball player at UT to have his number retired ... Considered one of the best players in SEC history, King played at UT from 1974-77, earning first team All-America honors in each of his three seasons ... A three-time SEC Player of the Year, he led the Vols to the 1977 SEC championship with a 22-6 overall record and a 16-2 mark in the league ... The Brooklyn, N.Y., native finished his career ranking second all-time at UT with 1,962 career points and 1,004 rebounds ... Following his junior season he was drafted in the first round (seventh overall selection) by the New Jersey Nets ... During his 14-year career in the NBA he was a two-time first team All-NBA selection, four-time NBA All-Star and finished his career with a scoring average of 22.5 points per game. He's Back
After missing four games with an ankle injury, Chris Lofton returned to the lineup against LSU (2/6/07) ... The Maysville, Ky., native has shown that he is returning to form in the Vols' wins over No. 23 Vanderbilt (2/10/07) and No. 20 Kentucky (2/13/07) with 16 and 23 points, respectively ... He played 21 minutes in his return to the court against LSU and has seen the number increase from 26 minutes against Vanderbilt and 30 against Kentucky ... Tennessee had struggled to replace Lofton in the lineup, averaging just 63.3 points in the first three games (including the game he was injured) without him ... However, in the two games before he returned to the lineup the Vols had averaged 79.0 points per game. UT's Babies Stop Big Baby
Freshmen forwards Wayne Chism and Duke Crews combined to hold LSU's Glen "Big Baby" Davis to his lowest scoring total since his freshman year in Tennessee's 70-67 victory over LSU ... The 2006 SEC Player of the Year, Davis was held to five points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field, his lowest scoring output in 72 games ... It was the 6-foot-9 junior's fourth-lowest scoring total of his career ... Chism, a 6-foot-9 forward, finished the game with six points and three rebounds while Crews, a 6-foot-7 forward, had six points and three blocks. Chism Is Third Vol To Earn SEC Frosh Honor
Wayne Chism was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Feb. 12 after he recorded his third career double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds in UT's win over 23rd-ranked Vanderbilt (2/10/07) ... Chism became the third UT player to earn SEC Freshman of the Week honors this year ... Ramar Smith has earned the honor two times (Jan. 8 and Feb. 5) and Duke Crews has won it one time (Dec. 24) ... UT is the only team in the conference to have three different freshmen win the weekly award this season. Lofton Lately
- Returned to the lineup against LSU (2/6/07) after missing four games with an ankle injury suffered against South Carolina (1/20/07).
- Leads the SEC with 20.7 points per game.
- Leads the SEC with 3.5 3-pointers per game.
- According to the Feb. 12 NCAA statistics, he ranks 18th in the nation in scoring (20.6), ninth in 3-pointers per game (3.5), 11th in 3-point percentage (45.9).
- 77 3-pointers this season rank seventh on UT's single-season charts.
- Shooting 45.6 percent (77-of-169) 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 29 of his last 33 games.
- Owns three of the top five scoring performances in the SEC this year.
- Scored 30 or more points five times this season.
- Has shot 107 free throws this season after shooting just 101 free throws in his first two years at Tennessee.
- 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 18th on UT's career scoring lists with 1,383 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.
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. Vols Have Started Three Freshmen
UT has had three freshmen in the starting lineup for four games this season ... 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 ... 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 (1/28/07), Georgia (1/31/07) and Florida (2/3/07) games ... 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. Tough Schedule
Tennessee's schedule ranked as the fifth toughest in the nation according to CollegeRPI.com on Feb. 15 ... The Vols' non-conference slate has featured seven teams currently ranked and another one receiving votes in the Associated Press poll ... UT has played No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 4 North Carolina, No. 8 Memphis, No. 13 Butler, No. 18 Oklahoma State and No. 20 Kentucky (current rankings listed) ... Additionally, the Vols have three more games remaining on their schedule against teams that are currently ranked or receiving votes in the Associated Press poll. UT One Of SEC's Top Scoring Teams
Tennessee is second in the SEC and ranks 11th nationally in scoring offense with 81.1 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. Close Calls
Tennessee is 7-3 in games decided by 10 points or less and 4-3 in games decided by five points or fewer this season ... Three of UT's eight losses have been decided by just one possession, including two that 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.
Vols In The NCAA Stats
UT is prominently listed among the national leaders according to the February 12 NCAA statistics. - Scoring offense: 80.8 ppg / 11th
- 3-pointers per game: 9.2 3pg / 13th
- Steals per game: 9.6 spg / 15th
- Assists per game: 15.5 apg / 54th
- Points per game: Chris Lofton - 20.6 pts / 18th
- 3-pointers per game: Chris Lofton - 3.5 3pg / 9th
- 3-point percentage: Chris Lofton - 45.9 % / 11th
- Steals per game: JaJuan Smith - 2.1 spg / 41st
- 3-pointers per game: JaJuan Smith - 2.7 3pg / 70th
- Steals per game: Dane Bradshaw - 1.9 spg / 68th
- Assists per game: Dane Bradshaw - 4.8 apg / 68th
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 137 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 18.8 turnovers per game. - 24 times the pressure has caused a timeout.
