University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee vs. Alabama - Game Preview
February 07, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2005
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| Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Tennessee Volunteers
RADIO
TV LIVE STATS RANKINGS: THE COACHES: Alabama Crimson Tide
Coach Peterson | Peterson on Alabama | Peterson on small lineup
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Tennessee Trends
- The Vols are 2-0 at home this season against teams from the SEC West. UT has won six consecutive home games against SEC West teams.
- Tennessee's bench contributed 28 points in the win over LSU (2/5/05). It was the most the Vols have received since getting 30 points off the bench against Coastal Carolina (1/2/05). Andre Patterson had 13 points and Scooter McFadgon had 12. It was the first time a Vols player has come off the bench to score double figures all season.
- Brandon Crump, who suffered a sprained ankle early in UT's game at Louisville (1/22/05), has missed Tennessee's last four games. Crump, who is expected to miss 2-4 weeks of action, is the first Vol to miss back-to-back games because of an injury since the 2001-02 season when Ron Slay missed the Vols' final 15 games with a knee injury.
- Major Wingate has picked up his game since Crump's injury, averaging 10.2 points and 5.0 rebounds in UT's last five games.
- C.J. Watson, Chris Lofton and Andre Patterson are the only UT players who have not missed a game this year. Watson and Lofton are the only ones to earn starts in all of Tennessee's games.
- The Vols have used nine or fewer players in each of their last eight games.
- Shot selection and controlling the tempo have been a focus for Tennessee this season. The Vols are 5-2 when taking 50 or fewer shots this year.
- Tennessee is 8-1 when leading or tied at halftime.
- Four Vols are shooting better than 50 percent from the field. Andre Patterson (59.8), Brandon Crump (59.4), Major Wingate (51.8) and Jemere Hendrix (50.0) are all making at least half of their shots.
- Four different players have led the Vols in scoring this season. Scooter McFadgon (6 times), Chris Lofton (6), C.J. Watson (6) and Brandon Crump (4) have all led UT in scoring.
- Brandon Crump became the eighth Vol ever to have 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocked shots.
- C.J. Watson became the sixth Tennessee player to have 400 career assists when he dished out seven assists against Kentucky (1/25/05). He ranks sixth all-time at UT with 412 career assists.
- UT's starters have accounted for 80.4 percent (1,237 of 1,539 points) of the Vols' scoring this season.
- Ten different Vols have made a 3-pointer this season.
- More than 250 people from Maysville, Ky., made the trip to Knoxville to watch native son Chris Lofton play against Vanderbilt (1/8/05).
- 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, Alabama State and Louisville made NCAA appearances in 2004.
- Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,342-877-2 in its 96th season of basketball.
- 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 two home wins this season to reach the 200-win milestone in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols are 198-81 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 | Alabama |
| 70.0 | Points | 77.5 |
| 68.8 | Opponent Points | 66.4 |
| +1.1 | Scoring Margin | +11.1 |
| .463 | Field Goal % | .482 |
| .449 | Opponent Field Goal % | .411 |
| .379 | Three-Point % | .381 |
| .366 | Opponent Three-Point % | .353 |
| .689 | Free Throw % | .734 |
| 33.0 | Rebounds | 37.6 |
| 33.4 | Opponent Rebounds | 32.0 |
| -0.3 | Rebounding Margin | +5.6 |
| 13.8 | Assists | 14.5 |
| 13.6 | Turnovers | 12.8 |
| 3.5 | Blocks | 4.4 |
| 7.3 | Steals | 5.3 |
| 11-11 | Record | 17-4 |
| Individual Statistical Leaders | ||
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Alabama |
| McFadgon, 14.7 | Points | Shelton, 17.2 |
| Patterson, 6.5 | Rebounds | Davidson, 8.6 |
| Watson, 4.9 | Assists | Steele, 5.0 |
| Patterson, .598 | Field Goal % | Davidson, .598 |
| Lofton, .476 | Three-Point % | Winston, .476 |
