UT-Memphis Game Notes

Tennessee		Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
F	1 Tyler Smith	6-7	215	So.	13.4	6.5	3.7
F	4 Wayne Chism	6-9	242	So.	9.2	6.0	1.2
G	5 Chris Lofton	6-2	200	Sr.	15.4	3.3	2.0
G	2 JaJuan Smith	6-2	195	Sr.	14.3	3.2	2.5
G	12 Ramar Smith	6-2	200	So.	8.3	2.4	3.2
Memphis		Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
F	2 Robert Dozier	6-9	215	Jr.	10.1	7.2	1.2
F	3 Joey Dorsey	6-9	265	Sr.	7.4	10.5	0.6
G	14 Chris Douglas-Roberts	6-7	200	Jr.	17.9	4.5	1.5
G	5 Antonio Anderson	6-6	210	Jr.	7.8	3.5	3.5
G	23 Derrick Rose	6-3	205	Fr.	13.7	4.3	4.3

Vols seeking 7th win in last 9 versus Tigers

Second-ranked Tennessee will take its final break from Southeastern Conference action to travel across the state to visit top-ranked Memphis at 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23.
Of the 37 previous 1-2 matchups only four have featured teams from the same state. North Carolina (Duke and UNC) and Ohio (Cincinnati and Ohio State) have each had it happen twice before.
The Vols??? No. 2 ranking in both major polls is the highest in school history. Prior to this season, the highest Tennessee had ever been ranked was fourth (six times) in the Associated Press poll.
UT???s 24-2 start is the best 26-game start in school history, breaking the previous best mark of 22-4 in 1999-2000. Tennessee reached the 20-win milestone faster than any team in school history.
The Vols extended their winning streak to eight games with an 89-70 win over Auburn, Feb. 20. Ramar Smith led the Vols with a season-high 19 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and the free throw line. Tyler Smith registered his second consecutive double-double with 13 point and 13 rebounds. The Vols shot 51.5 percent from the field while holding the Tigers to a season-low 31.7 percent shooting.
Chris Lofton reached one milestone against Auburn and is closing in on another. The Maysville, Ky., native became the seventh player in NCAA history to record 400 career 3-pointers, finishing the Auburn game with 402. He needs 28 points to reach the 2,000 career point mark. The senior guard ranks sixth in school history with 1,972 career points after passing Bernard King Wednesday night.
Wayne Chism and Tyler Smith have given the Vols a strong inside presence over the last three games. Smith has averaged 13.3 points and 9.0 rebounds and Chism has 13.3 points and 6.0 rebounds.
UT leads the SEC in scoring (83.9 ppg), scoring margin (+14.8), assists (19.08 apg), steals (10.23 spg), turnover margin (+6.69), assist-turnover ratio (1.46), 3-point field goals made (9.31 3pg) and 3-point field goal defense (.291).

