University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee vs. Florida - Game Preview
January 17, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2005
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| Tennessee Volunteers vs. Florida Gators
RADIO
TV RANKINGS: THE COACHES: Florida Gators
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Tennessee Trends
- Tennessee is in the midst of a stretch where the Vols play five of six games on the road. The Vols play at South Carolina (Jan. 15), at Florida (Jan. 19), at Louisville (Jan. 22), vs. Kentucky (Jan. 25), at Auburn (Jan. 29) and at Vanderbilt (Feb. 2) during the three week period.
- This is the first time that the Vols have played three consecutive road games since the 1998-99 season.
- Following the Florida game, the Vols will kickoff their second annual "Bluegrass Week" by playing at Louisville and then hosting Kentucky. UT also played UK and U of L in consecutive games last year.
- Tennessee is 7-0 when leading or tied at halftime.
- The Vols are 7-1 when leading at the first media time out. They are 2-6 when trailing or the score is tied.
- Despite leading the nation in 3-point percentage (50.6 percent), Chris Lofton is shooting just 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from behind the arc over UT's last four games.
- More than 250 people from Maysville, Ky., made the trip to Knoxville to watch native son Chris Lofton play against Vanderbilt (1/8/05).
- Tennessee has shot 58.8 percent (67-of-114) from the free throw line in its last six games. The Vols shot 73.2 percent from the line in their first 10 games.
- Scooter McFadgon has registered double figure scoring in every game in which he has played this year.
- Five Vols are shooting better than 50 percent from the field. Brandon Crump (60.5), Andre Patterson (57.3), Chris Lofton (53.8), Major Wingate (52.3) and Jemere Hendrix (50.0) are all making more than half of their shots.
- Four different players have led the Vols in scoring this season. Scooter McFadgon (5 times), Brandon Crump (4), C.J. Watson (4) and Chris Lofton (3) have all led UT in scoring.
- Tennessee has shot 50 percent or better from the field in six of its last 11 games.
- Brandon Crump became the eighth Vol ever to have 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocked shots.
- C.J. Watson's 390 career assists are seventh all-time at Tennessee. He needs 10 assists to become the sixth Vol to record 400 career assists.
- After shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from 3-point range in their first five games, the Vols are shooting 50.0 percent (275-of-550) from the field over their last 11 games.
- UT's starters have accounted for 79.9 percent (906 of 1,134 points) of the Vols' scoring this season.
- Ten different Vols have made a 3-pointer this season.
- C.J. Watson became the first Vol in five years to record 10 or more assists in a game when he registered a career-high 10 dimes against Nebraska (12/30/04).
- C.J. Watson and Chris Lofton have tied a school record for single-game 3-point percentage by going 5-for-5 from 3-point range. Watson did it against Campbell (12/23/04) and Lofton accomplished the feat at New Mexico (12/18/04). They tied the mark set by Shane Carnes (5-for-5 against Michigan State on Dec. 20, 1994) and Thaydeus Holden (5-for-5 against Vanderbilt on Jan. 18, 2003).
- Tennessee's 70.0 percent (7-of-10) 3-point shooting against Xavier (12/11/04) established a new school record for 3-point success. It broke the record of 64.3 percent (9-of-14) set Jan. 27, 1992 against a North Carolina State team on which Buzz Peterson was an assistant coach.
- Six of Tennessee's 13 non-conference opponents this year appeared in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Stanford, North Carolina, Texas, Xavier and Alabama State made NCAA appearances in 2004.
- Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,340-873-2 in its 96th season of basketball.
- Tennessee was one of six teams without a senior in 2003-04. Of those six teams, only Tennessee and Wake Forest received postseason invitations.
- Freshman Chris Lofton is the third Kentucky Mr. Basketball to sign with the Vols. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 26.7 points per game for Mason County HS. Allan Houston (1989) and Jermaine Brown (1991) also earned Mr. Basketball honors in the state of Kentucky.
