UT-Miss. State Game Notes

Tennessee		Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
F	1 Tyler Smith	6-7	215	So.	13.3	6.2	3.7
F	4 Wayne Chism	6-9	242	So.	9.0	6.1	1.0
G	5 Chris Lofton	6-2	200	Sr.	15.0	3.1	2.1
G	2 JaJuan Smith	6-2	195	Sr.	14.4	3.2	2.5
G	12 Ramar Smith	6-2	200	So.	8.8	2.4	2.5
Mississippi State		Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
F	23 Charles Rhodes	6-7	245	Sr.	14.6	7.3	0.9
C	32 Jarvis Varnado	6-9	210	So.	7.1	8.5	0.5
G	22 Barry Stewart	6-2	170	So.	11.8	4.2	3.2
G	25 Phil Turner	6-3	170	Fr.	5.3	3.4	1.1
G	44 Jamont Gordon	6-4	230	Jr.	17.9	6.2	4.2

Vols aiming for fourth consecutive win over MSU

The Tennessee Volunteers travel to a SEC Western Division opponent for the second consecutive game when they meet the West-leading Mississippi State Bulldogs at 7 p.m. (EST) Saturday, Feb. 2, at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Miss.
Mississippi State???s 5-1 conference mark leads the SEC???s Western Division and is tied with Tennessee and Florida for the best record in the league.
UT is in a stretch where it plays three of four games on the road at Western Division schools. The Vols opened the stretch with a 93-86 victory at Alabama on Tuesday. Following a Feb. 5 game against Florida at Thompson-Boling Arena, Tennessee returns to the Western road to visit LSU.
Tennessee is coming off just its second win at Alabama in more than a quarter century. The Vols shot 69.2 percent from the field in the second half, including 75 percent (9-of-12) from 3-point range to take a 93-86 win. UT had lost 16 of its previous 17 games at Coleman Coliseum. Chris Lofton made 5-of-9 3-pointers to lead the Vols with 23 points while JaJuan Smith made 4-of-7 treys to add 22 points and five steals. Tyler Smith chipped in 17 points and 11 rebounds.
After breaking the SEC record for career 3-pointers at Kentucky (1/22/08), Chris Lofton???s five triples at Alabama moved him into eighth in NCAA history with 379. The Maysville, Ky., native has heated up as of late, making 45.8 percent (22-of-48) of his long-range shots in SEC play.
UT leads the SEC in scoring (84.9 ppg), assists (19.85 apg), steals (10.80 spg), turnover margin (+7.35), assist-turnover ratio (1.53), 3-point field goals made (9.50 3pg) and 3-point field goal defense (.283).
Leading the SEC in scoring is nothing new for the Vols under head coach Bruce Pearl. Tennessee has led the league in scoring in each of Pearl???s previous two seasons at UT.
Chris Lofton is leading a balanced Tennessee attack. Lofton???s 15.0 points lead three Vols in double figure scoring. JaJuan Smith is second on the team with 14.4 points while Tyler Smith adds 13.3.

Tennessee Trends

UT???s 18-2 start is tied (1999-2000 and 1941-42) for the best 20-game start in school history.
Tennessee???s last six opponents have combined to shoot 23-of-112 (20.5 percent) from 3-point range. Vanderbilt entered its Jan. 17 game against the Vols as the SEC???s top 3-point shooting team but made just 3-of-21 and Ohio State went 2-of-20 behind the arc.
Chris Lofton is shooting 50.0 percent (21-of-42) from 3-point range in his last four games.
Ramar Smith is averaging 5.6 assists in his last five games, including a nine-assist performance against 16th-ranked Vanderbilt.
UT???s schedule is ranked as the second-most difficult in the nation by kenpom.com
Tennessee is averaging 24.5 points per game off turnovers this season (490 points in 20 games).
Tennessee is the only team in the SEC that does not have a player ranked among the league???s top 30 in minutes played. UT has eight players averaging at least 17 minutes per game.
Tennessee has forced an average of 20.4 turnovers off an SEC-best 10.8 steals per game this year.
UT is leading the SEC with 19.9 assists per game.
Five different players have led the Vols in scoring this season.
UT???s home attendance has grown for the third consecutive year. The Vols are averaging 20,020 fans per game, up from 19,661 last season.
Chris Lofton???s 1,871 career points rank eighth on UT???s all-time scorers list. He needs seven points to pass Dyron Nix (1,877 from 1985-89) for seventh on the list.
Tennessee is 40-2 at Thompson-Boling Arena since the start of the 2005-06 season.
UT has a 27-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 23-0 in non-conference home games under Bruce Pearl.
Bruce Pearl is 12-6 against ranked teams while at Tennessee.
The Vols have made at least one 3-pointer in 339 consecutive games.
Under Bruce Pearl, UT is 57-5 when leading or tied with five minutes left in the game.
UT is 44-4 when scoring 80 or more points under the direction of Bruce Pearl.
UT is 35-14 (.714) 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.
UT???s 80-56 win at South Carolina (1/12/08) is the Vols??? largest SEC road win since an 87-63 win at Mississippi State (2/17/98). It is tied for the seventh largest SEC road win in school history.
UT???s 69-point (109-40) win over Middle Tennessee (11/20/07) is the second-largest margin of victory in school history.
The Vols tied a school record with 16 3-pointers against Middle Tennessee (11/20/07). Their 30 assists were one dime shy of tying a school record.
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 has an all-time record of 1,409-905-2 in its 99th season of basketball.
UT???s 625 regular season SEC victories rank third all-time in the SEC. Only Kentucky and Alabama have won more league games.
Tennessee is 240-86 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.

