University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee vs. Georgia - Game Preview
January 03, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 3, 2005
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| Tennessee Volunteers vs. Georgia Bulldogs
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Tennessee Trends
- The Georgia game will mark just the second time this season that the Vols have worn their road uniforms. The only other time UT has donned its orange uniforms was Dec. 18 when the Vols traveled to Albuquerque, N.M., to visit the New Mexico Lobos. Tennessee's only other road trip this season was to the Maui Invitational where the Vols were the designated home team in each of their three games.
- Tennessee has shot 47.5 percent (19-of-40) from the free throw line in its last two 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.
- Major Wingate is averaging 5.8 points on 55.0 percent (11-of-20) shooting over his last six games. He averaged just 2.3 points per game through Tennessee's first six games.
- Four Vols are shooting better than 50 percent from the field. Brandon Crump (60.6), Chris Lofton (59.3), Andre Patterson (57.7) and Major Wingate (53.3) are all making more than half of their shots.
- Tennessee has shot 50 percent or better from the field in five of its last seven games.
- Brandon Crump recorded his 100th career block and played in his 100th career game against Coastal Carolina (1/2/05).
- Chris Lofton has made 28 of his last 38 (73.7 percent) field goals and 15 of 22 (68.2 percent) 3-pointers.
- C.J. Watson's 270 career assists are eighth all-time at Tennessee. He needs eight assists to tie Fred Jenkins (1983-87) for seventh all-time.
- 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 53.3 percent (180-of-338) from the field and converting 45.5 percent (51-of-112) of their 3-point attempts over their last seven games.
- UT's starters have accounted for 79.5 percent (693 of 872 points) of the Vols' scoring this season.
- Ten different Vols have made a 3-pointer this season.
- The Vols just concluded a stretch where they played eight of nine games at home. UT's only road game during the month of December was a visit to New Mexico on the 18th.
- 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.
- Scooter McFadgon saw his streak of 31 consecutive free throws made come to an end against Xavier. It was the second-longest streak of his career. He had a streak of 32 consecutive free throws last year.
- Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,338-872-2 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.
- Tennessee needs four home wins this season to reach the 200-win milestone in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols are 196-80 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 | Georgia |
| 72.7 | Points | 69.4 |
| 66.9 | Opponent Points | 68.7 |
| +5.8 | Scoring Margin | +0.7 |
| .483 | Field Goal % | .444 |
| .426 | Opponent Field Goal % | .446 |
| .419 | Three-Point % | .319 |
| .359 | Opponent Three-Point % | .367 |
| .692 | Free Throw % | .596 |
| 34.6 | Rebounds | 36.0 |
| 32.0 | Opponent Rebounds | 35.1 |
| +2.6 | Rebounding Margin | +0.9 |
| 14.6 | Assists | 11.2 |
| 15.5 | Turnovers | 14.5 |
| 4.0 | Blocks | 3.8 |
| 7.8 | Steals | 8.5 |
| 7-5 | Record | 6-4 |
| Individual Statistical Leaders | ||
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Georgia |
| McFadgon, 16.2 | Points | Stukes, 17.0 |
| Crump, 6.1 | Rebounds | Bliss, 6.1 |
| Watson, 5.14 | Assists | Gaines, 13.9 |
| Crump, .606 | Field Goal % | Bliss, .660 |
| Lofton, .604 | Three-Point % | Newman, .375 |
| Lofton, .929 | Free Throw % | Toney, .913 |
Looking At Georgia
Georgia enters Wednesday's contest with a 6-4 overall record following a 52-56 loss to Stetson Friday in Athens ... Sophomore guard Levi Stukes leads the Bulldogs with 17.0 points per game and has been the team's most prolific outside threat by making 22 3-pointers this season ... Stukes earned the SEC Player of the Week on Dec. 13 after scoring a career-high 31 points in an overtime win against Oregon State ... Freshman guard Sundiata Gaines is averaging 13.9 points per game, the second-most among all SEC freshmen ... Channing Toney, a freshman guard, is the only other Bulldog averaging double figures with 10.2 points per game ... The UT game will be Georgia's ninth home game in 11 contests this season ... The Bulldogs have not played a game outside of the state of Georgia (eight in Athens and two in Atlanta) ... Georgia's starting backcourt (Stukes, Gaines and Toney) are combining to average 41.1 of the Bulldogs' 69.4 points per game (59.2 percent) ... The Bulldogs only have seven scholarship players on their roster ... UGA's roster lists only one senior and one junior while there are five sophomores and 10 freshmen ... Three freshmen have been in the starting lineup in each of the Bulldogs' games this season ... Georgia's freshman are scoring 62.7 percent (43.5 ppg) of the team's scoring ... Dennis Felton is 22-18 in his second season at Georgia and 122-72 in his seventh year as a head coach.
