| VOLS HEAD TO NASHVILLE TO FACE POKES
- After having a 10-day break between games, Tennessee will hit the hardwood for the second time in 48 hours when the Vols travel to Nashville to meet Oklahoma State at the Gaylord Entertainment Center. ESPN2 will broadcast the game to a national television audience.
- Tennessee is riding a four-game winning streak following a 93-79 win over Western Kentucky Saturday in Knoxville. Chris Lofton led the Vols with 32 points while JaJuan Smith added 21. Tennessee shot 57.4 percent from the field and forced 21 Hilltopper turnovers. The Vols also have wins over Louisiana-Lafayette, Murray State and No. 15 Memphis during the streak.
- Oklahoma State is the first of two straight teams Tennessee will face from the Big 12 Conference. The Vols return home Dec. 23 to meet nationally-ranked Texas at Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Last year the Cowboys handed the Vols their worst loss of the season with an 89-73 decision Dec. 22, 2005, at the All-College Classic in Oklahoma City.
- Lofton is leading the Southeastern Conference with 21.5 points per game. One of the top shooters in the nation, he is averaging 4.1 3-pointers per game and is connecting on 50.0 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. The junior from Maysville, Ky., is averaging 29.3 points on 57.9 percent (22-of-38) shooting from 3-point range over his last four games.
- Tennessee will be playing its third game in the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville this season when the Vols take the court against Oklahoma State. UT played Fordham and UNC Wilmington in the NIT Season Tip-Off in November.
Tennessee Trends
- The Oklahoma State game is Tennessee's only contest that will be played away from Thompson-Boling Arena during the month of December. The Vols do not play a game outside the state of Tennessee until mid-January.
- Bruce Pearl is 4-2 against ranked teams while at Tennessee. This year he is 1-1 with a win over No. 16 Memphis and a loss to No. 2 North Carolina.
- Chris Lofton has moved into second place on UT's career 3-pointers list with 41 triples this season pushing his career total to 248. Allan Houston (1989-93) holds the school record with 346 3-pointers.
- Freshmen post players Wayne Chism and Duke Crews have only been on the court at the same time during one game. The duo played 2:15 together against Murray State (12/1/06).
- UT's six newcomers are combining to average 29.6 points and 19.0 rebounds.
- Tennessee is second in the SEC with 14.3 offensive rebounds per game.
- 11 different Vols have hit a 3-pointer this season.
- Tennessee changed its starting lineup for the first time this season when Jordan Howell replaced Ramar Smith at the point guard position against Louisiana-Lafayette (11/27/06). It marked Howell's first career start.
- Chris Lofton has made at least one 3-pointer in 69 of his 71 career games.
- The Vols have made at least one 3-pointer in 294 consecutive games.
- Nine Vols are averaging at least 10 minutes per game.
- The Vols have forced 222 turnovers in its first 10 games this season (22.2 per game).
- UT's bench has scored 259 points in nine games (25.9 points per game) this season. In 2005-06, Tennessee's bench averaged 21.0 points per game.
- Entering the 2006-07 season, six of UT's 11 scholarship players had never played in a Division I game.
- UT is faced with replacing more than half of its scoring (54 percent), rebounds (51.8) and minutes played (51.3%) from the 2005-06 squad.
- UT's roster lists just three scholarship players taller than 6-foot-5. Duke Crews (6-7), Wayne Chism (6-9) and Ryan Childress (6-9) are the only Vols topping the 6-5 mark.
- In 2005-06 games, Tennessee's SEC opponents had a 4-12 record in the game immediately following their contests against the Vols. The only teams to win their next game after playing UT were Arkansas, Georgia, LSU and Vanderbilt.
- Under Bruce Pearl, UT is 26-2 when leading or tied with five minutes left in the game.
- UT is 19-1 when scoring 80 or more points under the direction of Bruce Pearl.
- UT is 24-14 (.632) when playing before crowds of 20,000 or larger at Thompson-Boling Arena. In 2005-06 the Vols were 4-2 playing in front of 20,000 fans at home.
- Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,375-894-2 in 98 seasons of basketball.
- UT's 610 regular season Southeastern Conference victories rank third all-time in the SEC. Only Kentucky and Alabama have won more league games.
- Tennessee is 218-86 in its 20th season in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Volunteers have posted winning home records in 17 of their 19 seasons in the facility.
- Tennessee is the only Division I school ever to rank in the top five nationally in attendance for football, men's basketball and women's basketball in the same season. The Vols turned the trick for the third time in 2005-06.