- UT needs three home wins this season to reach the 200-win milestone in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols are 197-80 in 18 seasons of play in Thompson-Boling Arena. UT, which has averaged 12 home wins in Buzz Peterson's first three seasons in Knoxville, has 16 home games on the schedule this year.
| Team Statistical Comparisons | ||
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Florida |
| 71.4 | Points | 83.5 |
| 67.8 | Opponent Points | 63.4 |
| +3.1 | Scoring Margin | +20.1 |
| .474 | Field Goal % | .524 |
| .441 | Opponent Field Goal % | .408 |
| .393 | Three-Point % | .396 |
| .372 | Opponent Three-Point % | .335 |
| .682 | Free Throw % | .676 |
| 33.8 | Rebounds | 37.0 |
| 32.0 | Opponent Rebounds | 31.3 |
| +1.7 | Rebounding Margin | +5.7 |
| 14.6 | Assists | 16.6 |
| 14.2 | Turnovers | 14.9 |
| 3.6 | Blocks | 5.1 |
| 7.4 | Steals | 9.1 |
| 9-7 | Record | 11-3 |
| Individual Statistical Leaders | ||
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Florida |
| McFadgon, 15.8 | Points | Roberson, 17.9 |
| Patterson, 6.1 | Rebounds | Lee, 7.4 |
| Watson, 5.6 | Assists | Green, 3.4 |
| Crump, .605 | Field Goal % | Horford, .656 |
| Lofton, .506 | Three-Point % | Roberson, .436 |
| McFadgon, .815 | Free Throw % | Roberson, .902 |
Looking At Florida
One of two remaining undefeated teams in SEC action, Florida enters Wednesday's contest with an 11-3 overall record and a 3-0 mark in league play ... Kentucky (3-0) is the only other team in the SEC without a conference loss ... The Gators are coming off an impressive 82-65 victory at Vanderbilt ... Anthony Roberson, who is the reigning SEC Player of the Week, scored 30 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field and 6-of-10 shooting from 3-point range ... It was the second consecutive 30-point game for Roberson, who had 34 points in UF's overtime win at Auburn earlier in the week ... Roberson is leading the Gators and ranks third in the Southeastern Conference with 17.9 points per game ... A 6-foot-1 guard, Roberson ranks fourth in the SEC with his 53.1 field goal percentage and is second in the league with 2.93 3-pointers per game ... David Lee, a 6-foot-9 senior forward, is averaging 12.6 points per game and is sixth in the SEC with 7.4 rebounds per game ... Matt Walsh suffered a sprained ankle in practice on Dec. 30 and is not expected to be back in the lineup until February ... Walsh was second on the team with 16.0 points per game ... Sophomore Lee Humphrey has replaced Walsh in the lineup ... The Gators own the SEC's most potent offensive attack by averaging 83.5 points per game and are outscoring their opponents by a staggering 20.1 points per game ... As a team, Florida is shooting 52.4 percent from the field which leads the SEC and ranks fourth nationally while holding opponents to just 40.8 shooting which ranks fourth in the SEC ... Florida is 0-3 when being held to 70 points or less this season ... The Gators are coached by Billy Donovan who is 180-87 in his ninth season at Florida and 215-107 in his 11th year as a head coach.
The Florida Series
Wednesday's meeting in Gainesville will mark the 107th all-time meeting between the two schools with Tennessee holding a 60-46 series advantage ... Last year the two teams split the season series with Florida winning 95-57 in Gainesville and Tennessee taking a 65-63 victory in Knoxville... The Gators have won six of the last eight meetings between the schools ... Six of the last nine meetings have been decided by 10 points or less ... Tennessee leads the series 36-14 when playing in Knoxville ... Florida has a 28-21 all-time advantage when playing in Gainesville ... Florida has won 12 of the last 13 against the Vols in Gainesville.