The Georgia Series
Wednesday's meeting will be the 131st in the series with Tennessee holding a 79-51 advantage ... Last year the two teams split the season series with Tennessee winning 89-65 in Knoxville and Georgia winning 71-60 in Athens ... Tennessee is 27-33 all-time when the series is played in Athens ... Tennessee hasn't won in Athens since an 83-66 win on March 4, 2000 ... The last four games in Athens have been decided by a total of 21 points with one game going into overtime and another going into double overtime ... Tennessee holds a 48-13 series lead when playing in Knoxville ... The Vols are 17-24 all-time against Georgia in Stegeman Coliseum ... Tennessee's 79 wins over the Bulldogs are the second-most by the Vols over any opponent ... Tennessee has won eight of the last 14 meetings between the two schools ... Tennessee is 5-3 all-time against Georgia when the Bulldogs are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll ... The two teams have never met when both are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
Last Meeting With Georgia
Georgia won its third game in a row with a 70-60 victory over Tennessee Saturday, Feb. 21, 2004, at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga. ... The Bulldogs entered the Tennessee game fresh off wins over Kentucky and Florida ... Georgia took a 31-29 lead at half time when Jonas Hayes sank an 18-footer at the buzzer ... The Bulldogs built the lead to six points at 47-41 but the Vols used a 9-4 run to pull within one point (51-50) ... Rashad Wright, who scored a game-high 22 points on 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range, drilled a trey to give UGA a four-point cushion ... That trey ignited a 12-2 run that gave Georgia a 63-52 lead with 2:04 left ... Brandon Crump led the Vols with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting ... Scooter McFadgon struggled for 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting ... Jemere Hendrix, a native of Covington, Ga., had nine points and seven rebounds ... Damien Wilkins added 18 points while Jonas Hayes scored 16 points for the Bulldogs ... Tennessee committed a season-high 31 personal fouls and sent the Bulldogs to the free throw line 36 times.
Last Game: Hot Start Leads To Win Over Coastal Carolina
Tennessee made 12 of its first 13 shots in building an early 28-8 lead and then rolled to an 83-51 victory over Coastal Carolina on Sunday, Jan. 2, at Thompson-Boling Arena ... The Vols' defense allowed the Chanticleers to convert just three of their first 17 field goal attempts ... Tennessee shot 66.7 percent from the field in the first half while limiting Coastal Carolina to just 27.3 percent shooting ... UT finished the opening half on an 11-2 run to take a 48-21 lead at the break ... Every Tennessee player in uniform saw action in the game and every player on scholarship registered a mark in the scoring column ... Scooter McFadgon scored all of his game-high 19 points in the first half ... Chris Lofton was the only other UT player in double figure scoring with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting ... Brandon Crump came up one point short of a double-double with nine points and a season-high 10 rebounds ... Pele Paelay was the only Chanticleer in double figures with 14 points.
Tennessee In Conference Openers
Tennessee has won four of its last five conference openers ... This will be the first time in four years that the Vols have opened conference play on the road after beginning league play at home the previous three seasons ... When playing its first SEC game of the year on the road, the Vols have been successful in each of their last two attempts (2001 at Auburn and 2000 at South Carolina) ... This is the second consecutive year the Vols have opened the SEC schedule against Georgia ... Last year Tennessee defeated the Bulldogs 89-65 in the SEC opener.
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 seven games since then the Vols have converted 53.3 percent (180-of-338) of their field goals ... UT has shot 50 percent or better from the field in five of its last seven 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 ... Twelve games into the season the Maysville, Ky., native has not disappointed ... According to the Dec. 20 NCAA Statistics Lofton's 62.2 percent (28-of-45) 3-point shooting is best in the nation ... He is currently shooting 60.4 percent (32-of-53) from 3-point range ... Against New Mexico (12/18/04) he tied a school record by going 5-for-5 from 3-point range ... His 11.8 points per game ranks third on the UT roster so far this season ... 66.7 percent (32-of-48) of Lofton's field goals this season have come behind the 3-point line ... His 59.3 percent shooting from the field is second 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.
Watson Breaks Out Of Shooting Slump With School 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 ... Over his last three games, the Las Vegas native has made 52.4 percent (11-of-21) of his field goals and 61.5 percent (8-of-13) of his 3-pointers ... Watson shot 32.6 percent (15-of-46) from the field and averaged 8.8 points per game in UT's previous six games.
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 seven games he is averaging 14.9 points on 69.5 percent (41-of-59 shooting).
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 1,109 points in 100 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 has 568 career rebounds.
