| VOLS FACE VIRGINIA FOR SPOT IN SWEET 16
- The fifth-seeded Tennessee Volunteers will meet the fourth-seeded Virginia Cavaliers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at 12:10 p.m. EDT Sunday, March 18, at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The winner of the game will advance to the South Region Semifinals in San Antonio, Texas, where they will meet the winner of the Ohio State - Xavier game on Thursday, March 22.
- Tennessee advanced to the second round by virtue of a 121-86 victory over Long Beach State Friday in the first round. UT's 121 points tied a school record and ranked as the sixth-most ever scored in an NCAA Tournament game. SEC Player of the Year Chris Lofton led the Vols with a game-high 25 on 9-of-14 shooting. JaJuan Smith added 24 points while Ramar Smith had a career-high 22 points.
- Atlantic Coast Conference co-champions Virginia earned a spot in the second round with an 84-57 win over Albany Friday, March 16. The Cavaliers are 21-10 on the season and are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001.
- This is the second consecutive season the Vols have advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Last year UT defeated Winthrop (63-61) in the first round before falling to Wichita State (73-80). The Vols are 2-5 all-time in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
- The Vols are appearing in their 15th NCAA Tournament overall, second straight and sixth in the last 10 years. Tennessee has a 10-15 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament. Bruce Pearl is leading his 13th team to the NCAA Tournament in 15 years as a head coach.
- Tennessee's 23 wins are the second-most in school history. Only the 1999-2000 team won more games (26) in a season.
| ALUMNI RECEPTION IN COLUMBUS |
| The Place to be before the Men's South Region NCAA Basketball Tournament TIME: 10 a.m. - Noon (ET)
DATE: Sunday, March 18
PLACE:
The Frog Bear Wild Boar
343 North Front Street
Nationwide Arena District
Columbus, Ohio
(Just steps away from the Nationwide Arena) | Tennessee Trends
- In the last six games Tennessee has recorded 71 steals on 125 opponent turnovers. Thirty-six of those turnovers have come on inbounds plays. Arkansas had 11 turnovers on inbounds plays alone.
- UT's home attendance of 19,661 this season is the second-largest average in school history. The record for average attendance is 20,823 in 1987-88 -- the first year Thompson-Boling Arena was open.
- JaJuan Smith ranks second on UT's single-season steals list with 69 pilfers on the year. LaMarcus Golden holds the school record with 78 steals in 1993-94. Dane Bradshaw is currently fifth with 65 steals this season.
- Chris Lofton has moved into 14th place on Tennessee's career scoring charts with 1,528 points.
- Lofton recorded his 300th career 3-pointer and 1,500th career point on the same shot, a 3-pointer from the corner with 4:45 left in the second half against LSU (3/8/07) in the SEC Tournament.
- UT has won each of its last four meetings with ranked teams, beating No. 23 Vanderbilt (84-57), No. 20 Kentucky (89-85), No. 25 Alabama (69-66 in ot) and No. 5 Florida (86-76). It is the first time in school history that UT has won four consecutive games against ranked teams.
- Dane Bradshaw ranks second in the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.79), third in steals (1.97) and seventh in assists (4.72).
- Bradshaw has moved into ninth on UT's career charts with 377 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 two of the top freshmen rebounders in the SEC. Chism leads all SEC freshmen with 5.4 rebounds and Crews is third with 5.2 boards.
- In league games, Ramar Smith led all SEC freshmen in assists (3.13) and steals (1.50) and was second in scoring (13.0 ppg).
- The Vols are forcing 18.8 turnovers per game. Alabama's 26 turnovers on Feb. 21 were the most by an SEC school in league play this year.
- Tennessee is 29-2 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 9-4 against ranked teams while at Tennessee. This year he is 6-3 with wins over No. 5 Florida, No. 15 Oklahoma State, No. 16 Memphis, No. 20 Kentucky, No. 23 Vanderbilt and No. 25 Alabama 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 317 consecutive games.
- Under Bruce Pearl, UT is 38-3 when leading or tied with five minutes left in the game.
- UT is 29-3 when scoring 80 or more points under the direction of Bruce Pearl.
- UT is 29-14 (.674) 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 1,390-902-2 in 98 seasons 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 229-86 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.
