University of Tennessee Athletics
TENNESSEE VS. TEXAS -- GAME PREVIEW
December 14, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 14, 2005
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Tennessee Trends
- Tennessee's opponents are averaging 22.8 turnovers per game this year. East Tennessee State's (11/18/05) 33 turnovers are the most by a UT opponent since American-Puerto Rico (12/21/99) turned the ball over 40 times.
- The Vols' opponents are shooting just 54.9 percent (50-of-91) from the free throw line.
- UT has shot better than its opponent in four of its five games this season. The only opponent to have a better field goal percentage than the Vols is Murray State (11/30/05).
- Chris Lofton, C.J. Watson and Major Wingate have reached double-figure scoring in each of Tennessee's five games this season.
- Tennessee's rebounding leader in four of its five games this season has been 6-foot-4 or shorter. Dane Bradshaw (6-4) has led the team in rebounding three times and Chris Lofton (6-2) has one time.
- The Vols play just three home games in the month of December. Tennessee hosts Appalachian State (Dec. 6), Alabama A&M (Dec. 27) and Lipscomb (Dec. 29) during the final month of the calendar year.
- Six Vols have either tied or established new career scoring marks already this season. Stanley Asumnu (18), Dane Bradshaw (13), Ryan Childress (5), Andre Patterson (21), JaJuan Smith (9) and Major Wingate (18) have all tied or established new career scoring marks this year.
- Two players (Ben Bosse and Jonah Cox) scored their first career points in UT's win over Eastern Kentucky (11/25/05).
- Tennessee won both of its exhibition games this season, taking an 86-78 win over Division II power Southern Indiana and a 106-73 win over Carson-Newman.
- The Vols are playing with just 10 scholarship players this season. UT's roster sports 11 scholarship players but Tony Passley will sit out the season under NCAA transfer guidelines.
- Not only is UT's roster short on scholarship players but it is also short on size. Tennessee's roster lists just four scholarship players -- Andre Patterson (6-7), Ryan Childress (6-9), Damion Harris (6-10) and Major Wingate (6-10) -- taller than 6-foot-5.
- Tennessee returns 64.6 percent of its scoring, 66.2 percent of its rebounding, 80.4 percent of its assists and 69.5 percent of its minutes played from the 2004-05 season.
- Six walk-ons are listed on the Vols' roster. Eddie DeBro is the only returning walk-on while Ben Bosse, Jonah Cox, Justin Jackson, Jordan Smith and Tanner Wild are each in their rookie season with the squad.
- The Vols play 18 of their 27 regular-season games within the state of Tennessee. UT will play games in Knoxville (14), Nashville (2) and Memphis (1). The SEC Tournament will also be in Nashville.
- Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,350-884-2 in its 97th season of basketball.
- UT's 598 regular season Southeastern Conference victories rank third all-time in the SEC. Only Kentucky and Alabama have won more league games.
- Tennessee is 204-84 in its 19th season in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Volunteers have posted winning home records in 16 of their 18 previous seasons in the facility.
- The Vols return their 2004-05 statistical leader in 11 of 12 categories. Andre Patterson was UT's leading rebounder with 6.2 boards per game and C.J. Watson led the Vols with 155 assists last season. The only category the Vols don't return their leader from last year is scoring. Chris Lofton is Tennessee's top returning scorer after averaging 13.2 points as a freshman.
- UT returns a total of eight letterwinners, including three starters from last season's squad.
- The basketball court at Thompson-Boling Arena has been named "The Summitt" in honor of Pat Summitt, who recorded her 882nd career win in 2005.