Lofton Breaks SEC 3-Point Record; Ranks 8th In NCAA History

Chris Lofton became the Southeastern Conference???s all-time 3-point leader against Kentucky (1/22/08), passing Arkansas??? Pat Bradley ... Lofton???s 379 career treys rank first in SEC history and are eighth all-time in the NCAA record books ... He needs 13 3-pointers to pass UMKC???s Michael Watson for seventh and 22 to pass Syracuse???s Gerry McNamara for sixth on the NCAA???s all-time list ... The senior has made 66 3-pointers this season ... He holds Tennessee career records for 3-pointers made (379), attempted (891) and percentage (.425).

With more offensive weapons in the lineup this season, he is averaging a career-best 2.05 assists per game this year, easily topping his previous best of 1.83 apg in 2005-06.
He ranks second in the SEC with an .836 free throw percentage.
Ranks second in the SEC with 3.30 3-pointers per game.
His 66 3-pointers this year are tied for 10th on UT???s single-season lists. He already holds three of the top 10 single-season marks in school history.
Is shooting 45.8 percent from 3-point range in SEC games.
Last four games is shooting 52.5 percent (21-of-40) from 3-point range.

Tennessee Triplets

The senior trio of Chris Lofton, JaJuan Smith and Jordan Howell have comprised to make Tennessee one of the most dangerous 3-point shooting teams in the nation ... The threesome are a key reason the Vols lead the SEC and rank among the national leaders with 9.50 3-pointers per game ... All three players rank among the SEC leaders in terms of 3-pointers made per game ... Lofton leads the team and ranks second in the SEC with 3.30 triples per game ... Smith is sixth with 2.55 and Howell is just outside the top 15 with 1.65 treys per game.

Turning Up The Heat

Tennessee is forcing its opponents to turn the ball over an average of 20.4 times per game which ranks in a tie for the third-most in the nation (as of Jan. 31) ... The Vols are averaging 24.5 points per game off turnovers this season (490 points in 20 games) ... UT???s turnover margin of +7.35 easily leads the SEC.

Looking At Mississippi State

The Bulldogs suffered their first setback in SEC action with a 58-78 loss at Arkansas Wednesday night ... The loss ended a nine-game winning streak that included victories in MSU???s first five league games ... Mississippi State has a one-game lead at the top of the SEC Western Division ... The versatile Jamont Gordon leads the Bulldogs and ranks fifth in the SEC with 17.9 points and 4.2 assists while ranking third on the squad with 6.2 rebounds ... Preseason All-SEC pick Charles Rhodes is second on the team with 14.6 points and 7.3 rebounds ... Jarvis Varnado leads the SEC and the nation with 5.1 blocked shots per game and leads the Bulldogs with 8.5 rebounds ... Varnado???s 101 blocks are more than twice that of any other individual in the SEC and are 36 more than Tennessee has as a team ... Varnado scored a tripledouble (10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks) against Kentucky (1/15/08) ... As a team, MSU ranks second nationally with 8.6 blocks per game ... Mississippi State leads the SEC in scoring defense, allowing just 62.2 points per game ... MSU allows its opponents to shoot just 36.0 percent from the field, the second-lowest percentage in the nation ... MSU ranks third in the SEC with a +6.0 rebounding margin ... The Bulldogs have won seven consecutive SEC home games dating back to last season ... Rick Stansbury enters Saturday???s game looking for his 200th career win ... In his 10th year at Mississippi State, Stansbury has posted a 199-110 record.

Balanced Offense

Tennessee is one of the top scoring teams in the Southeastern Conference but does not list a single player among the top 10 scorers in the league ... UT leads the SEC with 84.9 points per game but leading scorer Chris Lofton ranks 14th in the league individually with 15.0 points ... Tennessee also leads the SEC and the nation with 19.9 assists per game but UT leader Tyler Smith ranks 10th with 3.7 assists per game ... Five Vols are averaging at least two assists per game for the year.

The Vols have had four or more players reach double figure scoring in a game 12 times this year. Five or more players scored at least 10 points four times.

Vols Lead The Nation in Assists

UT is prominently listed among the national leaders according to the January 27 NCAA statistics.

Assist-Turnover Ratio: 1.59 / 1st
Assists per game: 19.9 apg / 1st
Steals per game: 10.9 spg / 2nd
Scoring offense: 84.5 ppg / 6th
3-pointers per game: 9.4 3pg / 11th
Scoring margin: 16.1 / 10th
Turnovers per game: 12.5 / 25th

It Doesn???t Rain 3s, It Pours Them

The 3-point shot has been a key part of Tennessee???s repertoire under Bruce Pearl ... The Vols are averaging 26.5 3-point shots per game this season ... 41.4 percent (530 of 1,281) of the Vols??? shots have been from 3-point range ... UT leads the SEC with 9.50 3-pointers made per game on the year ... 13 different Vols have made a 3-pointer this season.

Tennessee???s 50 3-point attempts against North Carolina A&T (11/27/07) shattered the school record of 37 and are the third-most in SEC history. The Vols??? 37 3-point attempts at UT-Chattanooga (12/4/07) are tied for the second-most in school history.
The Vols have tied the school record for 3-pointers made in a game with 16 two times this season. They performed the feat less than a week between games, doing it against Middle Tennessee State (11/20/07) and then against Texas (11/24/07).
Chris Lofton is the SEC???s career leader with 379 3-pointers.
Lofton broke his own single-game record for attempts by going 8-of-20 from 3-point range against North Carolina A&T (11/27/07). It tied for the third highest number of attempts in SEC history.
Lofton???s eight 3-pointers against North Carolina A&T are tied for second-most in school history. Lofton already holds the school record with nine triples in a game against Georgia his sophomore season.
JaJuan Smith???s seven 3-pointers against Middle Tennessee (11/20/07) rank in a tie for fourth on UT???s single-game lists.

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