Tennessee In The NCAA Tournament
The Vols are making their 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament ... It is the second straight appearance and the sixth in the last 10 years ... Tennessee has a 10-15 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament ... The Vols are 2-5 in the second round of the tournament. Bruce Pearl In The NCAA Tournament
Bruce Pearl is leading a team to the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time in 15 years as a head coach ... Pearl owns a 20-11 career record in the NCAA Tournament ... He led Southern Indiana to a 16-8 NCAA Tournament record that included a NCAA Division II national championship in 1995 and a runner-up finish in 1994 ... He has a 4-3 record in NCAA Division I Tournaments, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2005 at UW-Milwaukee. Looking At Virginia
Virginia advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with an 84-57 win over America East Conference champion Albany Friday afternoon ... UVa's all-conference backcourt of J.R. Reynolds and Sean Singletary led the Cavaliers with 28 and 23 points, respectively ... Virginia shot 53.6 percent from the field and 52.9 percent from 3-point range against Albany ... Singletary, who leads Virginia with 19.0 points per game, was a first team All-ACC selection ... It marked the second consecutive season the 6-foot senior guard has earned first team all-conference honors ... A second team All-ACC pick, Reynolds averages 18.1 points per game ... Mamadi Diane, a 6-5 sophomore guard/forward, adds 9.9 points ... Jason Cain, a 6-10 senior forward, leads UVa with 6.4 rebounds while adding 6.7 points .... Virginia is making its 16th NCAA Tournament appearance and its first in five seasons ... Virginia won a share of the ACC regular season title with an 11-5 league record ... The Cavs shared the title with North Carolina ... Dave Leitao is 36-25 in his second season at UVa and 116-94 in his seventh year as a head coach. The Virginia Series
Virginia leads the all-time series with Tennessee 7-3 ... This is the first meeting since the Cavaliers upset UT 107-89 in the Jimmy V Classic Dec. 19, 2000 in East Rutherford, N.J. ... It is the third time that the two schools have met in the NCAA Tournament and the fifth time they have met in postseason play ... Four of the last six meetings have come in the postseason ... The two teams have met twice in the NCAA Tournament (1981 and 1982) with Virginia winning both meetings ... They have also met two times in the National Invitation Tournament with each team winning once ... At the 1981 NCAA Tournament Virginia, which had a No. 1 seeded and was ranked fifth in the Associated Press poll, defeated the fourth-seeded Vols, 62-48 in the East Regional Semi-Final in Atlanta ... In the Mideast Region Second Round of the 1982 NCAA Tournament the No. 1 seeded Cavaliers beat Tennessee 54-51 in Indianapolis ... The Tennessee-Virginia series dates back to Feb. 22, 1917 when the Vols earned a 23-21 win in Charlottesville. Last Meeting With Virginia
Virginia didn't show any signs of rust even though the Cavaliers were coming off a 13-day layoff ... The Cavs raced out to a 57-40 halftime lead and withstood a late Tennessee rally for a 107-89 upset of the fourth-ranked Vols Dec. 19, 2000, at the Jimmy V Classic in East Rutherford, N.J. ... Virginia, which entered the game averaging 92.3 points per game, shot 46.3 percent from the field and 55.6 percent (10-of-18) from 3-point range in the game ... Isiah Victor became the 34th Vol to score his 1,000th career point at Tennessee with a 20 point, eight rebound effort ...UT's 14 blocked shots were the second-most in school history ... Virginia led by as many as 22 points in the second half ... Tennessee cut the Cavalier lead to 10 points with less than four minutes left in the game but could get no closer than that. Last Game: Vols Score Big Opening Round Win
Tennessee tied a school record for most points with a 121-86 win over Long Beach State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday, March 16, at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio ... UT's 121 points were the most since the Vols scored a 121-42 victory over Mexico on Jan. 24, 1966 ... Tennessee opened the game on fire, drilling its first four 3-point attempts in open a 16-8 lead ... UT led by as many as 17 before the 49ers used a barrage of 3-pointer to cut the lead to 41-35 ... The Vols held a 57-45 lead at the half and then scored 12 of the first 14 points in the second half to take control of the game with a 69-47 lead ... Chris Lofton led a trio of Vols with 20 or more points with a game-high 25 on 9-of-14 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range ... Lofton also had four of UT's 11 steals ... JaJuan Smith added 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting despite fighting foul trouble for most of the game ... Ramar Smith had a career-high 22 points to go with six assists and no turnovers ... Dane Bradshaw registered a career-high 11 assists without a turnover ... Duke Crew had his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds ... Kejuan Johnson led Long Beach State with 24 points while Big West Conference player of the year Aaron Nixon had 23 points ... The Vols shot 58.9 percent from the field and 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from 3-point range ... LBSU shot 49.2 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from beyond the arc ... The Vols had 11 steals on 13 LBSU turnovers ... UT held a 43-28 rebounding advantage. More On UT's 121 Points Against Long Beach
- The 121 points ties for the most in a game in school history. It tied the record set in a 121-42 win over Mexico on Jan. 24, 1966.