| Team Statistical Comparisons | ||
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Texas |
| 86.8 | Points | 80.7 |
| 70.2 | Opponent Points | 60.2 |
| +16.6 | Scoring Margin | +20.4 |
| .487 | Field Goal % | .486 |
| .451 | Opponent Field Goal % | .382 |
| .430 | Three-Point % | .349 |
| .387 | Opponent Three-Point % | .308 |
| .661 | Free Throw % | .665 |
| 36.6 | Rebounds | 43.2 |
| 36.4 | Opponent Rebounds | 30.6 |
| +0.2 | Rebounding Margin | +12.6 |
| 19.0 | Assists | 14.6 |
| 14.6 | Turnovers | 15.3 |
| 11.4 | Steals | 9.7 |
| 4.0 | Blocks | 5.9 |
| 5-0 | Record | 8-1 |
| Individual Statistical Leaders | ||
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Texas |
| Lofton, 17.2 | Points | Aldridge, 17.9 |
| Bradshaw, 7.8 | Rebounds | Aldridge, 9.9 |
| Watson, 5.7 | Assists | Gibson, 3.4 |
| Asumnu, .575 | Field Goal % | Aldridge, .673 |
| Watson, .619 | Three-Point % | Buckman, .500 |
| Bradshaw, .900 | Free Throw % | Gibson, .769 |
Looking At Texas
Texas fell to 8-1 on the season following a 97-66 loss to top-ranked Duke on Dec. 10 at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J. ... The Longhorns, who are currently ranked sixth in the Associated Press poll, achieved the program's highest ranking ever when they were ranked No. 2 in the first five AP polls this year ... Daniel Gibson and P.J. Tucker are among 50 players listed as preseason candidates for the John R. Wooden Award and the Naismith Trophy ... LaMarcus Aldridge, a 6-foot-10 sophomore forward, leads the team with 17.9 points and leads the Big 12 Conference with 9.9 rebounds per game ... Aldridge, who has recorded seven double-doubles in nine contests this season, scored a team-best 21 points against Duke ... Texas has blocked 53 shots this season while only having 17 of their own shots blocked ... Tucker, a 6-5 forward, is second on the team in both scoring (16.4 ppg) and rebounding (7.9 rpg) ... A 6-2 sophomore guard, Gibson is third on the team with 13.3 points while averaging a team-best 3.4 assists per game ... The Longhorns are outrebounding their opponents by 12.7 boards per game and are averaging an impressive 15.7 offensive rebounds per game ... Texas has appeared in seventh consecutive NCAA Tournaments ... Kansas (88-24) is the only school in the Big 12 Conference that has won more league games over the last seven seasons than Texas (82-30) ... Texas was the preseason favorite to win the Big 12 in a preseason poll of the league's coaches ... Rick Barnes is 169-70 in his eighth season at Texas and 371-204 in 19 years as a head coach.
The Texas Series
Texas leads the all-time series is 2-1 ... Texas has won the last two meetings, including a 95-70 decision last year at the Maui Invitational ... Texas also took a 77-73 win Dec. 21, 1960 at the Aluminum Bowl in Little Rock, Ark. ... The Vols won the first meeting between the schools 66-59 Dec. 18, 1952 in Knoxville ... This marks the sixth consecutive year that the Vols have played a team from the state of Texas ... The Vols are 3-4 all-time when playing in the state of Texas ... Tennessee is 0-1 when playing in the Erwin Center in Austin ... In their only previous visit to the Erwin Center, the Vols fell 69-74 to North Carolina in the Sweet 16 of the 2000 NCAA Tournament ... Tennessee is 11-11 all-time against current members of the Big 12 Conference.
Last Meeting With Texas
A career night from C.J. Watson was no match for the 15th-ranked Texas Longhorns in a 95-70 loss Nov. 24, 2004, at the Maui Invitational ... The loss put the Vols in a fourth-place finish in the tournament ... Watson, who averaged 16.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.7 steals in the three-game tournament, led the Vols with 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field ... The Longhorns took an 11-point halftime lead (46-45) on 51.6 percent shooting and continued their hot shooting in the second half to finish the game with 52.4 shooting from the field ... Texas shot 40 percent (10-of-25) from 3-point range ... Scooter McFadgon had 13 points for the Vols while Major Wingate and Texas native Brandon Crump each had eight points ... Daniel Gibson's 19 points led six Longhorns in double-figure scoring.
Tennessee-Texas Connections
Tennessee's roster sports one Texan ... Stanley Asumnu attended Westbury Christian Academy in Houston ... In recent years several Texans have suited up for the Vols ... Houston natives Brandon Crump (2002-05) and Andy Ikeakor (2001-02) and Silsbee product Thaydeus Holden (2002-03) have played for the Vols in the last couple of years.