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 ... McFadgon ranks among the SEC leaders with his 84.2 percent (48-of-57) shooting from the free throw line this season.
Smith Moving Into Lineup
JaJuan Smith initially came to Tennessee as an invited walk-on but was awarded a scholarship prior to the start of the fall semester ... The Decatur, Tenn., native is earning that scholarship after a slow start to the season ... After playing just 11 minutes in UT's first four games, he has seen his role increase since then ... He has been the first Vol off the bench in two of Tennessee's last five games ... In his first significant action of the young 2004-05 season against UT-Chattanooga (12/5/04) he doubled his previous output on the season with six points on 2-of-2 shooting from 3-point range in 13 minutes against the Mocs.
Pilfering Point Guard
C.J. Watson's 25 steals through 12 games are almost double that of any other Vol ... 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.
Patterson's Up To His Old Tricks
Andre Patterson's 5.8 rebounds per game ranks second on the Tennessee team and his 57.7 percent shooting from the field is third on the squad ... The transfer from UCLA, who is in his first season playing for the Vols, 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).
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.
Vols Trio Earn Coaches Preseason All-SEC Honors
Tennessee was one of three SEC teams to have three players selected to the inaugural SEC men's preseason All-SEC first and second teams that were selected by the league's coaches ... Senior guard Scooter McFadgon was a first team selection while senior forward Brandon Crump and junior guard C.J. Watson were second team picks.
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.
Scooter Looks To Build On Free Throw Shooting
Scooter McFadgon broke one of Tennessee's oldest records last year when his 91.2 percent shooting at the free throw line dispatched a school record that had stood since 1969 ... The Memphis native connected on 134 of his 147 free throw attempts to lead the SEC and rank fifth in the nation ... His free throw success rate was the second-best in SEC history ... This year he enters his senior season as the league's second-leading returning scorer with 17.6 points per game ... Only Florida's Anthony Roberson averaged more points with 17.9.
What Returns
Who could blame Buzz Peterson for being excited when he looks at what is back from last year's team ... The Vols return an unprecedented amount of their production from last season's squad ... UT returns all five starters and a total of nine letterwinners from last year's squad ... In fact, nearly 80 percent of every statistical category returns from 2003-04 ... A total of 88.1 percent of UT's scoring is back from a team that averaged 71.1 points per game ... 85.5 percent of the team's rebounding returns and 83.0 percent of the Vols' assists are also back.
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 196-80 (.710) in its 18th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 97-21 (.822) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Tennessee is 83-19 (.814) 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 43-14 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.
Preseason Honors & Predictions
| Team Predictions | |
| SEC Media | 3rd/SEC East |
| Athlon Sports | 3rd/SEC East |
| Street & Smith's | 3rd/SEC East |
| Basketball Time In TN | 3rd/SEC East |
| Lindy's Basketball | 3rd/SEC East |
| Blue Ribbon | 4th/SEC East |
| The Sporting News | 4th/SEC East |
| Basketball News | 4th/SEC East |
| Postseason Predictions | |
| Athlon Sports | NCAA Tournament |
| Basketball News | NCAA Tournament |
| Lindy's Basketball | NCAA Tournament |
| Individual Predictions | |
| Scooter McFadgon | First Team All-SEC (SEC Coaches) |
| First Team All-SEC (SEC Media) | |
| First Team All-SEC (Athlon Sports) | |
| First Team All-SEC (Basketball News) | |
| First Team All-SEC (Blue Ribbon CBY) | |
| Second Team All-SEC (The Sporting News) | |
| Second Team All-SEC (Lindy's Basketball) | |
| No. 9 "Slasher" nationally (Athlon Sports) | |
| No. 15 "SG" nationally (Lindy's Basketball) | |
| No. 16 "SG" nationally (The Sporting News) | |
| SEC's "Most Entertaining" (Lindy's Basketball) | |
| C.J. Watson | Second Team All-SEC (SEC Coaches) |
| Third Team All-SEC (Athlon Sports) | |
| SEC's "Best Playmaker" (The Sporting News) | |
| SEC's "Best Passer" (Street & Smith's) | |
| SEC's "Top Playmaker" (Lindy's Basketball) | |
| Brandon Crump | Second Team All-SEC (SEC Coaches) |
| Third Team All-SEC (Athlon Sports) | |
| Third Team All-SEC (Lindy's Basketball) | |
| Andre Patterson | No. 7 "Top Transfer" nationally (Lindy's Basketball) |
| Top Transfer (Athlon Sports) | |
| Top Transfer (Basketball News) | |
| SEC's "Best Transfer" (Street & Smith's) | |
| Chris Lofton | Top 100 Freshmen (Street & Smith's) |