- It marks the third time this season the Vols have reached the century mark. Tennessee defeated Texas 111-105 in overtime (12/23/06) and Tennessee Tech 101-77 (12/28/06).
- It is the 54th time in school history the Vols have scored 100 or more points.
- The 121 points tied for the sixth-most scored in the NCAA Tournament. It is the most since UNLV defeated Loyola Marymount 131-101 on March 25, 1990.
Buckeye State Connections
UT sophomore forward Ryan Childress is a native of Cincinnati ... Tennessee radio play-by-play announcer Bob Kesling is a native of Kettering, Ohio ... Chris Lofton hails from the state of Kentucky but his hometown of Maysville is located on the Ohio River that forms the border between Kentucky and Ohio ... Maysville is located about two hours south of Columbus. 15 Opponents Get Postseason Invites
Nineteen of Tennessee's 32 games this season have come against teams that have received postseason invitations ... The Vols posted a 12-7 record in those games ... UT played nine teams that received NCAA Tournament invitations (Arkansas, Butler, Florida, Kentucky, Memphis, Ohio State, North Carolina, Texas and Vanderbilt) and six that are playing in the National Invitation Tournament (Alabama, East Tennessee State, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State and Oklahoma State). Lofton Named SEC Player Of The Year
The Associated Press named Chris Lofton its 2007 SEC Player of the Year on March 5 ... The Maysville, Ky., native was a unanimous first team All-SEC selection by both the Associated Press and the league's coaches ... He becomes the seventh different Tennessee player to earn SEC Player of the Year honors and the first since Ron Slay won the award in 2003. Lofton On Wooden Award Final Ballot
The John R. Wooden Award Committee announced March 5 that Chris Lofton was one of 22 student-athletes named to the official voting ballot for the 2006-2007 Wooden Award All-American Team and Wooden Award Player of the Year, presented annually to the nation's top collegiate basketball player ... The winner will be announced on Saturday, April 7, live during a national telecast on CBS from The Los Angeles Athletic Club ... Lofton is one of five players from the Southeastern Conference on the ballot, joining LSU's Glen Davis and Florida's Taurean Green, Corey Brewer, and Joakim Noah. Vols Place Three On SEC All-Freshman Team
Wayne Chism, Duke Crews and Ramar Smith were named to the SEC All-Freshman team as selected by the league's coaches ... Chism and Smith were both unanimous picks to the squad ... Tennessee led all SEC schools with three players named to the All-Freshman team ... Joining the trio on the team are: Patrick Beverley (Arkansas), Dwayne Reed (Auburn), Derrick Jasper (Kentucky), Jodie Meeks (Kentucky), Ben Hansbrough (Mississippi State), Barry Stewart (Mississippi State) and Dominique Archie (South Carolina). Bradshaw Named Captain Of All-Glue Team
Dane Bradshaw has been named the captain of SI.com's eighth annual All-Glue team, a squad picked by Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis to recognize the players who do the little things that make teams stick together ... It was the second time that he has been selected to the All-Glue team, having also earned the honor last year ... Joining Bradshaw on the 2007 All-Glue Team are Kyle Shiloh (Nevada), Dominique Kirk (Texas A&M), Othello Hunter (Ohio State) and Marcus Landry (Wisconsin). Pearls Endow Scholarship In Bradshaw's Name
Bruce and Kim Pearl announced Feb. 27 a $100,000 donation to endow a scholarship in the name of senior basketball player Dane Bradshaw ... The Dane Bradshaw Athletic Scholarship Endowment will be awarded to the male or female student-athlete at the University of Tennessee who best epitomizes the characteristics of the Memphis native ... Bradshaw has inspired the Pearl family as well as the entire Tennessee basketball program with his commitment to academic achievement, athletic excellence, hard work, team leadership and his personal faith. Vols Have Won 8 Of 10 Since Lofton's Return