Last Game: Vols Go To 5-0 With Win Over ASU
Tennessee rallied from a 12-point first half deficit to take an 89-81 victory over Appalachian State Tuesday, Dec. 5, at Thompson-Boling Arena ... The Mountaineers opened the game making seven of their first eight 3-pointers in opening an early lead ... Appalachian State took a 41-29 lead on D.J. Thompson's 3-pointer with 6:14 left in the first half ... UT picked up the defense and went on a 19-2 run to take a 48-46 lead at the half ... Tennessee built a 10-point lead (81-71) on a Stanley Asumnu jumper with just over five minutes to go in the second half ... Appalachian State quickly cut it to three points before C.J. Watson hit a 3-pointer to stop the rally ... Watson led all scorers with 23 points while Chris Lofton had 15 ... Dane Bradsahw managed just four points but had 10 rebounds, six assists, three blocks and a steal ... The Vols shot 54.1 percent from the field and 52.4 percent from behind the 3-pint arc ... Douglass McLaughlin-Williams scored a career-high 21 points to lead the Mountaineers.
Pearl Off To Good Start
| Coach (first season) | Start |
| 1. Jerry Green (1997-98) | 10-0 |
| 2t. Bruce Pearl (2005-06) | 5-0 |
| 2t. Ray Mears (1962-63) | 5-0 |
| 2t. Emmett Lowery (1947-48) | 5-0 |
| 2t. John Mauer (1938-39) | 5-0 |
| 6. M.B. Banks (1921-22) | 4-0-1 |
Rally Vols
Tennessee has rallied from deficits of at least nine points in each of their last two games ... Murray State (11/30/05) built a nine-point lead early in the second half before the Vols rallied for a 64-53 victory in Nashville ... At one point during the Tennessee rally, Chris Lofton outscored the Racers 12-1 ... Appalachian State (12/5/05) took a 12-point lead with just over six minutes left in the first half but UT went on a 19-2 run to take a 48-46 lead at halftime.
Watson Named SEC Player Of The Week
C.J. Watson was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week on Dec. 12 after scoring a season-high 23 points in Tennessee's come-from-behind win over Appalachian State on Dec. 5 ... The Las Vegas native tied his career-high for field goals (7) and 3-pointers (5) and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 1:24 of the game ... It is the first player of the week award for Watson and the first for the Vols since Ron Slay earned back-to-back honors during the 2002-03 season.
Watson Reaches 1,000 Points In Unique Way
C.J. Watson became the 38th player in Tennessee history to reach the 1,000 career point milestone in a 17-point outing against Louisiana-Lafayette (11/22/05) ... Watson, who now has 1,051 career points, reached the milestone when he was fouled on a made 3-pointer and then scored his 1,000th point on the free throw.
- Watson became just the third Tennessee player to have 1,000 points and 400 career assists (joining Allan Houston and Tony Harris)
Watson Leads SEC In Assists For Second Time In Three Years
C.J. Watson averaged 5.0 assists in 16 Southeastern Conference games in 2004-05 ... It marked the second time in three years the point guard has been the conference's assists leader in league games ... He also led the league with 5.44 assists against SEC foes as a freshman in 2002-03 ... His 488 career assists are fifth all-time at Tennessee ... Watson owns three of the top 13 single-season assist marks in Tennessee history.Watson And Lofton Receive Preseason Accolades From SEC Coaches
Tennessee's backcourt combination of C.J. Watson and Chris Lofton were named to the second annual men's basketball preseason All-SEC first and second teams as announced by the Southeastern Conference office October 21 ... Watson, a senior point guard, earned first team honors while Lofton, a sophomore shooting guard, was named to the season team ... The preseason All-SEC first and second teams consist of a minimum of eight players on each squad, voted on by the SEC men's basketball coaches.Lofton Is A Triples Threat
Chris Lofton, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, took the SEC by storm as a freshman by leading the league in 3-point percentage (.465) and 3-pointers made per game (3.00 3pg) ... He ranked fourth nationally in 3-point accuracy on his way to earning a spot on the SEC All-Freshman team ... His 93 3-pointers were the most ever by an SEC freshman. - With 19 3-pointers already this season, Lofton ranks ninth on Tennessee's career lists with 112.
- He is currently leading the Southeastern Conference with 3.80 3-pointers per game.
