UT-Florida Game Notes

Tennessee		Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
F	1 Tyler Smith	6-7	215	So.	13.0	6.1	3.7
F	4 Wayne Chism	6-9	242	So.	8.9	6.1	1.0
G	5 Chris Lofton	6-2	200	Sr.	15.2	3.0	2.0
G	2 JaJuan Smith	6-2	195	Sr.	14.4	3.3	2.4
G	12 Ramar Smith	6-2	200	So.	8.5	2.3	3.3
Florida		Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
F	21 Dan Werner	6-7	235	So.	8.2	6.8	2.3
C	34 Marreese Speights	6-10	250	So.	14.0	7.7	0.9
G	15 Walter Hodge	6-0	170	Jr.	10.3	2.2	2.7
G	33 Nick Calathes	6-6	185	Fr.	15.8	5.0	6.1
G	5 Jai Lucas	5-11	150	Fr.	9.3	1.8	2.3

Chris Lofton needs nine points for 1900 in career

The Tennessee Volunteers return from a two-game road trip to play host to the 20th-ranked Florida Gators at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, at Thompson-Boling Arena. ESPN will televise the game as a part of its Super Tuesday programming.
Tuesday???s game will feature the SEC???s two winningest programs over the last three seasons. Tennessee and Florida have each posted 28-11 league records since the start of 2005-06 which are tied for the best in the conference during that time.
The Vols won their second consecutive road game against an SEC Western division foe with a 76-71 victory over 25th-ranked Mississippi State Saturday night in Starkville, Miss. Ten Vols saw at least 10 minutes of action and helped UT outrebound the bigger Bulldogs 42-32. Chris Lofton led UT with 20 points while JaJuan Smith chipped in 15. Earlier in the week, Tennessee defeated Alabama 93-86 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Chris Lofton broke the SEC record for career 3-pointers at Kentucky (1/22/08) and ranks eighth in NCAA history with 383 career triples. The Maysville, Ky., native has heated up as of late, making 45.6 percent (26-of-57) of his long-range shots in SEC play.
UT leads the SEC in scoring (84.5 ppg), assists (19.48 apg), steals (10.43 spg), turnover margin (+7.14), assist-turnover ratio (1.50), 3-point field goals made (9.62 3pg) and 3-point field goal defense (.293).
Leading the SEC in scoring is nothing new for the Vols under head coach Bruce Pearl. Pearl???s teams have led their league in scoring 15 of his 16 years as a head coach, including each of his first two at UT.
Chris Lofton is leading a balanced Tennessee attack. Lofton???s 15.2 points lead three Vols in double figure scoring. JaJuan Smith is second on the team with 14.4 points while Tyler Smith adds 13.0.
Sophomore forward Wayne Chism has increased his production in SEC play, averaging 10.6 points and a team-best 8.4 rebounds per game.

Tennessee Trends

Tennessee has outrebounded its last two opponents by an average of +9.5 rebounds (87-68). Nearly 45 percent (39 of 87) of UT???s rebounds came at the offensive end. The Vols won the battle of the boards at Alabama (45-36) and at Mississippi State (42-32). The Vols held a -1.5 rebounding margin through their first 19 games.
Chris Lofton has scored at least 20 points in each of his last four games. It is the fourth time in his career he has reached the 20-point mark in four consecutive games. Last season he did it two times, including one streak of six consecutive games.
No Vol has fouled out of Tennessee???s first 21 games despite having a player record their fourth foul 31 times.
UT???s 19-2 start is tied (1941-42) for the best 21-game start in school history. The Vols have never started a season with a 20-2 record.
Tennessee???s last seven opponents have combined to shoot 33-of-133 (24.8 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 49.0 percent (25-of-51) from 3-point range in his last five games.
UT???s schedule is ranked as the second-most difficult in the nation by kenpom.com.
Tennessee is averaging 24.2 points per game off turnovers this season (508 points in 21 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 20.1 turnovers off an SEC-best 10.4 steals per game this year.
UT is leading the SEC with 19.5 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 1,891 career points rank seventh on UT???s all-time scorers list. He needs 109 points to become the first Vol since Allan Houston (1989-93) to reach the 2,000-point milestone.
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 13-6 against ranked teams while at Tennessee.
The Vols have made at least one 3-pointer in 340 consecutive games.
Under Bruce Pearl, UT is 58-5 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 1,410-905-2 in its 99th season of basketball.
UT???s 626 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 383 career treys rank first in SEC history and are eighth all-time in the NCAA record books ... He needs nine 3-pointers to pass UMKC???s Michael Watson for seventh and 18 to pass Syracuse???s Gerry McNamara for sixth on the NCAA???s all-time list ... The senior has made 70 3-pointers this season ... He holds Tennessee career records for 3-pointers made (383), attempted (900) and percentage (.426).

