University of Tennessee Athletics
HOOPS CENTRAL: Vols vs. Lipscomb
December 14, 2016 | Men's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee plays its final home game of 2016 on Thursday when it welcomes in-state foe Lipscomb to Thompson-Boling Arena for a 7 p.m. ET tip.
MORE INFO
Gameday Time & Broadcast Info
- Opponent: Lipscomb
- Date: Thursday, Dec. 15
- Tipoff: 7 p.m. ET
- Venue: Thompson-Boling Arena
- TV: SEC Network + (WatchESPN)
- Radio: Vol Network
- Online: Live Audio ,
Related Links
2016-17 Tennessee Media Guide Buy Tickets New Clear Bag Policy Gameday Info Follow @Vol_Hoops SEC Clubhouse
Tennessee (5-4)
Roster Schedule Stats Game Notes
Lipscomb (4-8)
Roster Schedule Stats Game Notes
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Thursday night's game will not be televised but can be viewed live online through SEC Network + via WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.
Playing its third game in five days, Tennessee (5-4) is facing Nashville-based Lipscomb (4-8) for only the third time and for the first time since 2005. It is the second-straight game against an in-state foe for the Vols, who held on to defeat Tennessee Tech 74-68 on Tuesday night and clinch their 14th straight home win in the month of December.
Robert Hubbs III notched his second consecutive 20-point performance on Tuesday night, leading the way with 25 points and seven rebounds. With a 21-point showing against No. 7 North Carolina already under his belt this week, the senior remains Tennessee's leading scorer at 15.9 ppg.
The Vols also got 16 points from redshirt freshman guard Lamonte Turner, who knocked down five 3-pointers against the Golden Eagles. Turner, who made seven treys against Presbyterian on Dec. 6, has now hit 12 threes over his last two outings at Thompson-Boling Arena. Turner ranks second on the team in scoring at 10.9 ppg.
True freshman John Fulkerson continues to pace the Vols on the glass at 5.1 rpg while sophomore Shembari Phillips -- averaging 9.8 ppg -- is the top assist man at 2.7 helpers per game.
The Bisons, who capped a recent four-game homestand with a 98-84 win over Morehead State on Saturday, are beginning a four-game road swing on Thursday night in Knoxville.
ABOUT LIPSCOMB
- The Bisons (4-8) open a stretch of four consecutive road games stretching past the Christmas holiday when they visit Thompson-Boling Arena Thursday.
- In its most recent action, Lipscomb bounced back from a pair of heartbreaking losses to crosstown rivals Tennessee State (72-71) and Belmont (78-76) to top Morehead State, 98-84, in the final contest of a four-game homestead. The Bisons got a career-high 36 points from sophomore guard Garrison Mathews—a Franklin, Tennessee, native who went 8-of-10 from beyond the arc while pulling down eight rebounds.
- Senior guard Josh Williams—a preseason All-Atlantic Sun pick—added 27 points in the win over Morehead State, connecting on five triples of his own. Williams missed 20 games last season after suffering an ACL tear.
- Matthews (18.7 ppg) and Williams (12.4 ppg) lead the Bisons in scoring. Sophomore center and Western Kentucky transfer Rob Marberry rounds out Lipscomb's double-digit scorers, putting up 11.4 ppg.
- Matthews was named A-Sun Player of the Week on Monday. He averaged 30.5 ppg last week, scoring 25 against Belmont prior to his 36-point outburst vs. Tennessee State.
- Eli Pepper, a sophomore forward, paces the team on the glass at 7.4 rpg. Starting point guard Nathan Moran is averaging a team-high 4.4 apg.
- Lipscomb has attempted 323 3-pointers this season (nearly 27 per game)—a figure which ranks fifth nationally. The Bisons are connecting at a .347 clip from beyond the arc. They also know how to get to the foul line, having attempted a nation-leading 330 freebies (27.5 per game).
- Lipscomb is under the direction of fourth-year head coach Casey Alexander. Alexander is a Nashville native who helped Brentwood Academy to a pair of state titles before moving on to a standout playing career at Belmont. He was inducted into the Belmont Hall of Fame in 2005.
- Alexander spent 16 seasons as an assistant at Belmont under Rick Byrd before taking his first head coaching job at Stetson. He led the Hatters for two seasons before arriving at Lipscomb.
VOLS, BISONS HAVE MET JUST TWICE
- Despite their arenas being separated by just 104 miles along Interstate 40, Tennessee and Lipscomb have met just twice previously, with both meetings taking place in Knoxville (12/1/54 and 12/29/05).
LAST MEETING WITH LIPSCOMB
- Senior point guard C.J. Watson (now playing for the Orlando Magic in his 10th NBA season) scored 18 points and made nine free throws down the stretch to help Tennessee beat Lipscomb 69-58 on Dec. 29, 2005.
- The Volunteers struggled most of the game to pull away from the Bisons, who had the lead in the first half and trailed by only two early in the second.