Tennessee Trends

The Memphis game begins a treacherous stretch for the Vols that includes games at Vanderbilt (Feb. 26), vs. Kentucky (March 2) and at Florida (March 5).
For the first time since SEC divisional play started in 1991-92, UT posted a 6-0 record against the West.
Tennessee has started with an 11-1 record in league play for first time since 1976-77. The 1976-77 team led by Ernie Grunfeld and Bernard King opened SEC action with a 14-1 mark before suffering their second loss.
Tennessee???s 24 wins this season are tied for the second-most in school history.
Bruce Pearl???s 70 wins in his first three years at Tennessee are the most by a Tennessee coach in his first three seasons in Knoxville. Jerry Green is second with a 67-25 record from 1997-2000.
UT has won 10 games away from home this season (10-2).
Tennessee has outrebounded each of its last eight opponents and owns a +5.1 rebounding advantage during those games. The Vols are averaging 16.6 offensive rebounds during the stretch.
Chris Lofton was named the SEC Player of the Week on Feb. 11 after leading the Vols to wins over Florida and LSU. Lofton has earned more SEC POW awards (7) than any other player in league history.
Chris Lofton is shooting 48.4 percent (44-of-91) from 3-point range in his last 10 games.
Tennessee???s last 12 opponents have combined to shoot 63-of-239 (26.4 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.
Only two Vols have fouled out of Tennessee???s first 26 games despite having a player record their fourth foul 38 times.
UT???s schedule is ranked as the second-most difficult in the nation by kenpom.com.
Tennessee is averaging 23.4 points per game off turnovers this season (608 points in 26 games).
Tennessee???s 83.9 points per game are leading the SEC for the third consecutive year. Pearl???s teams have led their league in scoring 15 of his 16 years as a head coach.
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 16 minutes per game.
Tennessee has forced an average of 19.8 turnovers off an SEC-best 10.2 steals per game this year.
UT is leading the SEC with 19.1 assists per game.
Six 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 20,065 fans per game, up from 19,661 last season.
Tennessee is 43-2 at Thompson-Boling Arena since the start of the 2005-06 season.
UT has a 30-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 14-6 against ranked teams while at Tennessee.
The Vols have made at least one 3-pointer in 345 consecutive games.
Under Bruce Pearl, UT is 63-5 when leading or tied with five minutes left in the game.
UT is 47-4 when scoring 80 or more points under the direction of Bruce Pearl.
UT is 38-14 (.731) when playing before crowds of 20,000 or larger at Thompson-Boling Arena. In 2007-08 the Vols are 8-0 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.
Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,415-905-2 in its 99th season of basketball.
UT???s 631 regular season SEC victories rank third all-time in the SEC. Only Kentucky and Alabama have won more league games.
Tennessee is 243-86 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.

Tennessee Against No. 1

The Vols are playing the top-ranked team in the Associated Press Poll for the third time in the last 13 months and the 13th time in school history ... UT is 2-10 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Poll ... Tennessee???s last win against a top-ranked team came Dec. 2, 1969, when the Vols upset South Carolina 55-54.

Date	Opponent??	Result
3/5/1949	Kentucky	L, 44-83
2/17/1951	at Kentucky	L, 61-86
2/16/1952	at Kentucky	L, 40-95
3/1/1952	Kentucky	L, 66-81
1/23/1954	Kentucky	L, 71-97
1/22/1955	Kentucky	L, 66-84
2/28/1959	Kentucky	L, 56-69
2/26/1966	at Kentucky	L, 64-78
3/5/1966	Kentucky	W, 69-62
12/6/1969	at South Carolina	W, 55-54
2/3/2007	at Florida	L, 78-94
3/22/2007	vs. Ohio State	L, 84-85

Lofton Breaks SEC 3-Point Record; Ranks 5th 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 402 career treys rank first in SEC history and are fifth all-time in the NCAA record books ... He became just the seventh player in NCAA history to make 400 career triples ... The senior has made 89 3-pointers this season ... He holds Tennessee career records for 3-pointers made (402), attempted (940) and percentage (.428).

He ranks among the SEC leaders with an .863 free throw percentage.
Second in the SEC with 3.42 3-pointers per game.
His 89 3-pointers this year are fifth on UT???s single-season lists. He holds four of the top five single-season marks in school history.
Is shooting 46.4 percent from 3-point range and is making 3.75 treys in SEC games.
Broke the SEC record for career 3-point attempts at LSU (2/9/08). Has 940 career 3-point attempts.
Passed Bernard King for sixth on UT???s career scoring lists against Auburn, finishing the game with 1,972 points.

Lofton Approaching 2,000-Point Milestone

Chris Lofton needs 28 points to become the sixth Vol to score 2,000 career points ... The senior has scored 1,972 points in 118 career games ... He would become the first Vol to reach the milestone since Allan Houston (1989-93) and the first Southeastern Conference player since South Carolina???s B.J. McKie (2,119 points) reached the mark during the 1998-99 season ... Other Vols who have scored 2,000 points include: Houston (2,801), Ernie Grunfeld (2,249), Tony White (2,219), Reggie Johnson (2,103) and Dale Ellis (2,065).