| Lofton, .862 | Free Throw % | Steele, .837 |
Looking At Alabama
Alabama slipped to 17-4 on the season and 6-2 in SEC action with a 54-85 loss at Florida Saturday ... The Gators outrebounded the Tide 46-23 in the game ... Alabama brings two of the SEC's top scorers to town Wednesday ... Earnest Shelton, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, ranks fourth in the league with 17.2 points per game ... Shelton's 2.95 3-pointers per game rank second in the league while his 39.0 percent (62-of-159) shooting from behind the arc is fifth in the SEC ... Kennedy Winston is fifth in the SEC with 17.2 points per game and is making 47.6 percent (39-of-82) of his 3-pointers but does not have enough attempts to qualify for the league rankings ... Winston is one of 30 midseason Wooden Award candidates ... Freshman point guard Ronald Steele is third in the SEC with 5.05 assists per game ... One of the top rebounding teams in the league, Alabama has two players ranking among the top 10 rebounders in the SEC ... Jermareo Davidson, a 6-foot-10 sophomore forward, ranks fourth in the conference with 8.6 rebounds per game while adding 8.5 points ... Chuck Davis, a 6-foot-7 junior forward, is seventh in the league with 7.0 rebounds to go with his 14.0 points per game ... Alabama ranks second in the SEC with 77.5 points per game and is outscoring its opponents by an average of 11.1 points ... UA has used the same starting lineup in each of its 21 games this season ... Only seven Tide players are averaging 10 or more minutes per game in league play ... The Tide are shooting 48.2 percent from the field to rank second in the league ... Alabama is 10-0 at home this season but just 7-4 when playing away from Coleman Coliseum ... Bama is averaging 82.0 points in SEC home games but just 60.0 in SEC road games ... The Tide have been road warriors to start league play, the Tennessee game will mark their sixth conference road game in nine outings ... Alabama coach Mark Gottfried is 136-78 in his seventh season in Tuscaloosa and 204-103 in his 10th year as a head coach.
The Alabama Series
Alabama leads the all-time series 69-61 ... The Crimson Tide took both of last year's meetings, a 83-70 decision in Tuscaloosa and then a 84-49 victory in the first round of the SEC Tournament ... Alabama has won the last five meetings in the series ... Tennessee holds a decisive 43-18 advantage when playing in Knoxville ... UT leads the series 6-4 when playing in Thompson-Boling Arena ... Alabama leads the series 40-15 when it is played in Tuscaloosa ... UT has lost 15 of its last 16 games against the Crimson Tide when playing in Tuscaloosa ... Tennessee and Alabama have met 13 times in the SEC Tournament with the Tide holding an 9-4 series lead ... Tennessee won the first meeting, 49-13 between the two schools on Feb. 6, 1914 ... The Tennessee-Alabama rivalry is UT's third-oldest in the SEC ... Only Tennessee's series with Kentucky (1910) and Georgia (1913) date back further.
Coaching Connections
Alabama assistant coach Tom Asbury got his first coaching job as an assistant at the University of Wyoming in 1976-77 ... Asbury has gone on to a distinguished coaching career that has included head coaching stints at Pepperdine and Kansas State ... The head coach who gave Asbury his first job on the bench was Don DeVoe, who spent two seasons (1976-78) in Laramie before being named the head coach at Tennessee ... DeVoe's son, Elliott, is currently a walk-on for the Vols.
More Alabama Connections
Tennessee's Dane Bradshaw and Alabama's Earnest Shelton were teammates at White Station High School in Memphis for two seasons ... When Bradshaw was a freshman and Shelton a junior in 2000 the duo combined to lead the Spartans to a 34-4 record and a TSSAA Class AAA state championship ... Bradshaw went on to lead White Station to state championships during his junior and senior seasons also ... Shelton and Tennessee senior guard Scooter McFadgon were also teammates at Snowden Junior High School in Memphis and would often spend the night at each other's houses ... Shelton and McFadgon remain close friends today ... UT's Major Wingate and UA's Jermareo Davidson were AAU teammates.