- Seven walk-ons are listed on Tennessee's roster this season. Ben Bosse, Quinn Cannington, Rick Daniels-Mulholland, Justin Jackson, Marq Murden, Steven Pearl and Tanner Wild are each on the Volunteer squad.
Looking At Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is off to its best start since 1991-92, having won each of their first 11 games this season ... The 1991-92 Cowboys opened the season with 20 consecutive wins before suffering their first setback ... Head coach Sean Sutton was a senior guard on the 1991-92 team ... The Cowboys are coming off a nine-day break for final exams ... Their last outing was a 75-56 victory over Ball State Dec. 9 at the San Diego SLAM in San Diego, Calif. ... Mario Boggan, a 6-foot-7, 247-pound forward/center who began is collegiate career at Florida, leads Oklahoma State with 20.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game ... Boggan has scored at least 20 points in eight of OSU's 11 games ... Boggan was named the Big 12 Player of the Week Dec. 11 after scoring 21 points in OSU's 72-68 win over Syracuse at the Jimmy V Classic in New York City ... JamesOn Curry, a preseason candidate for the Wooden and Naismith awards, is second on the team with 17.7 points while averaging 5.0 assists per game ... The 6-3 junior guard is converting 41.2 percent (28-of-68) of his 3-pointers on the season ... Obi Muonelo adds 11.1 points while Terrel Harris contributes 10.6 points per game ... OSU is shooting 50.7 percent from the field ... Nine players have seen action this season for the Cowboys ... Eight players are averaging at least 12 minutes per game ... In a preseason poll of the league's coaches, Oklahoma State was tabbed to finish third in the Big 12 behind only Kansas and Texas A&M ... Sean Sutton is in his first season as the head coach of the Cowboys after spending 13 seasons on the OSU bench assisting his father, Eddie. The Oklahoma State Series
Oklahoma State leads the series 1-0 after taking an 83-79 win in Oklahoma City last season ... Tennessee is 12-12 all-time against current members of the Big 12 Conference ... OSU is one of two Big 12 schools on Tennessee's schedule this season ... The Vols will play host to the Texas Longhorns Saturday, Dec. 23. Last Meeting with Oklahoma State
Tennessee cut Oklahoma State's 16-point halftime lead to just one point but the Cowboys went on a 22-7 run to finish the game and take an 83-79 win Dec. 22, 2005, at the O'Reilly All-College Classic in Oklahoma City ... OSU's win ended Tennessee's six-game winning streak to start the 2005-06 season ... Tennessee's starting backcourt of C.J. Watson and Chris Lofton, who entered the game combining for 34.8 points per game, combined to score just two points in the first half ... After the halftime break, the duo caught fire, scoring 20 of the Vols' first 22 points of the second half ... JaJuan Smith drilled a 3-pointer from the corner to pull UT to 67-66 before the Pokes took off on their final run ... Lofton scored 19 of his game-high 21 points in the second half while recording a career-high five steals ... Watson, who was limited to a season-low 27 minutes of action, had 12 points while Andre Patterson came off the bench to score 10 points ... Byron Eaton and JamesOn Curry led the Cowboys with 16 points each while David Monds turned in a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds ... Oklahoma State turned the ball over 21 times but made 63 percent of its field goals, including 70.8 percent in the second half ... OSU outrebounded the Vols 38-25. The Vols In Nashville
The Vols are 43-52 all-time when playing in Nashville ... Eighty-four of Tennessee's games in Nashville have been against Vanderbilt with the Commodores holding a 48-35 advantage ... The Vols are 5-2 all-time when playing in the Gaylord Entertainment Center ... This is UT's third game this season at the GEC ... The Vols defeated Fordham (78-71) and UNC Wilmington (87-75) in the NIT Season Tip-Off last month ... UT has also played regular season non-conference games against Middle Tennessee State (99-83 win Dec. 15, 2000) and Murray State (64-53 win Nov. 30, 2005) at the GEC ... Tennessee is 1-2 in two SEC Tournaments at the facility Last Game: Lofton's 32 Leads UT Over WKU