Crashing The Boards

Tennessee has hit the boards in its last eight games ... The Vols held a -1.5 rebounding margin through their first 18 games but have outrebounded their last eight opponents by an average of +5.1 (332-291) rebounds per game ... 40.1 percent (133-of-332) of UT???s boards during the seven-game stretch have come at the offensive end.

Turning Up The Heat

Tennessee is forcing its opponents to turn the ball over an average of 19.8 times per game which ranks as the fifth-most in the nation (as of Feb. 21) ... The Vols are averaging 23.4 points per game off turnovers this season (608 points in 26 games) ... UT???s turnover margin of +6.69 easily leads the SEC.

Looking At Memphis

The only remaining undefeated team in the nation, top-ranked Memphis is 26-0 on the season and 12-0 in Conference USA action ... The Tigers have been ranked No.1 in both major polls since Jan. 21 ... All-America candidate Chris Douglas-Roberts, a 6-foot- 7 junior guard, leads the Tigers with 17.9 points per game ... The reigning C-USA player of the week, Douglas-Roberts is averaging 27.7 points over his last three games ... Freshman guard Derrick Rose is adding 13.7 points and a team-high 4.3 assists per game ... Joey Dorsey, a 6-9, 265-pound forward, leads UM with 10.5 rebounds per game ... Dorsey is C-USA???s career rebounding leader with 1,100 rebounds ... Memphis owns the nation???s longest active homecourt winning streak, having won 47 consecutive games ... Overall, the Tigers have a 69-8 record (.896) at FedExForum ... UM has not lost a regular season game since Dec. 20, 2006 (45 games) ... Their 45-game regular season win streak ranks as the eighth-longest in NCAA history ... John Calipari recorded his 400th career win Wednesday at Tulane ... Calipari is 207-63 in his eighth year at Memphis and 400-134 in his 16th season as a head coach.

Tennessee - Memphis Connections

J.P. Prince is a native of Memphis where he attended White Station High School ... His father, John, served as an assistant coach at Memphis under Larry Finch in the mid-1990s ... Tennessee???s Wayne Chism and Memphis??? Willie Kemp were high school teammates at Bolivar Central High School where they combined to lead the Tigers to the 2005 Class AA state title.

Vols Riding 30-Game Home Win Streak

Tennessee???s 30-game home winning streak is the Vols??? longest in Thompson-Boling Arena history and the school???s longest in more than three decades ... It is the second-longest in school history ... The last team to leave Knoxville with a win was Kentucky after an 80-78 decision on March 1, 2006 ... The Vols were 16-0 at home in 2006-07 ... In his third season at UT, Bruce Pearl is 43-2 in Thompson-Boling Arena ... As of Feb. 21, Tennessee???s 30-game streak was the fourth-longest in NCAA Division I ... The record is 33 from Jan. 2, 1966 - Feb. 24, 1968.

Balanced Offense

Tennessee is one of the top scoring teams in the Southeastern Conference but does not list a player among the top 10 scorers in the league ... UT leads the SEC with 83.9 points per game but leading scorer Chris Lofton ranks 12th in the league individually with 15.4 points ... Tennessee also leads the SEC and the nation with 19.1 assists per game but UT leader Tyler Smith ranks ninth with 3.7 assists per game.

The Vols have had four or more players reach double figure scoring in a game 15 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 Feb. 17 NCAA statistics.

Assists per game: 19.2 apg / 1st
Steals per game: 10.3 spg / 2nd
Assist-Turnover Ratio: 1.49 / 4th
Scoring offense: 83.7 ppg / 6th
3-pointers per game: 9.4 3pg / 12th
Scoring margin: 14.6 / 9th
3-pointers per game: Chris Lofton - 3.4 3pg / 18th

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 25.7 3-point shots per game this season ... 40.0 percent (669 of 1,674) of the Vols??? shots have been from 3-point range ... UT leads the SEC with 9.31 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 402 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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