Buzz Against Bama
Buzz Peterson will be looking for his first win over Alabama as the head coach at the University of Tennessee ... Peterson has at least one win over every SEC team except Alabama ... Peterson is 1-5 all-time against the Tide ... As the head coach at Tulsa he led the Golden Hurricane to a 79-60 win over Alabama in the 2001 National Invitation Tournament championship game.
Last Meeting With Alabama
Alabama hit seven of its first eight shots and never really cooled off in an 84-49 win over Tennessee in the first round of the 2004 Southeastern Conference Tournament on March 11 ... A Major Wingate jumper cut an early Bama lead to 5-4 with 17:05 left in the opening half ... The Tide responded with a 15-5 run during which Tennessee went more than five minutes without scoring ... After C. J. Watson cut the lead to 20-11 Alabama scored eight consecutive points and never let its lead get smaller than 13 points the rest of the game ... Scooter McFadgon led the Vols with 14 points and six rebounds ... Brandon Crump added 13 points while Wingate tied his career-high with nine points ... Kennedy Winston led the Crimson Tide with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting ... Antoine Pettway added 16 points and Earnest Shelton had 15 ... Alabama shot 52.6 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from 3-point range while the Vols managed just 31.6 percent shooting from the field ... The Tide outrebounded the Vols 42-27.
Last Game: Small Vols Beat LSU
Tennessee went with a small lineup against much bigger LSU and earned a 77-55 victory over the Tigers on Saturday, Feb. 5 ... The Vols' starting lineup listed just one player taller than 6-foot-5 and did not include the team's leading scorer ... Meanwhile the Tigers boasted a front line that included 6-foot-8, 252-pound forward Brandon Bass and 6-foot-9, 310-pound forward Glen Davis ... A Chris Lofton 3-pointer gave the Vols a 3-0 lead and Tennessee never looked back ... All the closer LSU got was when Tack Minor hit jumper to make the score 3-2 ... The Vols led by as many as 16 in the first half but LSU went on a 9-0 to cut the lead to 40-33 at halftime ... UT stayed in control of the game in the second half building their lead to 60-46 on a 3-pointer by C.J. Watson with 11:04 remaining ... The Tigers fought back, cutting the lead to 62-55 on a Brandon Bass jumper with 5:50 left but weren't able to score again as the Vols finished the game on a 15-0 run ... Watson led all scorers with 18 points to go with six assists and three steals ... Watson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start UT's 15-0 run to end the game ... Andre Patterson recorded his second career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds ... Scooter McFadgon came off the bench for the first time all season to contribute 12 points ... Davis, who was saddled with foul trouble early in the game and eventually fouled out with 4:32 remaining in the contest, led the Tigers with 17 points and 13 rebounds ... Antonio Hudson had 13 points while Bass, who also struggled with foul trouble, added a dozen points.
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.
Tennessee Ranked Among Greatest Basketball Programs Of All Time
Tennessee was ranked as the 77th "Greatest Basketball Program of All Time" by Street & Smith's ... The Vols were one of six teams from the Southeastern Conference that were ranked in the publication that took into account factors such as postseason appearances and wins, conference championships, all-time wins and NBA Draft picks ... Kentucky (1), Arkansas (8), LSU (50), Alabama (54), Florida (96) and Mississippi State (99) were all ranked among the top 100 programs by the magazine.