Patterson Leading Vols In Field Goal Percentage
When Andre Patterson led the Vols with his 56.8 percent field goal shooting in 2004-05, it marked the second school he had led in field goal percentage ... As a sophomore at UCLA in 2002-03 he led the Bruins and the Pac-10 Conference with a 60.8 field goal percentage ... As a junior at Tennessee last season, Patterson averaged 7.4 points per game while leading the Vols and ranking 10th in the SEC with 6.2 rebounds per game. - He is currently shooting 53.5 percent (23-of-43) from the field and is averaging 12.0 points per game off the bench.
- Patterson recorded a career-high 14 rebounds against Murray State (11/30/05) while recording his third career-double-double.
Asumnu Builds On Strong Finish To 2005
Senior guard/forward Stanley Asumnu started his senior season like he ended his junior year ... The Houston native scored a career-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting in the Vols' season-opening win over East Tennessee State (11/18/05) ... In five games he is averaging 10.8 points per game ... The ultra-athletic Asumnu scored 24 points in 27 minutes of playing time over Tennessee's final four games of the 2005 season ... Against Georgia (3/5/05), the 6-foot-5 Asumnu scored a then career-high 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field in just 10 minutes of action.Bradshaw Playing Power/Point
With only four scholarship players taller than 6-foot-5 on the roster, junior guard Dane Bradshaw has been called upon to play big, quite literally ... The 6-4 backup point guard has earned starting assignments at power forward for each of the Vols' games this year ... Playing in the paint isn't anything new for the Memphis native ... In 2005 he drew difficult defensive assignments by guarding 6-8, 252-pound Brandon Bass against LSU (2/5/05) and 6-10 Jermareo Davidson of Alabama (2/9/05). - His 7.8 rebounds per game lead the team this season while his 7.2 points are sixth.
- He recorded a career game against East Tennessee State (11/18/05) with 13 points and 12 rebounds to go with six assists.
Wingate Plays Through Pain
Major Wingate wasn't going to let anything stop him from playing against Louisiana-Lafayette on Nov. 22 ... After suffering a foot injury in practice two days earlier that left him on crutches, Wingate spent the next two nights in the training room rehabbing the injury so he could play ... When it came time to play, Wingate was there standing in the center circle ready for the jump ball ... The junior center from Florence, S.C., scored 12 points and blocked three shots in 28 minutes of action against the Ragin' Cajuns ... Defensively he held Louisiana's star center Michael Southall in check, allowing just four points and four rebounds. - On the season he is averaging 12.6 points per game.
- Wingate has scored in double-figures in each of UT's five games. Before this season he had reached double-figure scoring just three times.
JaJuan Smith Setting Career Marks
JaJuan Smith, a 6-foot-2 guard from Decatur, Tenn., has seen his role grow from 8.0 minutes per game as a freshman last year to 23.6 minutes per game this season ... Already this year he has tied or established new career marks for scoring (9), rebounds (6), assists (6), steals (3), blocks (1) and minutes played (25) ... Smith, who has been the first player off the bench in each of Tennessee's games this season, is averaging 5.6 points per game ... His 13 assists are fourth on the team.Vols' Recruiting Class Ranked Among Top 10 In The Nation
Bruce Pearl's first recruiting class at the University of Tennessee has drawn rave reviews and has been rated as one of the best classes in the Southeastern Conference and among the top 10 classes in the nation. The Vols signed four players during the early signing period in November: Wayne Chism, Duke Crews, Marques Johnson and Josh Tabb.- Chism, a 6-foot-9 forward from Bolivar, Tenn., is a four-star prospect who is rated the No. 42 overall player in the country. As a junior he led Bolivar Central High School to the Class AA state title while averaging 13.6 points, 10 rebounds, seven blocks and 2.2 assists per game. At the Reebok ABCD Camp last summer he was rated the No. 2 center.
- One of the highest-rated players to sign with the Vols in recent years, Crews is a 6-7 forward from Hampton, Va. Rated the No. 14 player in the nation, he is considered a five-star prospect. As a junior he averaged 16 points per game while leading Bethel High School to a 22-4 record last year. Last summer Crews was rated as the No. 2 player at the 2005 Nike Camp in Indianapolis.
