UT-LSU Game Notes

Tennessee		Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
F	1 Tyler Smith	6-7	215	So.	13.5	6.2	3.8
F	4 Wayne Chism	6-9	242	So.	8.7	6.0	1.1
G	5 Chris Lofton	6-2	200	Sr.	15.7	3.0	2.0
G	2 JaJuan Smith	6-2	195	Sr.	14.8	3.3	2.5
G	12 Ramar Smith	6-2	200	So.	8.5	2.3	3.5
LSU		Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
F	3 Anthony Randolph	6-10	190	Fr.	14.1	8.6	1.4
F	32 Quintin Thornton	6-8	230	Jr.	2.6	2.9	0.9
G	30 Alex Farrer	6-5	200	So.	2.8	1.4	0.9
G	14 Garrett Temple	6-6	185	Jr.	6.8	4.2	3.6
G	5 Marcus Thornton	6-4	190	Jr.	19.8	5.9	1.4

UT has won 10 of the last 14 in the LSU series

Tennessee will hit the road to play an SEC Western Division foe for the third time in four games when the Vols visit LSU???s Pete Maravich Assembly Center at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9.
The Vols are in a stretch where they play five out of seven games against SEC Western Division teams. UT???s last two road games have been at Alabama (93-86 win on Jan. 29) and at Mississippi State (76-71 win on Feb. 2). After the LSU game, Tennessee will host Arkansas and Auburn with a road trip to Georgia sandwiched inbetween.
Tennessee earned its 20th victory of the season with a 104-82 win over 22nd-ranked Florida Tuesday in Knoxville. Chris Lofton led all scorers with 26 points on 6-of-11 3-point shooting. JaJuan Smith and Tyler Smith each added 23 points for the Vols who scored their second-most points ever against the Gators.
LSU is one of just two schools in the SEC that has a winning record against the Vols since the start of the 2005-06 season. The Tigers have won two of the three meetings during that time.
Chris Lofton broke the SEC record for career 3-pointers at Kentucky (1/22/08) and ranks eighth in NCAA history with 389 career triples. The Maysville, Ky., native has heated up as of late, making 47.1 percent (32-of-68) of his long-range shots in SEC play.
UT leads the SEC in scoring (85.4 ppg), assists (19.82 apg), steals (10.59 spg), turnover margin (+7.32), assist-turnover ratio (1.55), 3-point field goals made (9.77 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 15.7 points lead three Vols in double figure scoring. JaJuan Smith is second on the team with 14.8 points while Tyler Smith adds 13.5.
Sophomore forward Wayne Chism has increased his production in SEC play, averaging 9.9 points and a team-best 7.8 rebounds per game.

Tennessee Trends

UT???s 20-2 start is the best 22-game start in school history. Tennessee reached the 20-win milestone faster than any previous team in school history.
Tennessee has started with a 7-1 record in league play for the second time in three years. The Vols opened SEC play with a 10-1 record in 2005-06.
JaJuan Smith needs 10 points to reach the 1,200 career point milestone. He has scored 1,190 points in 112 career games.
Chris Lofton needs five 3-point attempts to break Pat Bradley???s (Arkansas 1996-99) SEC career record of 915 shots from behind the arc. Lofton has made an SEC record 389 of his 911 attempts.
Chris Lofton is shooting 50 percent (31-of-62) from 3-point range in his last six games.
Tennessee???s last eight opponents have combined to shoot 38-of-150 (25.3 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 one Vol has fouled out of Tennessee???s first 22 games despite having a player record their fourth foul 35 times.
UT???s schedule is ranked as the second-most difficult in the nation by kenpom.com.
Tennessee is averaging 24.3 points per game off turnovers this season (534 points in 22 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 10.6 steals per game this year.
UT is leading the SEC with 19.8 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 20,022 fans per game, up from 19,661 last season.
Tennessee is 41-2 at Thompson-Boling Arena since the start of the 2005-06 season.
UT has a 28-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 341 consecutive games.
Under Bruce Pearl, UT is 59-5 when leading or tied with five minutes left in the game.
UT is 45-4 when scoring 80 or more points under the direction of Bruce Pearl.
UT is 36-14 (.720) when playing before crowds of 20,000 or larger at Thompson-Boling Arena. In 2007-08 the Vols are 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.
Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,411-905-2 in its 99th season of basketball.
UT???s 627 regular season SEC victories rank third all-time in the SEC. Only Kentucky and Alabama have won more league games.
Tennessee is 241-86 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 389 career treys rank first in SEC history and are eighth all-time in the NCAA record books ... He needs three 3-pointers to pass UMKC???s Michael Watson for seventh and 12 to pass Syracuse???s Gerry McNamara for sixth on the NCAA???s all-time list ... The senior has made 76 3-pointers this season ... He holds Tennessee career records for 3-pointers made (389), attempted (911) and percentage (.427).