Tennessee extended its winning streak to four games with a 93-79 victory over Western Kentucky Saturday, Dec. 16, at Thompson-Boling Arena ... Chris Lofton reached the 30-point scoring mark for the third time during the four-game winning streak with 32 points on 11-of-15 shooting ... Lofton converted five of his nine 3-point shots ... Tennessee took a 17-11 lead early in the first half but Western Kentucky battled back to take a 21-20 lead with 10:25 left in the half ... The Hilltoppers never led again as the Vols went on a 9-0 run to take a 29-21 advantage ... UT owned a 47-36 lead at the half ... WKU never gave up, cutting the Vols' lead to 64-60 on a Ty Rogers 3-pointer with 7:51 left in the game ... Lofton answered with a score to start a 7-0 Tennessee run to help regain control of the game ... JaJuan Smith tied his career-high with 21 points on 5-of-11 3-point shooting ... Ramar Smith added a career-best 15 points while Ryan Childress came off the bench to contribute a career-best 10 rebounds to go with seven points ... Courtney Lee led the Hilltoppers with 17 points despite being saddled with foul trouble throughout the game ... Jeremy Evans added 13 points and 10 rebounds for WKU ... Tennessee shot 57.4 percent from the field and 52.2 percent from 3-point range ... The Vols held Western Kentucky to 8.3 percent (1-of-12) 3-point shooting in the first half and 29.2 percent for the game. Lofton Leading UT On Four-Game Win Streak
Tennessee has won each of its four games since dropping consecutive games to Butler and North Carolina at the NIT Season Tip-Off finals in New York ... During the four-game winning streak Chris Lofton has been averaging 29.3 points on 67.8 percent (40-of-59) shooting, including 57.9 percent (22-of-38) 3-point shooting ... Three times in the last four games he has scored 30 or more points ... As a team, UT is averaging 83.8 points and is outscoring its opponents 16.8 points per game. Lofton's Big Game Nets National Honors
Chris Lofton's 34-point outing against 16th-ranked Memphis on Dec. 6 not only earned him SEC Player of the Week honors for the second time this season but also earned him recognition from ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale ... In his weekly awards column on ESPN.com Vitale named Lofton his co-Player of the Week along with Wisconsin's Alando Tucker. Lofton Earns Fifth SEC Player Of The Week
Chris Lofton has been named the SEC Player of the Week two times this season, earning the honor on Nov. 20 and Dec. 11 ... It was the fourth and fifth times the junior guard has won the honor ... Alabama's Kennedy Winston holds the SEC record for winning the award six times ... Lofton's five SEC POW awards are tied for second most with Tennessee's Dyron Nix (1986-89), LSU's Chris Jackson (1989-90), Florida's Vernon Maxwell (1985-86) and Kentucky's Tayshaun Prince (1999-2002). Rivals.com Rates Lofton As Nation's Best SG
Rivals.com ranked Chris Lofton as the nation's top shooting guard in the Dec. 12 edition of its College Basketball Power Rankings ... Lofton had ranked second to UCLA's Arron Afflalo in the first two rankings this season but his 34-point performance pushed him into the top spot ... The Rivals.com power rankings are released every week and measure the overall career as well as the most recent performances of the players. Lineup Change Helps Limit Turnovers
Since Jordan Howell moved into the starting lineup against Louisiana-Lafayette (12/1/06) Tennessee has gotten a better handle on its turnovers ... Over UT's first six games the Vols averaged 19.5 turnovers per game ... Since Howell moved into the starting lineup UT has cut its turnovers to 15.0 per game ... UT's assist-to-turnover ratio has improved from 0.8 over the first six games to 1.0 since the lineup change. - Jordan Howell has 21 assists against seven turnovers on the season.
Vols Bring The Pressure
Tennessee's pressure defense has made the simple act of inbounding the ball a headache for its opponents ... The Vols are forcing 7.1 turnovers per game off inbounds plays, most of which are coming off their press ... Three times their opponents have had 10 or more turnovers just from trying to inbound the ball ... Tennessee has forced and average of 22.2 turnovers per game this year. - Opponents have had to call timeout 10 times because they could not get the ball inbounds.
- They have been whistled for a five-second count 11 times on inbounds plays.
Small Lineup Not Keeping Vols Off The Boards
Much has been made about Tennessee's lack of size this year ... Who can blame them when the Vols' starting lineup lists just one player taller than 6-foot-4, and that player is only 6-7 ... That hasn't stopped the Vols from crashing the boards ... Wayne Chism leads the Vols 5.8 rebounds per game and Duke Crews is adding 5.3 boards. - UT has outrebounded seven of its 10 opponents.
- The Vols own a +2.7 rebounding advantage.
- Tennessee is averaging 14.3 offensive rebounds.