Tennessee has won eight of its 10 games since Chris Lofton has returned to the lineup from an ankle injury that forced him to miss four games ... Four of UT's eight wins since his return have come against ranked teams ... The Vols were 1-3 in the three games without Lofton in the lineup ... The junior All-America candidate suffered an ankle injury against South Carolina (1/20/07) and was not able to return to the lineup until the LSU game (2/6/07). UT 2nd In SEC Wins Last Two Seasons
Tennessee's 22 Southeastern Conference wins over the last two seasons are the second-most in the conference over that period ... The Vols have finished with the second-best record in the entire SEC in both of Bruce Pearl's two years at Tennessee ... In 2005-06 the Vols won the SEC East with a 12-4 conference mark and then posted a 10-6 league mark that tied for second in the East and in the overall league standings. Lofton Climbing SEC 3-Point Charts
Chris Lofton ranks third in Southeastern Conference history with 304 career 3-pointers ... Lofton, who has made 97 triples this season, ranks second on Tennessee's career charts behind Allan Houston's (1989-93) 346 3-pointers ... Arkansas' Pat Bradley (1995-99) holds the SEC record with 366 triples. Vols Set 3-Point Record
Tennessee's 300 3-pointers this season are the most in school history, breaking the record of 266 set during the 1999-2000 season ... UT has made 300 of its 839 attempts from behind the 3-point arc ... The 300 triples rank sixth in Southeastern Conference history. UT Steals Another Record
Tennessee's 325 steals are the most in school history ... UT has averaged 9.94 steals per game over the last two years. Putting Up The Points
UT's 2,670 points this season rank third in school history ... The Vols need to score 90 points to break the school record of 2,759 points scored in 37 games during the 1984-85 season. Vols' 23 Wins Are Second-Most In UT History
Tennessee's 23 wins this season are the second-most single-season wins in school history ... It is the second consecutive year the Vols have won 20 or more games and the 20th time in school history ... It is the 14th time in 15 years as a head coach Bruce Pearl has won 20 games ... Pearl has averaged 24.1 wins in his 15 years as a head coach and 22.5 in two years at Tennessee. UT Leads The SEC In Scoring
Tennessee is leads the SEC and ranks 11th nationally in scoring offense with 80.9 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 fifth toughest in the nation according to CollegeRPI.com on March 11 ... The Vols' schedule has featured nine NCAA Tournament teams ... Three of those teams (Florida, North Carolina and Ohio State) received No. 1 seeds while another (Memphis) was a No. 2 seed ... Eight of the nine teams are playing their first round game as the higher seed. Tough Schedule Part 2: The Rankings
- Tennessee has played nine games against ranked teams this season. UT has won six of those games.
- Each of the Vols' three losses to ranked teams came away from home and to teams ranked in the top five of the Associated Press poll. UT lost to No. 2 North Carolina (87-101) in New York, at No. 5 Ohio State (66-68) and at No. 1 Florida (78-94).
- UT has won each of its last four games against ranked teams, beating No. 23 Vanderbilt (84-57), No. 20 Kentucky (89-85), No. 25 Alabama (69-66 in ot) and No. 5 Florida (86-76).
Lofton Lately
- Tennessee has won eight of its 10 games since he returned to the lineup from an ankle injury. Four of those victories have come against ranked teams. UT was 1-3 in the games he was out of the lineup.
- Leads the SEC with 20.7 points per game.
- Leads the SEC with 3.34 3-pointers per game.
- Fourth in the SEC with 80.5 free throw percentage.
- According to the March 4 NCAA statistics, he ranks 19th in the nation in scoring (206), 11th in 3-pointers per game (3.3), 38th in 3-point percentage (41.9).