Last Meeting With Florida
Tennessee rallied in the final minutes to upset the 22nd-ranked Florida Gators 65-63 Saturday, Jan. 31, 2004, at Thompson-Boling Arena ... The Vols led by eight points early in the second half but the Gators rallied with an 8-0 run to tie the score 42-42 with 12 minutes left ... UF went on to take the lead but the Vols hung close, never allowing the Gators to lead by more than four points ... The Vols finally took the lead for good at 62-61 on a pair of Justin Albrecht free throws with 1:33 left ... Scooter McFadgon added a pair of free throws to make the lead three points (64-61) with 13.8 seconds left ... Florida's Anthony Roberson was fouled shooting a 3-pointer but missed the first shot and was only able to cut the lead to 64-63 ... On the inbounds play Roberson quickly committed his fifth foul, sending C.J. Watson to the line ... Watson made the first one to seal the win ... The Vols outrebounded the Gators 43-24 ... UT made 24 of its 30 free throw attempts while Florida got only 23 charity tosses ... McFadgon finished the game with 24 points after going 10-of-10 from the free throw line while Brandon Crump had 11 points and 11 rebounds ... Matt Walsh and Roberson led the Gators with 17 points each.
Last Game: Vols Fall At South Carolina
Chris Lofton's 25-footer at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime bounced on the rim four times before falling to the side as South Carolina garnered a 66-63 win from the Vols ... The game featured nine ties and neither team led by more than seven points ... Andre Patterson cut USC's lead to 64-63 with 1:19 left in the game when he drove the baseline an put in a reverse layup ... On USC's next possession Tre Kelley drove the lane and received a foul call with 20 seconds remaining ... Kelley scored his only two points of the game on the two free throws that gave the Gamecocks a 66-63 lead ... After calling a time out, Buzz Peterson diagramed a play to get Lofton open that was executed perfectly except for the unkindness of the iron ... Tennessee was whistled for 11 fouls in the game's final 9:30 while South Carolina was called for one ... In all, UT was called for 24 fouls to USC's 13 ... Scooter McFadgon led the Vols with 17 points ... Brandon Crump, who was whistled for his fifth foul with 3:22 left in the game, scored 11 points to go with a team-high five rebounds ... Lofton struggled from behind the arc (1-of-6) but shot 50 percent (5-of-10) from the field to finish with 11 points ... C.J. Watson added nine points and six assists ... Powell led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting ... Josh Gonner added 16 points for the Gamecocks while Tarence Kinsey had 12 points ... USC shot 52.4 percent from the field while UT shot 45.3 percent.
Watson Named Finalist For Cousy Award
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced Jan. 14 that Tennessee junior guard C.J. Watson is one of 19 finalists for the 2005 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award ... This is the second year that the Cousy Award, which considers outstanding point guards from all three NCAA divisions, has been given ... Watson is the only other player from the Southeastern Conference listed among the finalists ... The award will be presented at a press conference at the Final Four in St. Louis. Mo., on April 4.
Time Focusing On Shot Selection Pays Off
After shooting 40.4 percent (23-of-57) from the field against UT-Chattanooga (12/5/04) Buzz Peterson spent the next week emphasizing shot selection during Tennessee's practices ... That emphasis paid off as in the 11 games since then the Vols have converted 50.0 percent (275-of-550) of their field goals ... UT has shot 50 percent or better from the field in six of its last 11 games ... UT set a school record by shooting 70.0 percent (7-of-10) from behind the 3-point arc against the Musketeers (12/11/04) ... Tennessee converted 62.5 percent (25-of-40) of its field goals against Belmont (12/20/04).