Bench Contributing
Tennessee's bench has played a key role in the Vols' success early this season ... UT's bench is averaging 25.9 points per game ... Two times this season the bench has contributed at least 40 points in a game ... Wayne Chism is giving the Vols 7.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game coming off the bench ... Last year UT got 21.0 points per game from its bench ... Part of the reason for the production off the bench is that UT has nine players who play at least 10 minutes per game and no one averages more than 28 minutes. Thompson-Boling Provides Homecourt Advantage
Thompson-Boling Arena is celebrating its 20th season in 2006-07 ... The Vols have won 71.7 percent of their games in Thompson-Boling Arena and have ranked in the top 10 nationally in attendance nine times, including in 2005-06 when UT ranked fifth nationally with 17,954 fans per game ... The arena is getting ready to undergo its first major facelift as construction has already begun on a practice facility and construction will begin on the inside of the arena immediately following the 2006-07 season. - Tennessee is 218-86 (.717) in its 20th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 119-27 (.815) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- The Vols are 52-20 against SEC teams at home over the last nine seasons.
- UT has won 72 of its last 79 home games against non-conference opponents.
- Tennessee is 5-0 at home this season.
Bomb Squad Returns
Tennessee returns 80.3 percent of its SEC-leading 8.80 3-point field goals per game from last season ... Leading the way is junior guard Chris Lofton who set a single-season school record with 114 triples in 2005-06 ... Junior JaJuan Smith was second on the team with 61 treys while senior Dane Bradshaw contributed 20 3-pointers and Jordan Howell had 15 ... Tennessee's 264 3-pointers in 2005-06 fell two shy of tying the school record set in 1999-2000. - UT is averaging 9.9 3-pointers per game this year.
- Lofton is leading UT with 4.1 triples per game.
- JaJuan Smith adds 2.1 3s per game.
- Tennessee's 15 3-pointers against second-ranked North Carolina (11/24/06) came just one short of tying the school record of 16.
Lofton A Wooden & Naismith Award Candidate
Junior guard Chris Lofton was named one of the top 50 preseason candidates for the 2006-07 Wooden Award All-American Team and the Naismith Trophy ... The Maysville, Ky., native was one of six players from the Southeastern Conference named to the Wooden Award and one of 10 for the Naismith Trophy watch list ... A finalist for the 2005-06 Wooden All-American Team, Lofton led the Vols with 17.2 points while breaking the school record for 3-pointers in a season with 114, the second-highest total in SEC history. Lofton Reaches 1,000-Point Mark
When Chris Lofton hit his first bucket against Butler (11/22/06) in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off in New York City's Madison Square Garden, he became the 39th player in Tennessee history to score 1,000 career points ... The Maysville, Ky., native entered the Butler game with 999 career points in 65 career games ... Only Allan Houston (1,415), Bernard King (1,290), Mike Edwards (962) and Ernie Grunfeld (928) scored more points in their first two seasons at Tennessee ... He currently ranks 35th on UT's career scoring lists with 1,142 career points. Lofton Hits Them Often
Chris Lofton has established himself as one of the top shooters in the nation in his first two seasons on Rocky Top ... As a sophomore in 2005-06 he set school records for 3-pointers made (9) and attempted (18) in a game and 3-pointers made (114), attempted (261) and 3-pointers per game (3.80) in a single-season ... His 43.7 3-point percentage (114-of-261) was the third-best percentage in school history and was best in the nation among players who had at least 260 attempts. - Lofton ranks second all-time with 248 career 3-pointers made and fourth with 543 triples attempted.
- Five times he has made at least five 3-pointers in a game this season.
- He leads SEC with 21.5 points per game this year.
- He is shooting 50.0 percent (41-of-82) from behind the arc this season. Jon Higgins (2000-01) owns the school record at 48.6 percent (53-of-109)
- Lofton's career 3-point percentage of 45.7 (248-of-543) is the best in school history and currently ranks second in Southeastern Conference history.
Bradshaw Does It All
One of the most versatile players in the nation, Dane Bradshaw can and will play any position for the Vols from point guard through power forward ... Originally recruited to UT as a point guard, the 6-foot-4 Bradshaw started every game last season at power forward for the Vols ... In 2005-06 the Memphis native was second on the team in assists (116), rebounding (5.4 rpg), and third in steals (56) and blocks (11) while his assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.76 led the SEC ... Had a streak of 181 minutes (seven games) without a turnover as a junior last year. - Bradshaw has led the Vols in assists seven out of 10 games this year and recorded a career-high nine dimes against Coppin State (11/19/06).
- He leads the team with 2.4 steals and ranks fifth with 4.1 rebounds per game.
- He had 10 points, seven assists and seven steals against second-ranked North Carolina (11/24/06).