- Ranked among the top-50 players by several scouting services, Johnson is a 6-5 guard from Fort Wayne, Ind. A starter since his freshman season, the two-time all-conference selection has led Snider High School to a 50-15 record in his three years. As a junior he averaged 21 points, 6.2 rebounds and four assists.
- A four-star prospect, Tabb is a 6-4 guard from Harmony Christian Prep in Cincinnati. A two-time Class A All-State selection who is originally from Carbondale, Ill., Tabb averaged 21 points, five assists and six rebounds as a senior while leading Carbondale High School to the 2005 state championship game.
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 204-84 (.708) in its 19th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 105-25 (.808) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- The Vols are 47-16 against SEC teams at home over the last six seasons.
- UT has won 64 of its last 71 home games against non-conference opponents.
SEC Throwback Week
Each Southeastern Conference school has designated a previous year's uniform to be worn as a part of "SEC Throwback Week" ... The week of February 18-26 (Saturday through Sunday) has been designated as "SEC Throwback Week" ... Additionally, the uniforms will be worn during the SEC Tournament in Nashville ... Tennessee took a poll of fans on UTsports.com to determine which era to choose their uniforms ... The fans selected the Ernie & Bernie era so UT's uniforms will resemble those worn in the 1970s.
Five Of UT's Non-Conference Opponents Picked To Win Their Leagues
Tennessee's non-conference schedule features the favorites to win the Big 12, Conference USA, Ohio Valley, Sun Belt and SWAC regular season titles in polls of each respective league's coaches ... Eight of the Vols' 11 non-conference games will be against teams picked to finish no worse than second in their respective divisions ... Additionally, the Vols will play against four players who earned preseason player of the year honors from the league's coaches.
- East Tennessee State was picked to finish second in the Atlantic Sun Conference and was picked to win the league's postseason tournament. Tim Smith was named the league's preseason player of the year.
- Louisiana-Lafayette, a team that has been to the NCAA Tournament the last two years, is picked to win the Sun Belt Conference's West Division. Senior guard Dwayne Mitchell was a preseason first team all-conference pick.
- Murray State is tabbed to win the Ohio Valley Conference while Eastern Kentucky is picked second. Murray State junior Trey Pearson was named the league's preseason player of the year while EKU's Matt Witt earned preseason first team all-conference honors.
- Appalachian State was picked to tie for second in the Southern Conference North Division while D.J. Thompson earned a spot on the Preseason All-Southern Conference Men's Basketball Team.
- Texas is an overwhelming favorite to win the Big 12 Conference title while Oklahoma State is picked fourth. The Longhorns list two preseason first team all-conference selections (Daniel Gibson and P.J. Tucker) while the Cowboys had one (JamesOn Curry).
- Alabama A&M is predicted to win SWAC. Senior guard Obie Trotter was selected the league's preseason player of the year while Joseph Martin earned preseason first team all-conference honors.
- Memphis, led by preseason conference player of the year Rodney Carney, is the unanimous favorite to win the Conference USA title.
Parking
Limited individual game parking for the 2005-06 men's basketball season will be sold for $5 for the following parking lots on a first come, first served basis:
- Lot 23 Corner of Volunteer Blvd and Pat Head Summitt Street
- Lot 23B (next to Music Building) - Corner of Pat Head Summitt Street and Volunteer Blvd.
- Lot 4 and Lot 5 - Phillip Fulmer Way between Thompson-Boling Arena and Neyland Stadium
- Lot 30A - Peyton Manning Pass, off of Volunteer Blvd.
- Lot C15 - Chamique Holdsclaw Drive
- Lot 9A - Volunteer Blvd. between the Humanities Plaza & the Architecture Bldg.
- Lot C18/Staff 7 - accessed from Cumberland Avenue at 11th Street, or from Neyland Drive across from the Tennessee Grill
- Lot G10 on Neyland Drve between Thompson-Boling Arena and Neyland Stadium
Special parking arrangements for disabled persons may be requested by calling Parking Services at (865) 974-6031. The UT Athletic Department also provides FREE parking at the Ag Campus with a free shuttle service to and from Thompson-Boling Arena. The KAT shuttle begins 1 1/2 hours prior to game time, and runs for one hour postgame.