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 .859 free throw percentage.
Second in the SEC with 3.45 3-pointers per game.
His 76 3-pointers this year are ninth on UT???s single-season lists. He holds four of the top 10 single season marks in school history.
Is shooting 47.1 percent from 3-point range in SEC games.
Last six games is shooting 50 percent (31-of-62) from 3-point range.
Needs five 3-point attempts to pass Arkansas??? Pat Bradley (915 from 1995-99) for the most 3-point trys in SEC history.

Crashing The Boards

Tennessee has hit the boards in it last three games ... The Vols held a -1.5 rebounding margin through their first 19 games but have outrebounded their last three opponents by an average of +9.0 (126-99) rebounds per game ... Nearly 45 percent (56 of 126) of UT???s boards during the three-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 20.1 times per game which ranks in a tie for the fourth-most in the nation (as of Feb. 7) ... The Vols are averaging 24.3 points per game off turnovers this season (534 points in 22 games) ... UT???s turnover margin of +7.32 easily leads the SEC.

Looking At LSU

The LSU Tigers are 8-13 on the season and 1-6 in SEC action ... They enjoyed a midweek break and were last in action on Saturday, Feb. 2, when they fell 72-81 at Alabama ... Marcus Johnson, a 6-foot-4 transfer from Kilgore Junior College, leads the Tigers and is tied for the SEC lead with 19.8 points ... Johnson has scored at least 20 points in six consecutive games and is averaging and SEC-best 24.4 points in league play ... Thornton had the highest scoring game in the SEC this year with a 38-point effort against Auburn (1/30/08) ... 6-10 freshman forward Anthony Randolph leads all SEC freshmen and ranks third overall in the league with 8.6 rebounds per game ... Junior guard Garrett Temple???s 312 assists rank ninth in school history and his 115 steals are quickly approaching LSU???s career leaders ... LSU???s .741 free throw percentage is second-best in the conference ... LSU has gone much of this season with a short bench, playing with as few as eight players dressed for some games ... Tasmin Mitchell has been out of action since undergoing surgery to his left foot on Nov. 29 ... Dameon Mason is unable to play this semester due to NCAA rules regarding entering second semester GPA for fifth-year seniors ... Chris Johnson missed most of January with a broken hand ... LSU???s 74 wins at the PMAC since 2002-03 are the second-most home wins in the SEC during that time ... John Brady is the third winningest coach in school history with a 192-124 record in his 11th year in Baton Rouge and 291-216 in 17 seasons as a head coach.

Fastest To 20 Wins

The Vols became the fastest team in school history to reach the 20-win milestone with a 104-82 win over Florida (2/5/08) ... Tennessee needed just 22 games to reach 20 wins ... Before this season, the fastest UT had ever reached the 20-win mark was in 1999-2000 when the Vols won 20 of their first 23 contests ... It is the third consecutive year and the 21st time in school history that the Vols have won 20 games.

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 85.4 points per game but leading scorer Chris Lofton ranks 14th in the league individually with 15.7 points ... Tennessee also leads the SEC and the nation with 19.8 assists per game but UT leader Tyler Smith ranks 10th with 3.8 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 Feb. 5 NCAA statistics.

Assists per game: 19.5 apg / 1st
Assist-Turnover Ratio: 1.5 / 2nd
Steals per game: 10.4 spg / 3rd
Scoring offense: 84.5 ppg / 4th
3-pointers per game: 9.6 3pg / 6th
Scoring margin: 15.1 / 11th

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 26.7 3-point shots per game this season ... 41.5 percent (587 of 1,415) of the Vols??? shots have been from 3-point range ... UT leads the SEC with 9.77 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 389 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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