JaJuan Smith Earns Star(ting) Role
Named the "Best Player Off The Bench" in the SEC by The Tennessean, JaJuan Smith has worked his way into the starting lineup for the Vols this season ... The Cleveland, Tenn., native saw his minutes increase from 8.0 per game as a freshman in 2005 to 24.0 as a sophomore last season ... Smith saw his production increase along with his minutes as he averaged 11.3 points against SEC opponents 2005-06 ... His 61 3-pointers ranked second and 57 assists were third on the team last season. - Against UNC Wilmington (11/14/06) in the NIT Season Tip-Off he recorded career-highs with 21 points and five steals in just 27 minutes of action.
- He tied that mark with 21 points on 5-of-11 3-point shooting against Western Kentucky (12/16/06).
- Led UT's scoring efforts four times this season after leading the Vols in scoring once last year.
Hard Work Pays Off For Childress
There is an old saying that goes, "The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores." .. That couldn't be more true for UT sophomore forward Ryan Childress ... As a true freshman last season the Cincinnati, Ohio, product averaged 1.2 points and 1.2 rebounds in 29 appearances for the Vols ... After a summer of hard work that resulted in him dropping 20 pounds and adding more than seven inches to his vertical leap ... That hard work in the offseason has paid huge dividends for the 6-foot-9 Childress as he ranks sixth on the team with 6.0 points and averages 4.2 rebounds. - Childress needed just four games this season to score more points than he did all season as a freshman. He scored 43 points through UT's first four games after having 33 points in 29 games as a freshman.
- Already this season he has set or tied career marks for points (14), rebounds (10), assists (4), blocks (2) and steals (2).
- He doubled his previous career rebounding best of five when he grabbed 10 boards against Western Kentucky (11/16/06).
Crews Missile
One of the most heralded freshmen in the Southeastern Conference this season, Duke Crews has not disappointed ... The 6-foot-7 forward earned a starting assignment in the Vols season-opener and has won over Tennessee fans with his hustle and athleticism ... Named the SEC Newcomer of the Year by Lindy's and Athlon, the Hampton, Va., native is averaging 9.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. - In the South Region championship game of the NIT Season Tip-Off against UNC Wilmington (11/14/06) he narrowly missed a double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Big Wayne Strong In The Paint
Freshman center Wayne Chism has played a key role for a Tennessee team that lists just two players taller than 6-foot-7 ... A 6-9 native of Boliver, Tenn., Chism became the first Vols freshman to record a double-double since Vincent Yarbrough (22 points and 11 rebounds vs. Georgia) did it during the 1998-99 season when he had 11 points and 11 rebounds against Coppin State (11/19/06) ... Chism is leading the team with 5.8 rebounds and is fourth on the squad with 7.7 points per game. - Chism has been the first Vol off the bench in nine of Tennessee's 10 games. The only time he wasn't the first off the bench was against Memphis when he was in the starting lineup.
Howell A Steadying Force
Since being inserted into the starting lineup against Louisiana-Lafayette (11/27/06) Jordan Howell hasn't been putting up big numbers and that is just fine with head coach Bruce Pearl ... Howell, who made his first career start against the Ragin' Cajuns, is averaging 2.9 points, 2.1 assists and 0.8 rebounds per game ... But the most significant statistic for Howell has been his assist-to-turnover ratio of 3-to-1 ... In 156 minutes played this season, the 6-foot-3 junior guard has turned the ball over just seven times ... Since Howell moved into the starting lineup UT's turnovers have decreased by 4.5 per game. Ramar Rebounds
Freshman point guard Ramar Smith has shown several different dimensions to his game this season ... Having played primarily the two-guard in high school, the 6-foot-2 Smith is averaging 5.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists in just 19.9 minutes per game this year. - He scored a career-high 15 points in 22 minutes against Western Kentucky (12/16/06).
- Against 15th-ranked Memphis (12/6/06) he gathered seven rebounds.
- He had five assists in the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinal game against Butler (11/22/06).
Two Sign In Early Period
On the first day of the early signing period Cameron Tatum and Brian Williams signed national letters of intent to play basketball at the University of Tennessee beginning with the 2007-08 season. - Tatum, a versatile 6-foot-5, 190-pound wing from Patterson Prep in Lenoir, N.C., can put the ball on the floor and create, hit the 3-pointer or take the ball to the rim ... Rated as a four-star prospect and the No. 13 shooting guard in the nation by Rivals.com, he averaged 21 points and 7.7 rebounds as a senior at Tucker High School in Tucker, Ga.
- A 6-9, 300-pound post player at Harmony Community Prep in Cincinnati, Williams will give the Vols much needed depth and size in the paint ... A player with exceptional hands, good feet and a soft shooting touch, he attended Christopher Columbus High School in Bronx, N.Y., before going to Harmony Prep where he was a teammate of current Vols freshman Josh Tabb.
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