Ole Miss Game Preview

Tennessee		Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
F	1 Tyler Smith	6-7	215	So.	12.9	5.5	3.5
F	4 Wayne Chism	6-9	242	So.	8.2	4.9	1.0
G	5 Chris Lofton	6-2	200	Sr.	14.5	3.5	2.7
G	2 JaJuan Smith	6-2	195	Sr.	14.4	2.3	2.8
G	15 Jordan Howell	6-2	200	So.	7.4	1.5	3.2
Ole Miss		Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
F	50 Kenny Williams	6-8	240	Sr.	8.5	8.0	0.9
C	44 Dwayne Curtis	6-8	262	Sr.	15.2	8.2	0.9
G	12 Chris Warren	5-10	170	Fr.	15.2	2.2	5.7
G	14 Eniel Polynice	6-5	216	So.	12.1	5.3	4.2
G	33 David Huertas	6-5	197	So.	10.6	3.5	2.2

Vols Seek Ninth Straight Win Over Rebs at Home

Tennessee will play host to the 18th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels in the Vols??? Southeastern Conference opener at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 9, at Thompson-Boling Arena. Raycom Sports will televise the game.
Wednesday game will feature two of the highest scoring teams in the SEC. Tennessee leads the league with 87.4 points while Ole Miss is third with 86.2 points per game.
UT has won seven of its last eight SEC openers, including a 2-0 mark under head coach Bruce Pearl.
The Ole Miss game will be UT???s second home game in the last 39 days. The Vols played four of their five games in the month of December away from home. Since hosting Louisiana Lafayette Nov. 30, UNC Asheville (Dec. 19) was Tennessee???s only home game.
Tennessee won its seventh consecutive game with an 82-72 victory over Gonzaga at the Battle In Seattle on Dec. 29. JaJaun Smith led six Vols in double-figure scoring with 18 points while Tyler Smith registered a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds to go with six assists without a turnover.
Four of UT???s victories during the seven-game winning streak have come away from Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols are 5-1 this season when playing away from home.
Tennessee has won 12 of its first 13 games for the first time since the 2000-01 team opened with a 16-1 record. It is in a four-way tie for the second-best start in school history (the 1922-23 team started 13-0).
Chris Lofton broke Allan Houston???s school record (346 from 1989-93) for career 3-pointers made against UNC Asheville. Lofton???s 353 career 3-pointers ranks second in SEC history behind only Arkansas??? Pat Bradley (366 from 1995-99) and are tied for 19th in NCAA history.
Lofton leads the Vols with 14.5 points while backcourt mate JaJuan Smith is adding 14.4 points per game. J.P. Prince, a sophomore transfer from Arizona, is averaging 14.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists in his four games since fulfilling NCAA transfer requirements last month. Tyler Smith adds 12.9 points while leading the team with 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.2 steals.

Tennessee Trends

A win would give UT a 13-1 record for the first time since the 2000-01 team started 16-1. It would be the fifth time in school history (2000-01, 1999-2000, 1941-42 and 1922-23) the Vols have started 13-1.
The Vols went undefeated (4-0) in the month of December for the second consecutive season.
Tennessee is averaging 25.9 points per game off turnovers this season (337 points in 13 games).
No UT player ranks among the SEC???s top 30 in minutes played.
Lofton???s 1,760 career points rank eighth on UT???s all-time scorers list.
Tennessee has forced an average of 22.3 turnovers off an SEC-best 12.2 steals per game this year.
UT is leading the SEC with 20.9 assists per game.
UT???s 69-point (109-40) win over Middle Tennessee 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.
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 36-2 at Thompson-Boling Arena since the start of the 2005-06 season.
UT has a 23-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 22-0 in non-conference home games under Bruce Pearl.
Bruce Pearl is 10-6 against ranked teams while at Tennessee.
The Vols have made at least one 3-pointer in 332 consecutive games.
Under Bruce Pearl, UT is 51-4 when leading or tied with five minutes left in the game.
UT is 39-4 when scoring 80 or more points under the direction of Bruce Pearl.
UT is 31-14 (.689) 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 1,403-904-2 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 236-86 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.

Tough Stretch

The Ole Miss game will mark Tennessee???s fourth consecutive game against an opponent that had won at least eight of its first 10 games this season ... UT???s last four opponents have had a combined 38-7 record entering their game with the Vols.

Conference Openers

Tennessee has won seven of its last eight conference openers ??? This will be the second consecutive season that the Vols have opened SEC play at Thompson-Boling Arena ??? Last year UT opened SEC action with a 92-84 win over Mississippi State.

Looking At Ole Miss

Ole Miss is off to its best start in school history with a school record 13 consecutive wins to open the season ... The previous record for consecutive victories was 12, set in 1926... The Rebels are one of just six teams in the nation that are still undefeated ... This will be Mississippi???s seventh game away from home in its last eight outings ... Ole Miss claimed the 2007 San Juan Shootout with wins over DePaul, La Salle and 15th-ranked Clemson last month ... Second team preseason All-SEC selection Dwayne Curtis, a 6-foot-8 senior center, is tied for the team lead with 15.2 points and ranks second in the SEC with 8.2 rebounds per game ... Chris Warren, a 5-10 freshman guard, averages 15.2 points and ranks second in the conference with 5.7 assists per game ... Freshman guard Trevor Gaskins ranks third in the SEC with a 3-point field goal percentage of .456 (26-of-57) ... Kenny Williams is second on the team and fourth in the SEC with 8.0 rebounds per game ... Ole Miss leads the SEC in rebounding margin (+7.9) and is second in turnover margin (+4.15) ... The Rebels return eight letterwinners, including two starters from last year???s team that posted a 21-13 record ... The defending Western Division co-champions were picked to finish last in their division for the second consecutive season ... The 2007 SEC Coach of the Year, Andy Kennedy is 34-13 in his second year in Oxford and 55-26 in his third season as a head coach.

Turning Up The Heat

Tennessee is forcing its opponents to turn the ball over an average of 22.3 times per game which ranks as the second-most in the nation (as of Jan. 6) ... The Vols are averaging 25.9 points per game off turnovers this season (337 points in 13 games) ... UT???s turnover margin of +9.85 easily leads the Southeastern Conference.

Balanced Offense

Tennessee is leading the Southeastern Conference in both scoring and assists but does not list a single player among the top 10 in either individual category ... UT is averaging an SEC-high 87.8 points per game but leading scorer Chris Lofton ranks 16th in the league individually with 14.5 points ... Seven Vols are averaging seven or more points this season ... Tennessee also leads the SEC and the nation with 20.9 assists per game but UT leader Tyler Smith ranks in a tie for 13th with 3.46 assists per game ... Six Vols are averaging at least 2.50 assists per game for the year.

UT has had a player score 20 or more points just five times this season.
The Vols have had four or more players reach double figure scoring in a game nine times this year. Five or more players scored at least 10 points in a game four times.

UT Leading The Nation in Assists

UT is prominently listed among the national leaders according to the January 3 NCAA statistics.

Assists per game: 20.9 apg / 1st
Steals per game: 12.2 spg / 2nd
Assist-Turnover Ratio: 1.68/2nd
Scoring offense: 87.4 ppg / 4th
3-pointers per game: 9.7 3pg / 10th

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 27.9 3-point shots per game this season ... 42.9 percent (362 of 843) of the Vols??? shots have been from 3-point range ... UT is averaging 9.7 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 became UT???s career leader for 3-pointers made against UNC Asheville. The senior guard???s 353 triples rank second in SEC history.
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.

University of Tennessee Athletics