Lofton Leading The Nation In 3-Point Percentage
Freshman Chris Lofton arrived on the UT campus with a reputation as an extraordinary 3-point shooter ... Sixteen games into the season the Maysville, Ky., native has not disappointed ... According to the Jan. 10 NCAA Statistics Lofton's 56.3 percent (36-of-64) 3-point shooting is best in the nation ... He is currently shooting 50.6 percent (39-of-77) from 3-point range ... He has made 60.0 percent (24-of-40) of his shots inside the 3-point line ... Against New Mexico (12/18/04) he tied a school record by going 5-for-5 from 3-point range ... His 11.3 points per game ranks fourth on the UT roster so far this season ... 61.9 percent (39-of-63) of Lofton's field goals this season have come behind the 3-point line ... His 53.8 percent shooting from the field is third on the team ... A guard has not led the Vols in field goal percentage since Bobby Carter's 46.1 percentage (142-of-310) in 1960-61.
Pilfering Point Guard
C.J. Watson's 32 steals through 16 games leads the Vols ... Watson finished finished his sophomore season with 45 steals ... He has averaged 1.5 steals per game over his career ... He sealed the win against Xavier (12/11/04) when he took the ball from Dedrick Finn before he could get a shot off at the final buzzer ... In the season opener he recorded a career-high five steals against Stanford in the Maui Invitational.
Crump Bounces Back
Brandon Crump's senior season didn't start the way he wanted it to when after the Vols' first five games he was averaging 8.8 points per game, six points less than he averaged as a junior (14.8 ppg) ... The Houston, Texas, broke out of his early season slump in style with a career-high 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting against Xavier (12/11/04) ... The 26 points were one better than his previous career high that he had accomplished two times (most recently against Mississippi in 2004) ... In his last 11 games he is averaging 13.0 points on 66.7 percent (56-of-84 shooting).
Watson Breaks Out Of Shooting Slump With Record Game
C.J. Watson broke out of a six-game shooting slump with a school record effort from behind the 3-point line against Campbell (12/23/04) ... Watson tied the school record for 3-point percentage by going 5-of-5 from 3-point range and finished the game with a career-high 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field ... Watson shot 32.6 percent (15-of-46) from the field and averaged 8.8 points per game in UT's previous six games.
Milestones For Crump: 1,000 Points and 500 Rebounds Reached This Season
Brandon Crump became the 37th player in Tennessee history to score 1,000 career points when he reached the milestone against UT-Chattanooga (12/5/04) ... He became just the fourth UT player 6-foot-10 or taller to reach the 1,000-point milestone ... The 6-foot-10 senior forward has scored 1,148 points in 104 career games ... He is the first Vol to reach 1,000 career points since Ron Slay accomplished the milestone in the 2002-03 season ... Crump recorded his 500th career rebound against North Carolina (11/23/04) ... He is the eighth player in Tennessee history to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks.
Scooter's Free Throw Streak Stops At 31
After missing two free throws in the season-opener against Stanford (11/22/04), Scooter McFadgon went on a streak where he made 31 consecutive free throws without a miss ... The streak came to an end against Xavier (12/11/04) when he went 4-of-6 from the line ... The Memphis native missed two of his first six free throws against the Cardinal but rallied to make his last two attempts to begin the streak ... It was the second-longest streak for him as he had a streak of 32 consecutive free throws made last year.
Patterson's Up To His Old Tricks
Andre Patterson's 6.1 rebounds per game leads the Tennessee team and his 57.3 percent shooting from the field is second on the squad ... The transfer from UCLA, who is in his first season playing for UT, led the Bruins and the Pac-10 Conference win a 60.8 field goal percentage in 2002-03 and his 5.5 rebounds also led the team ... The Los Angeles native recorded a career-high 16 points against Belmont (12/20/04).
Bradshaw Breaking In
After averaging just 12.4 minutes in Tennessee's first 12 games, Dane Bradshaw has seen his role increase with the start of conference play ... In four SEC games the sophomore guard is averaging 16.8 minutes per game ... In non-conference games he averaged 1.7 assists but has improved that to 2.8 in league games.