- 97 3-pointers this season rank third on UT's single-season charts.
- Made at least five 3-pointers in a game eight times.
- Made at least two 3s in 35 of his last 40 games.
- Owns six of the top 12 scoring performances in the SEC this year.
- Scored 30 or more points six times this season.
- Has shot 149 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 14th on UT's career scoring lists with 1,528 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 Named NABC All-District
Junior guard Chris Lofton was selected to the NABC All-District 7 first team on Feb. 28 ... Lofton is now eligible for the NABC Division I All-America team that will be announced at the conclusion of the regular season ... Other first team All-District 7 selections were: Courtney Lee (Western Kentucky), Derrick Byars (Vanderbilt), Randolph Morris (Kentucky) and Chris Douglas Roberts (Memphis). Lofton Climbing SEC 3-Point Charts
Chris Lofton ranks third in Southeastern Conference history with 300 career 3-pointers ... Lofton, who has made 90 triples this season, ranks second on Tennessee's career charts behind Allan Houston's (1989-93) 346 3-pointers ... Arkansas' Pat Bradley (1995-99) holds the SEC record with 366 triples. Freshmen Playing Key Roles For The Vols
Tennessee's four freshmen have been an important part of Tennessee's success this year ... Three of UT's top five scorers are freshmen ... Each of UT's four freshmen is averaging at least 17 minutes of action per game ... Four times this season UT 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.
| Category | Freshmen | Total | % by Freshmen | | Scoring | 1062 | 2670 | .398 | | Rebounding | 548 | 1181 | .464 | | Assists | 195 | 520 | .375 | | Steals | 110 | 325 | .339 | | Blocks | 63 | 107 | .589 | | Minutes | 2816 | 6675 | .422 | | Starts | 63 | 165 | .382 |
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. Three Vols Earn SEC Frosh Honor
Three different UT freshmen have combined to win SEC Freshman of the Week honors a total of five times this season ... Ramar Smith earned the honor three times (Jan. 8, Feb. 5 and March 5) while Duke Crews (Dec. 24) and Wayne Chism (Feb. 12) each won the award once ... Tennessee is the only team in the conference to have three different freshmen win the weekly award this season. 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 176 turnovers off inbounds plays, most of which are coming off their press ... Four 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. - 30 times the pressure has caused a timeout.
- 19 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.
- No. 25 Alabama (2/21/07) had 26 turnovers, including nine on inbounds plays.
- Arkansas (2/24/07) turned the ball over 24 times, 11 were on inbounds plays.
Vols In The NCAA Stats
UT is prominently listed among the national leaders according to the March 4 NCAA statistics. - Steals per game: 9.7 spg / 9th
- Scoring offense: 80.1 ppg / 9th
- 3-pointers per game: 9.0 3pg / 17th
- Assists per game: 15.6 apg / 46th
- Points per game: Chris Lofton - 20.6 ppg / 19th
- 3-pointers per game: Chris Lofton - 3.3 3pg / 11th
- 3-point percentage: Chris Lofton - 41.9% / 38th
- Steals per game: JaJuan Smith - 2.1 spg / 37th
- Steals per game: Dane Bradshaw - 1.5 spg / 58th
- Assists per game: Dane Bradshaw - 4.6 apg / 85th
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 returned 80.3 percent of its SEC-leading 8.80 3-point field goals per game from 2005-06 ... 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 is second in the SEC with 9.09 3-pointers per game.
- Lofton leads the SEC with 3.34 triples per game.
- JaJuan Smith is fifth in the SEC with 2.49 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.
Vols Post Undefeated Record At TBA
With an 86-76 victory over fifth-ranked Florida in their final home game, Tennessee posted a 16-0 record at Thompson-Boling Arena this season. - It is the first time the Vols have been perfect at home since the 1975-76 team went 13-0 at Stokely Athletic Center.
- It is the 14th time in school history the Vols have been unbeaten at home.
- The 16 wins are the most single-season wins in Thompson-Boling Arena history.
- It is the first time the Vols have had an undefeated home record at Thompson-Boling Arena.
