UNC Asheville Game Preview

Tennessee		Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
F	1 Tyler Smith	6-7	215	So.	13.3	5.2	3.6
F	4 Wayne Chism	6-9	242	So.	8.2	5.2	0.9
G	5 Chris Lofton	6-2	200	Sr.	14.4	3.1	2.8
G	2 JaJuan Smith	6-2	195	Sr.	15.0	2.2	2.7
G	15 Jordan Howell	6-2	200	So.	7.6	1.4	3.3
UNC Asheville		Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
F	4 Garrett Moles	6-7	200	Sr.	3.2	4.1	1.6
F	20 Reid Augst	6-6	190	Jr.	10.6	5.1	2.8
C	24 Vincent James	6-7	200	Sr.	11.8	4.0	1.4
G	2 K.J. Garland	6-1	170	Sr.	16.1	4.3	6.6
G	10 Bryan Smithson	6-0	170	Sr.	17.2	3.3	3.0

ATTENTION: Lot 14 Shuttle Change

In an effort to improve efficiency with post-game shuttle pickup, the KAT shuttle pickup for Lot 14 has moved closer to Thompson-Boling Arena for post-game pickup.

After the game, please board the KAT shuttle buses directly outside of the arena on the north side of Phillip Fulmer Way.?? The Lot 14 shuttle buses will begin ten minutes prior to the end of the game.

Vols Face Asheville in Only December Home Game

Tennessee will play its only home game in the month of December when the UNC Asheville Bulldogs visit Thompson-Boling Arena Wednesday, Dec. 19. SportSouth will televise the game.
Four of Tennessee???s five games in the month of December will be away from Thompson-Boling Arena. In fact, the Vols are in the middle of a 39-day period in which they play just one game in Knoxville.
The Vols shook off any rust left from an 11-day break for final exams with an 88-82 win over Western Kentucky Saturday at the Sun Belt Classic in Nashville. Freshman Brian Williams recorded his first career double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds while JaJuan Smith had a team-high 19 points.
Tennessee???s 22-game home winning streak is the fifth-longest active streak in the nation. The Vols have not suffered a loss at Thompson-Boling Arena since the final home game of the 2005-06 season. UT is 6-0 at home this season.
Tennessee has won nine of its first 10 games for the second time in three seasons under Bruce Pearl. Pearl???s 2005-06 squad won 11 of its first 12 games before suffering its second loss of the season.
Chris Lofton needs two 3-pointers to break Allan Houston???s (1989-93) school record of 346 career treys. Lofton???s 345 career triples rank third in Southeastern Conference history behind only Houston and Arkansas??? Pat Bradley (366 from 1995-99). The Maysville, Ky., native???s 345 career 3-pointers are tied for 24th-most in NCAA history.
JaJuan Smith became the 40th member of Tennessee???s 1,000-point club with a 19-point effort against Western Kentucky. The senior guard has scored 1,015 points in 100 career games.
UNC Asheville is off to one of its best starts in more than 20 years with a 7-2 record entering a Monday showdown with South Carolina State. The Bulldogs are led by the backcourt tandem of Bryan Smithson (17.2 ppg) and K.J. Garland (16.1 ppg). Kenny George, a 7-foot-7 junior center, comes off the bench to lead UNCA with 8.6 rebounds and 6.3 blocks per game.

Tennessee Trends

12 Vols are averaging 10+ minutes per game this season and no UT player ranks among the SEC???s top 30 in minutes played.
After opening the season by making just 3-of-17 (17.6 percent) of his 3-pointers, Lofton has made 39.7 percent (29-of-73) over the last six games.
Lofton???s 1,716 career points rank ninth on UT???s all-time scorers list.
Tennessee has forced an average of 23.5 turnovers off an SEC-best 12.8 steals per game this year.
The Vols are leading the SEC with 21.3 assists per game.
UT???s 69-point (109-40) win over Middle Tennessee is the second-largest margin of victory in school history.
The Vols tied a school record with 16 3-pointers against Middle Tennessee (11/20/07). Their 30 assists were one dime shy of tying a school record.
The 21,817 fans for Tennessee???s game against Temple (11/9/07) was the largest crowd for a home opener in the nation this year.
Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith were the highest scoring duo in the Southeastern Conference in 2006-07. Lofton averaged 20.8 points while Smith added 15.2 points.
Tennessee is 35-2 at Thompson-Boling Arena since the start of the 2005-06 season.
UT has a 22-game homecourt winning streak. The Vols??? last home loss was a 78-80 decision to Kentucky in the final home game of the 2005-06 season.
The Vols are 21-0 in non-conference home games under Bruce Pearl.
Bruce Pearl is 9-6 against ranked teams while at Tennessee.
The Vols have made at least one 3-pointer in 329 consecutive games.
Under Bruce Pearl, UT is 49-4 when leading or tied with five minutes left in the game.
UT is 36-4 when scoring 80 or more points under the direction of Bruce Pearl.
UT is 30-14 (.682) when playing before crowds of 20,000 or larger at Thompson-Boling Arena. In 2006-07 the Vols were 6-0 playing in front of 20,000 fans at home.
Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,400-904-2 in its 99th season of basketball.
UT???s 620 regular season SEC victories rank third all-time in the SEC. Only Kentucky and Alabama have won more league games.
Tennessee is 235-86 in its 21st season in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols have winning home records in 18 of their 20 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 fourth time in 2006-07.