Vols Go Small
The Vols have experimented with a smaller starting lineup in each of their last two games, no matter the size of their opponents' starters ... UT has had only one player taller than 6-foot-5 in the starting lineup against Vanderbilt (2/2/05) and LSU (2/5/05) ... C.J. Watson (6-foot-2), Chris Lofton (6-2), Dane Bradshaw (6-4), Scooter McFadgon (6-5) and Stanley Asumnu (6-5) have all started at least one of the Vol's last two games ... The starter taller than 6-5 in those games has been 6-10 Major Wingate ... Going with the smaller lineup has created some interesting matchups with 6-4 Dane Bradshaw guarding 6-8, 252-pound Brandon Bass of LSU ... Going small is nothing new for UT as Stanley Asumnu spent a good part of the Mississippi State game (1/12/05) guarding 6-9, 240-pound Lawrence Roberts in the post ... In the two games with the smaller lineup, Tennessee is averaging just 8.5 turnovers, 8.5 steals, 3.0 blocked shots and has kept the rebounding margin close (33.5 to 37.0) ... The Vols have recorded 15 offensive rebounds in each of their last two games.
Time Focusing On Shot Selection Paying 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 16 games since then the Vols have converted 46.9 percent (397-of-846) of their field goals ... UT has shot 50 percent or better from the field in seven of its last 16 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).
Shirts vs. Skins
On the Monday (1/10/05) following Tennessee's loss to Vanderbilt, head coach Buzz Peterson told the team that they would have to bring their own clothes to practice in, that they had to earn the right to wear their Tennessee gear again ... The result of the motivational tactic was a 64-63 upset of 11th-ranked Mississippi State on Wednesday, Jan. 12 ... When Peterson arrived at practice on Thursday, the team's captains told him that they wouldn't earn the right to wear their normal practice gear until they won a road game and the team continued to practice against each other as shirts against skins ... After earning an 83-76 overtime at Florida (1/19/05) the team voted to continue wearing their own clothes for practice.
Buzz's Bombers
Tennessee's starting backcourt of C.J. Watson, Scooter McFadgon have combined to make 132 3-pointers this season ... As a unit, they are shooting 39.4 percent (132-of-335) from beyond the 3-point arc ... Lofton, a freshman, is leading the Southeastern Conference with his 47.6 percent (59-of-124) 3-point shooting ... Watson is shooting 36.7 percent (36-of-98) from 3-point range while McFadgon is converting 32.7 percent (37-of-113) of his triples.
Lofton Among Nation's Top 3-Point Shooters
Freshman Chris Lofton arrived on the UT campus with a reputation as an extraordinary 3-point shooter ... In just the second game of his career he scored 22 points on 6-of-10 3-point shooting against nationally-ranked North Carolina at the Maui Invitational ... Since then, he has established himself as one of the best 3-point shooters in the nation.
- Lofton ranks fifth in the Feb. 1 NCAA statistics with a 49.5 percent (53-of-107) success rate behind the arc ... He currently leads the Southeastern Conference with his 47.6 percent (59-of-124) from 3-point range ... He is averaging 2.68 3-pointers per game.
- His 47.6 percent (59-of-124) 3-point shooting qualifies him for UT's single season record books ... A minimum of 100 attempts is needed to qualify ... Jon Higgins has held the school record since making 48.6 percent (53-of-109) of his 3-pointers as a sophomore in 2000-01.
- Against New Mexico (12/18/04) he tied a school record by going 5-for-5 from 3-point range.
- Two times this season he has made six 3-pointers in a game (against North Carolina and at Florida).
- 65.6 percent (59-of-90) of Lofton's field goals this season have come behind the 3-point line.
- His 12.0 points per game ranks third on the UT roster this season. In conference game he is averaging 12.0 points per game ... He has led Tennessee in scoring six times.
- His 49.2 percent shooting from the field is fifth 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 Running The Point
Entering his junior season C.J. Watson had accumulated more assists over the previous two seasons (305) than any other player in the Southeastern Conference during that period ... This year the Las Vegas, Nev., native ranks fourth in the SEC with 4.86 assists per game ... He currently ranks second on the team with 12.3 points per game.
- His 36.7 percent (36-of-98) 3-point shooting ranks second on the team ... He ranks eighth all-time at Tennessee with 104 career 3-pointers made ... Against Campbell (12/23/04) he tied a school record for 3-point percentage in a game by going 5-of-5 from behind the 3-point arc.