- The 16 wins tie the school record for most home wins in a season. The 1984-85 posted a 16-3 record at Stokley Athletic Center but two of those wins came in the National Invitation Tournament.
Attendance Continues To Grow
Just one year after having the largest increase in average attendance in the nation, Tennessee continued 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 increased by an additional 1,707 fans per game for an average of 19,661 ... In the two years that Bruce Pearl has been coach at Tennessee, attendance has grown by 7,211 per game. - Tennessee's home attendance of 19,661 is the second-largest in school history. The record for average attendance is 20,823 in 1987-88 -- the first year Thompson-Boling Arena was open.
Bench Contributing
Tennessee's bench has played a key role in the Vols' success early this season ... UT's bench is averaging 22.1 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 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 adapted will to a starting role this season ... The Cleveland, Tenn., native ranks second on the team with 15.2 points, leads the squad with 69 steals and is fourth with 43 assists while making 82 3-pointers this year. - He is fifth in the SEC with 2.49 3-pointers per game on the season.
- He has scored 20 or more points in a game nine times this season.
- Led UT's scoring efforts 11 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).
- 15.8 points in SEC games ranked seventh in the league.
- Two times this season has recorded six steals in a game, narrowly missing the school record of seven. He has registered six pilfers against No. 15 Oklahoma State and No. 25 Alabama.
- Picked up his scoring efforts when Chris Lofton was out of the lineup with an ankle injury, averaging 21.3 points on 49.1 percent shooting during the four-game stretch.
- 69 steals on the season rank second all-time on UT's single-season charts.
- Scored 24 points (8-of-12 shooting) in 23 minutes of action in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Long Beach State (3/16/07).
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 (156) and is second in steals (65) and fourth in blocks (13).
- He has led the Vols in assists 20 out of 33 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).
- He was named the captain of SI.com's All-Glue team on Feb. 20.
- In SEC games he is averaged 4.94 assists per game and had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.63.
- Registered a career-high 11 assists without a turnover in UT's NCAA Tournament first round game against Long Beach State (3/16/07). His 11 assists were the most by a Vols player in more than two years.
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 22 games since then he is averaging 13.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game ... On the season, the 6-foot-2 Smith is averaging 10.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 26.9 minutes per game. - He has earned 26 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 20 of his last 24 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).
- Third SEC Freshman of the Week honor came March 5 after helping lead the Vols to wins over No. 5 Florida and at Georgia.
- In league games, he led all SEC freshmen in assists (3.13) and steals (1.50) and is second in scoring (13.0 ppg).
- Ranked 20th in the SEC with 13.0 points per game in league games.
- His driving lay-up with 30 seconds left in overtime against No. 25 Alabama proved to be the winning basket as the Vols took a 69-66 victory.
- Scored a career-high 22 points to go with six assists without a turnover and three steals against Long Beach State (3/16/07) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
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 5.4 rebounds and is fourth on the squad with 9.0 points per game. - In Tennessee's 31 games this season, Chism has 16 starting assignments and has been the first Vol off the bench in 15 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 9.6 points and 5.1 rebounds.
- In nine games against ranked opponents, he averages 11.4 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 52.7 percent from the field and 46.4 percent (13-of-28) from 3-point range.
- Has blocked 12 shots in his last eight games after blocking nine in his first 25 contests this year.
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 8.6 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.
- 86 of his 172 rebounds (50 percent) have come at the offensive end of the floor.
- He is third among all SEC freshmen with 5.2 rebounds.
- Ranks ninth in the SEC with 2.61 offensive rebounds per game.
- Registered his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds (eight coming on the offensive end) against Long Beach State (3/16/07) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
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 4.2 points, 1.5 assists and 1.4 rebounds per game ... But the most significant statistic for Howell has been his assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.0-to-1 ... In 476 minutes played this season Howell has turned the ball over just 19 times. - In 302 minutes (14 games) of action since returning from the hand injury he has committed just 11 turnovers.
- Scored a career-high 11 points on 3-of-5 3-point shooting against Georgia (1/31/07).
- Last 11 games is shooting 42.2 percent (19-of-45) from 3-point range.
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 5.3 points and 3.9 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).
- He has led the Vols in rebounding four times this season, including two of the last six games.
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. 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. |