- 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.
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. 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 ... JaJuan Smith was second on the team with 61 treys while 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 leads the SEC with 9.15 3-pointers per game.
- Lofton leads the SEC with 3.50 triples per game.
- JaJuan Smith is fourth in the SEC with 2.58 3-pointers per game.
- Tennessee's 15 3-pointers against second-ranked North Carolina (11/24/06) came just one short of tying the school record of 16.
Attendance Continues To Grow
Just one year after having the largest increase in average attendance in the nation, Tennessee is continuing to see its attendance grow ... In 2005-06 the crowds at UT's home games increased by 5,504 fans per game to an average of 17,954 ... This year the crowds have increased by and additional 1,436 fans per game for an average of 19,390 ... In the two years that Bruce Pearl has been coach at Tennessee, attendance has grown by 6,940 per game. Bench Contributing
Tennessee's bench has played a key role in the Vols' success early this season ... UT's bench is averaging 22.4 points per game ... Two times this season the bench has contributed at least 40 points in a game ... 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. JaJuan Smith Earns Star(ting) Role
Named the "Best Player Off The Bench" in the SEC by The Tennessean last year, 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 15.2 points, is first with 55 steals and third with 38 assists while making 67 3-pointers this year. - He is fourth in the SEC with 2.58 3-pointers per game on the season.
- He has scored 20 or more points in a game eight times this season.
- Led UT's scoring efforts 10 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).
- 15.9 points in SEC games rank seventh in the league.
- Last eight games is averaging 17.6 points on 48.5 percent shooting from the field and 37.7 percent (23-of-61) 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 (128) and is second in steals (49) and third in blocks (13).
- He has led the Vols in assists 17 out of 26 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 5.8 assists per game and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.91.
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 15 games since then he is averaging 13.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game ... On the season, the 6-foot-2 Smith is averaging 10.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 26.5 minutes per game. - He has earned 20 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).
- He has scored 10 or more points in 15 of his last 17 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.
- Earned his second SEC Freshman of the Week honor on Feb. 5 after he scored a career-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting against Georgia (1/31/07).
- In league games, he leads all SEC freshmen in assists (3.27) and steals (1.36) and is second in scoring (13.8 ppg).
- Ranks 15th in the SEC with 13.8 points per game in league games.
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 leads the Vols with 5.5 rebounds and is fourth on the squad with 9.4 points per game. - Chism has nine starting assignments and has been the first Vol off the bench in 15 of UT's 26 games.
- Had nine points and six rebounds in 14 minutes against 15th-ranked Oklahoma State (12/18/06).
- Scored 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).
- Scored a career-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field to go with six rebounds at No. 1 Florida (2/3/07).
- Had his third double-double of the season with 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds against 23rd-ranked Vanderbilt (2/10/07).
- Since moving into the starting lineup against Ole Miss (1/24/07) he is averaging 11.4 points and 5.1 rebounds.
- In seven games against ranked opponents, he averages 11.9 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 54.4 percent from the field and 50.0 percent (11-of-22) from 3-point range.
- Last four games (at Florida, vs. LSU, vs. Vanderbilt and vs. Kentucky) is averaging 14.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and is shooting 56.1 percent (23-of-41) from the field.
Crews Missile
One of the most heralded freshmen in the SEC 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 8.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. - Scored 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).
- Tagged 20th-ranked Kentucky (2/13/07) for 18 points and a pair of blocks.
- 65 of his 136 rebounds (46 percent) have come at the offensive end of the floor.
- He is second among all SEC freshmen with 5.2 rebounds.
- Ranks seventh in the SEC with 2.50 offensive rebounds per game.
Howell Is A Steadying Influence
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 4.5 points, 1.7 assists and 1.3 rebounds per game ... But the most significant statistic for Howell has been his assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.58-to-1 ... In 341 minutes played this season Howell has turned the ball over just 12 times. - In 167 minutes (eight games) of action since returning from the hand injury he has committed just four turnovers.
- Scored a career-high 11 points on 3-of-5 3-point shooting against Georgia (1/31/07).
- Last five games is averaging 7.8 points on 12-of-21 (57.1 percent) 3-point shooting.
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 5.4 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.
- Has set or tied career highs for points (14), rebounds (11), assists (4), blocks (3) and steals (3).
- 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).
Thompson-Boling Provides Homecourt Advantage
Thompson-Boling Arena is celebrating its 20th season in 2006-07 ... The Vols have won 72.4 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 227-86 (.725) in its 20th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 127-27 (.825) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- The Vols are 58-20 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 14-0 at home this season.
UT To Make Summer European Trip
The Tennessee basketball team will travel to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria on a five-game summer tour from August 8-19, 2007 ... The Vols will play three games in Prague and one in both Bratislava and Vienna ... Vacation packages must be booked by May 1 and are available through Basketball Travelers Inc. ... Fans interested in joining the Vols can get more information about the trip at www.basketballtravelers.com. 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. |