- His 412 career assists are sixth all-time at Tennessee ... He became just the sixth Vol to record 400 career assists ... Recorded a career-high 10 assists against Nebraska (12/30/04) and had his best effort against a conference opponent with nine assists against Mississippi State (1/12/05).
- Watson's 43 steals through 21 games leads the Vols ... His 1.95 steals per game rank fourth in the SEC ... Watson 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 at the Maui Invitational.
McFadgon Leading Vols In Scoring
Scooter McFadgon has led the Vols in scoring in each of his two seasons in Knoxville ... After leading Tennessee and ranking fourth in the SEC with 17.6 last season, McFadgon is leading the Vols with 14.7 points per game in his senior season ... Six times this season he has led the Vols in scoring, including a season-high 23 point effort in Tennessee's overtime victory at Florida (1/19/05) ... He has scored in double figures in 19 of his 21 games this season.
- McFadgon ranks ninth all-time at Tennessee with 102 career 3-pointers made and ninth with 284 career 3-point attempts.
- After missing two free throws in the season-opener against Stanford (11/22/04), 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 ... It was the second-longest streak for him as he had a streak of 32 consecutive free throws made last year.
Crump Reaching Milestones This Season
Brandon Crump's senior season has been a year full of milestones ... The Houston, Texas, native has reached the 1,000 point mark, 600 rebounds and 100 blocked shot marks this year ... The 6-foot-10 senior forward has scored 1,170 points in 106 career games ... He currently ranks third on the team with 11.6 points and is second with 5.4 rebounds this year.
- He 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 ... He is the first Vol to reach 1,000 career points since Ron Slay accomplished the milestone in the 2002-03 season.
- He is the eighth player in Tennessee history to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks ... Crump needs eight rebounds to become the 23rd Vol to record 600 in a career.
- He ranks 31st all-time at Tennessee with 1,170 career points and 11th with 104 career rejections.
- Crump has overcome a slow start to his senior season ... 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) ... He 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 13 games he is averaging 12.7 points on 64.1 percent (66-of-103 shooting).
- Crump suffered a sprained left ankle just two minutes into the Louisville game (1/22/05) and did not return ... He is expected to miss 2-4 weeks due to the injury.
Patterson's Up To His Old Tricks
Andre Patterson's 6.5 rebounds per game leads Tennessee and his 59.4 percent shooting from the field is also best 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) ... Four times this season he has recorded double figure rebounding marks, including three times against SEC opponents .. Going against a much larger front line versus LSU, Patterson recorded his second double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Bradshaw Stepping Up
After averaging just 12.4 minutes in UT's first 12 games, Dane Bradshaw has seen his role increase with the start of conference play ... In nine SEC games the sophomore guard is averaging 19.0 minutes per game ... In non-conference games he averaged 1.7 assists but has improved that to 2.3 in league games.
Wingate Moves Into Starting Lineup
Looking for a bigger lineup, Buzz Peterson inserted Major Wingate in the Vols' starting lineup at Florida (1/19/05) ... In his six games this year as a starter, Wingate is averaging 9.2 points and 4.3 rebounds in 28.8 minutes per game ... Wingate had earned 15 starting assignments as a freshman last season.
- When Brandon Crump went down with an ankle injury early in the game at Louisville (1/22/05), Wingate responded with his best game as a Volunteer ... The Florence, S.C., native scored 13 points and had eight rebounds against the Cardinals.
- Since Crump's injury, Wingate ranks third on the team with 10.2 points and second with 5.0 rebounds per game in the five games.
- Since moving into the starting lineup he has responded with career marks ... Against Louisville (1/22/05) he had career marks in six categories including scoring (13 points) and rebounding (8 boards) ... He improved his scoring mark in his next game against Kentucky (1/25/05) with 14 points against the seventh-ranked Wildcats.
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 198-82 (.707) in its 18th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 99-23 (.812) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Tennessee is 84-21 (.800) 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 45-16 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.