- This game was in doubt late. The Vols led by 10 with 6:36 left, but a basket by Lipscomb's Cameron Robinson and a 3-pointer by Brian Fisk cut it to 57-52.
- Then Watson took over at the foul line, making 9 of 10 free throws in the final 3:48 as the Vols were able to pull away. Watson was 13-of-14 from the line for the game.
- UT's Major Wingate scored 13 points, and Stanley Asumnu added 11 for the Vols, who narrowly avoided their first home loss of the season.
- The Vols shot 21-of-55 from the floor. The Bisons had 21 turnovers. Tennessee opened the second half with a 10-2 run to go ahead 37-28.
- The loss overshadowed the performance by Lipscomb's Eddie Ard, who scored 24 points. Fisk finished with 19 points.
BARNES' LONGHORNS SQUAD HIT 100 AGAINST LIPSCOMB IN 2014
- Rick Barnes' final Texas team hosted Casey Alexander's Lipscomb squad in Austin, Texas, on Dec. 16, 2014, and the ninth-ranked Longhorns routed the Bisons by 45 points, 106-61.
- Texas shot 59 percent and committed just two turnovers in the first half, taking a 58-32 lead into the break.
- NBA Lottery Pick and current Indiana Pacers star, Myles Turner, totaled 26 points, nine rebounds and six blocks for the Longhorns.
- Said Alexander after the game: "They were on a mission, offensively, tonight. They played with so much more speed, so much more purpose."
THIS YEAR'S VOLS GETTING IT DONE WITHOUT "VOLUME" GUYS
- Through nine games in 2015-16, Tennessee's top four active scorers (Kevin Punter Jr., Armani Moore, Robert Hubbs III and Devon Baulkman) had taken 428 of the team's 573 total field goal attempts (just under 75 percent of the team's shots) and had supplied 552 of the team's 725 total points (76 percent).
- Through nine games in 2016-17, Tennessee's top four active scorers (Robert Hubbs III, Lamonté Turner, Shembari Phillips and Jordan Bowden) have taken 296 of the team's 536 field goal attempts (just over 55 percent of the shots) while accounting for 412 of the team's 710 total points (58 percent).
- Lacking "volume shooters" and "volume scorers" in 2016-17, Tennessee's points per game average (78.9) still ranks fourth in the SEC and is less than 2.0 points per game off the pace of last year's team (80.6).
- The 2016-17 Vols are also shooting 46.1 percent from the field through nine games—a slight improvement from last year's 44.9 percent at this stage—despite playing a much more difficult schedule.
DECEMBER HOME WIN STREAK = 14
- The Volunteers have won 14 consecutive December home games, dating to 2013.
- UT's last December loss at Thompson-Boling Arena was a 65-58 setback at the hands on NC State on Dec. 18, 2013.
- The 14-game streak includes victories over Morehead State, Virginia, Kansas State, Butler, Tennessee Tech (twice), Mercer, Tennessee State (twice), ETSU (twice), Florida Atlantic, Georgia Tech and Presbyterian.
VOLS AUTHOR ONE OF THE BEST SHOOTING HALVES EVER AT UNC
- Though it fell two points short in its upset bid at seventh-ranked UNC on Dec. 11, Tennessee put together an impressive offensive first half.
- Tennessee's first half field-goal percentage of .654 was the fourth-highest ever recorded by a UNC opponent in a half at the Dean Smith Center, which opened in 1986:
TEAM DATE FG% HALF Duke March 9, 2013 .692 1st Kentucky Dec. 7, 2012 .667 2nd Temple Feb. 22, 1988 .681 2nd TENNESSEE Dec. 11, 2016 .654 1st
KNOXVILLE'S BOWDEN NAMED SEC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
- Shooting guard Jordan Bowden was selected as the SEC men's basketball Freshman of the Week Monday after scoring in double figures against both Presbyterian and North Carolina last week. • The Carter High School grad scored 21 points against Presbyterian Dec. 6 and then added 12 points, five rebounds and two steals at seventh-ranked North Carolina on Dec. 11. • His averages for the week stood at 16.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists (no turnovers) and 2.0 steals. • The true freshman played a team-high 57 total minutes spanning UT's two games last week and did not commit a single turnover.
UP NEXT
- Three more games remain in the month of December for the Vols following Thursday's tilt with Lipscomb, a closing stretch that begins on Sunday when the Vols travel to Nashville to face No. 8 Gonzaga in the Battle on Broadway. Tip-off from Bridgestone Arena is set for 4 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
- Tennessee and Gonzaga will be meeting for the fifth time and for the second consecutive year. Last season at the Battle in Seattle, the 11th-ranked Bulldogs staved off a second-half rally from the Vols to claim an 82-72 victory.
- From there, Tennessee remains in-state and makes the short trip to Johnson City for a meeting with ETSU on Thursday, Dec. 22. UT then plays its earliest SEC opener since 1989 when it heads to College Station to face Texas A&M on Dec. 29 in the conference lid-lifter.