With more offensive weapons in the lineup this season, he is averaging a career-best 2.0 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 .846 free throw percentage.
Ranks second in the SEC with 3.33 3-pointers per game.
His 70 3-pointers this year are 10th on UT???s single-season lists. He already holds three of the top 10 single-season marks in school history.
Is shooting 45.6 percent from 3-point range in SEC games.
Last five games is shooting 49.0 percent (25-of-51) from 3-point range.
Needs 16 3-point attempts to pass Arkansas??? Pat Bradley (915 from 1995-99) for the most 3-point trys in SEC history.

Vols Vying For 3rd Straight 20-Win Season

Tennessee is looking to post its third consecutive 20-win season and the 21st in school history ... If the Vols were to win against Florida, it would mark the fastest UT has ever reached the 20-win milestone ... Tennessee has never started a season with a 20-2 record ... The fastest UT has ever reached the 20-win mark was in 1999-2000 when the Vols won 20 of their first 23 contests.

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 24.2 points per game off turnovers this season (508 points in 21 games) ... UT???s turnover margin of +7.14 easily leads the SEC.

Looking At Florida

Florida enters Tuesday???s matchup with an impressive 18-4 overall record and a 5-2 in Southeastern Conference action ... The Gators are coming off a 61-80 loss at Arkansas Saturday ... Eight of the their top nine players are either freshmen (5) or sophomores (3) while junior guard Walter Hodge is the elder statesman ... Freshman Nick Calathes leads the young Gators with 15.8 points and his 6.1 assists lead the SEC ... The 6-foot-6 Calathes has flirted with getting a triple-double nine times this season, including four times in SEC play ... Marreese Speights, a 6-10 sophomore center is second on the team with 14.0 points while leading the squad with 7.7 rebounds and his .627 field goal percentage ... Hodge adds 10.3 points and is making 48.3 percent of his shots from the field ... Freshman guard Jai Lucas contributes 9.3 points and makes 50 percent (28-of-56) of his 3-pointers ... Florida is one of just four SEC teams averaging more than 80 points per game (80.2) ... The Gators lead the SEC with a .493 team field goal percentage ... UF???s assist-turnover ratio of 1.44 is second in the league ... Billy Donovan is 279-107 in his 12th season at Florida and 314-127 in 14 years as a head coach.

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 84.5 points per game but leading scorer Chris Lofton ranks 14th in the league individually with 15.2 points ... Tennessee also leads the SEC and the nation with 19.5 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 31 NCAA statistics.

Assists per game: 19.9 apg / 1st
Assist-Turnover Ratio: 1.539 / 2nd
Steals per game: 10.8 spg / 2nd
Scoring offense: 85.0 ppg / 5th
3-pointers per game: 9.5 3pg / 9th
Scoring margin: 15.6 / 9th

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 26.6 3-point shots per game this season ... 41.5 percent (558 of 1,344) of the Vols??? shots have been from 3-point range ... UT leads the SEC with 9.62 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 383 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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