Former Vols Earn Degrees
Jon Higgins (1999-2003) and C.J. Black (1996-2000) received their college degrees on Dec. 10, 2004 ... Higgins, who is currently playing professionally in France, received a degree in political science while Black, who has played professionally in the U.S. and Europe, received an interdisciplinary studies - urban studies degree as a part of Tennessee's Renewing Academic Commitments (RAC) program.
Vols Enjoy Success On And Off The Court In Hawaii
Tennessee's win over Stanford in the first round of the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational isn't the Vols' only victory in Hawaii so far ... Pee-Wee Gash was the champion of the EA SPORTS March Madness 2005 video game tournament Saturday, Nov. 20 ... Gash defeated North Carolina's Rashad McCants in the finals ... Buzz Peterson, along with a local youth, won a free throw shooting contest that featured the tournaments head coaches Sunday, Nov. 21 ... Peterson made all 10 of his attempts in the two rounds of the competition ... The event was to raise money for local Maui schools.
Crump, McFadgon & Watson Named Tri-Captains
Seniors Brandon Crump and Scooter McFadgon along with junior C.J. Watson have been named team captains for the 2004-05 season ... It is the first captaincy appointment for McFadgon while Crump and Watson were also captains last season ... In 95 years of Tennessee basketball prior to this season, only four players had been two-time captains ... V.H. Klein (1913-14), Harry Anderson (1935-36), Garland O'Shields (1945-46) and Johnny Darden (1978-79) are the only other Vols to serve two terms as captain.
Crump Attending Graduate School
Senior forward Brandon Crump received a degree in sport management in May 2004 and is currently pursuing a master's degree ... A true scholar-athlete, he ranked second on the team with 14.8 points per game while leading the Vols with 6.8 rebounds per game in 2004 ... In the classroom, he was named to the 2003-04 SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll and was selected as the Edamerica Scholar-Athlete of the month in February 2004.
Home Court Advantage
Thompson-Boling Arena has provided the Vols with a definite home court advantage since the facility opened in time for the 1987-88 season.
- Tennessee is 197-81 (.709) in its 18th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 98-22 (.817) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Tennessee is 84-20 (.808) since the 1999 season at home. UT recorded a 14-1 record in 1999, a 15-1 mark in 2000, 12-3 in 2001, 10-4 in 2002, 12-5 in 2003 and 14-3 in 2004.
- The Vols are 44-15 against SEC teams at home over the last six seasons.
- UT has won 60 of its last 67 home games against non-conference opponents.
Vols Sign Three In Early Period
Buzz Peterson announced that three players signed national letters of intent to play basketball at the University of Tennessee in the November signing period.
- Tyler Smith, a 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward from Pulaski, Tenn., was selected as one of the top 10 high school players in the nation when Street & Smith's named him a second team selection on the 2004 Boys High School All-America Team. As a junior at Giles County High School the first team all-state selection averaged 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists while leading the Bobcats to the state tournament. As a sophomore he earned tournament MVP honors after leading Giles County to a state championship. Rated a four-star prospect by Rivals.com, he was named the MVP of the all-star game at the adidas Superstar camp last summer in Atlanta.
- Matthew Dotson, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound forward from Centerville, Tenn., is rated a three-star prospect by Rivals.com. He was named the Class 3A Player of the Year for Hickman County High School's district last year. A big man who has a deft outside shooting touch that extends beyond the 3-point arc, he averaged 23 points and 14.5 rebounds as a junior.
- Damion Harris, a 6-foot-10, 275-pound center from Greenville, S.C., was a Class AAA All-State selection at Wade Hampton High School last season. As a senior in 2003-04 he led the Generals to the state tournament and as a junior he averaged 16 points, 14 rebounds and 6.5 blocks in leading Wade Hampton to the Class AAA Upper State finals. He first signed with the Vols last year, but is spending the 2004-05 season playing for Prince Avenue Prep in Pickens, S.C.