December On The Road

After playing six of its first eight games at home, Tennessee is in the middle of a 39-day period (Dec. 1 through Jan. 8) where the Vols only play one game at Thompson-Boling Arena ... UT???s only home game during the stretch is a Dec. 19 contest against UNC Asheville ... Tennessee will travel to play games in Chattanooga (Dec. 4 at UT-Chattanooga), Nashville (Dec. 15 vs. Western Kentucky), Cincinnati (Dec. 22 at Xavier) and Seattle (Dec. 29 vs. Gonzaga) before opening Southeastern Conference play Jan. 9 against Ole Miss in Knoxville.

JaJuan Smith Joins 1,000-Point Club

JaJuan Smith became Tennessee???s 40th member of the 1,000 career point club with a 19-point effort against Western Kentucky (12/15/07) ... The Cleveland, Tenn., native has scored 1,015 points in 100 career games (10.2 ppg) ... Smith is leading the Vols with 15.0 points per game this season.

Lofton One Trey Shy Of Houston???s Record

Chris Lofton is pursuing the school and conference 3-point records ... The preseason All-America selection???s 345 career 3-pointers rank second in school history (Allan Houston had 346), third in SEC history (Arkansas??? Pat Bradley had 366) and are tied for 24th in NCAA history ... The Maysville, Ky., native has produced the top two single-season 3-point efforts in school history ... In 2005-06 he set a school record with 114 triples and as a junior in 2006-07 he made 106 shots behind the arc.

Looking At UNC Asheville

The Bulldogs will be looking to start the season with an 8-2 record for the first time since the 1983-84 season when they host South Carolina State Monday night in Asheville ... The Bulldogs improved to 7-2 on the season with a 79-76 victory over Campbell last Thursday ... Bryan Smithson, a 6-foot senior guard, leads UNCA with 17.2 points per game and he is shooting 64.0 percent (16-of-25) from 3-point range ... K.J.Garland, a 6-1 senior guard is second on the team with 16.1 points and leads the squad with 6.6 assists per game ... One of the tallest players to ever play college basketball, 7-foot-7 Kenny George comes off the bench to lead the Bulldogs with 8.6 rebounds and 6.3 blocked shots per game ... Junior forward Reid Augst saw a school record streak of 27 consecutive free throws made come to an end against Campbell .. Augst leads the Bulldogs by making 93.9 percent (31-of-33) of his charity tosses ... UNCA has won 11 of its last 14 games dating back to last season ... The Bulldogs have shot at 50 percent or better from the field in six of their nine games this year ... Eddie Biedenbach enters Monday???s game with 150 career wins which is tied with Jerry Green for second all-time at the school ... The longest tenured-coach in Big South Conference history, Biedenbach has a 150- 178 record in his 12th season at UNC Asheville and 179-229 in his 15th year as a head coach.

Vols Get Win No. 1,400

Tennessee earned the 1,400th win in school history with an 88-82 victory over Western Kentucky (12/15/07) ... The Vols have an all-time record of 1,400-904-2 in their 99th season of basketball ... UT???s 1,400 all-time wins rank as the fourth-most in the Southeastern Conference ... Only Kentucky (1,952), Arkansas (1,459) and Alabama (1,452) have won more games.

It Doesn???t Rain 3s, It Pours Them

The 3-point shot has been a key part of Tennessee???s repertoire this season ... The Vols are averaging 28.4 3-point shots per game this season ... 43.8 percent (284 of 648) of the Vols??? shots have been from 3-point range ... UT is averaging 10.2 3-pointers made per game on the year ... 11 different Vols have made a 3-pointer this season.

UT shattered the previous school record of 37 3-point attempts by firing up 50 shots from beyond the arc against North Carolina A&T (11/27/07). It is the third-highest total in SEC history.
Chris Lofton broke his own single-game record for attempts by going 8-of-20 from 3-point range against North Carolina A&T (11/27/07). It tied for the third-highest number of attempts in SEC history.
The Vols have tied the school record for 3-pointers made in a game with 16 two times this season. They performed the feat less than a week between games, doing it against Middle Tennessee State (11/20/07) and then against Texas (11/24/07).
Lofton???s eight 3-pointers against North Carolina A&T are tied for second-most in school history. Lofton already holds the school record with nine triples in a game against Georgia his sophomore season.
JaJuan Smith???s seven 3-pointers against Middle Tennessee (11/20/07) rank in a tie for fourth on UT???s single-game lists.

University of Tennessee Athletics