Tennessee Wraps Up Three-Game Road Swing at Louisville

Tennessee Trends

• The Vols are averaging 8.75 turnovers in their last four games. UT averaged 15.5 in its first 13 games.
• Tennessee is in the midst of a stretch where the Vols play five of six games on the road. The Vols play at South Carolina (Jan. 15), at Florida (Jan. 19), at Louisville (Jan. 22), vs. Kentucky (Jan. 25), at Auburn (Jan. 29) and at Vanderbilt (Feb. 2) during the three week period.
• This is the first time that the Vols have played three consecutive road games since the 1998-99 season.
• Tennessee is 7-0 when leading or tied at halftime.
• The Vols are 8-1 when leading at the first media time out. They are 2-6 when trailing or the score is tied.
• Chris Lofton broke out of a four-game shooting slump in which he shot just 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from behind the arc with a 6-of-10 effort from 3-point range at Florida (1/19/05)..
• More than 250 people from Maysville, Ky., made the trip to Knoxville to watch native son Chris Lofton play against Vanderbilt (1/8/05).
• Tennessee has shot 60.3 percent (79-of-131) from the free throw line in its last seven games. The Vols shot 73.2 percent from the line in their first 10 games.
• Scooter McFadgon has registered double figure scoring in every game in which he has played this year.
• Five Vols are shooting better than 50 percent from the field. Brandon Crump (58.9), Andre Patterson (58.1), Chris Lofton (54.6), Major Wingate (52.1) 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), Brandon Crump (4), C.J. Watson (4) and Chris Lofton (3) have all led UT in scoring. McFadgon has led UT in scoring in each of the last four games.
• Tennessee has shot 50 percent or better from the field in seven of its last 12 games.
• Brandon Crump became the eighth Vol ever to have 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocked shots.
• C.J. Watson's 393 career assists are seventh all-time at Tennessee. He needs seven assists to become the sixth Vol to record 400 career assists.
• After shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from 3-point range in their first five games, the Vols are shooting 50.0 percent (306-of-612) from the field over their last 12 games.
• UT's starters have accounted for 80.3 percent (977 of 1,217 points) of the Vols' scoring this season.
• Ten different Vols have made a 3-pointer this season.
• 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 1,341-873-2 in its 96th season of basketball.
• Tennessee was one of six teams without a senior in 2003-04. Of those six teams, only Tennessee and Wake Forest received postseason invitations.
• 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 three home wins this season to reach the 200-win milestone in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols are 197-80 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.

Looking At Louisville
Louisville has won its last four games and nine of its last 10 outings in earning a 15-3 overall record entering Saturday's contest ... The Cardinals are 4-1 in their final season of competition in Conference USA games before entering the Big East Conference beginning with the 2005-06 campaign ... U of L is coming off a 92-41 win over East Carolina on Wednesday in Louisville ... The Cardinals have outscored their last three opponents (including a three-point win at Cincinnati) by an average of 33 points ... On the season, Louisville is outscoring opponents by an average of 22.7 points ... All of Louisville's five regular starters are averaging in double figure scoring this season ... Taquan Dean, a 6-foot-3 junior guard, is the reigning CUSA Player of the Week after averaging 19.0 points and shooting 62.5 percent from 3-point range in wins at Southern Miss and Cincinnati ... Dean, who is averaging 14.6 points per game, ranks fifth in the nation according to the Jan. 17 NCAA statistics by making 50.5 percent of his 3-pointers ... He is currently shooting 51.0 percent from 3-point range ... Francisco Garcia, a 6-foot-7 junior forward, leads the Cards with 16.6 points per game ... Garcia was named the preseason Conference USA Player of the Year and is a preseason Wooden Award candidate ... The Cards regained the services of senior big man Otis George on Jan. 15 against Cincinnati ... George, who is averaging 8.1 points and 6.9 rebounds in seven games, had missed eight games with a stress fracture in his right foot ... Ellis Myles, who leads the Cards with 9.4 rebounds, suffered a thumb injury against East Carolina Wednesday and his status is questionable for Saturday's game ... Louisville is 21-2 in the month of January the last three seasons ... According to the Jan. 17 NCAA statistics Louisville is one of the nation's top 3-point shooting teams, ranking fifth in 3-pointers made per game (9.6) and 21st in percentage (40.6) ... Louisville's offense ranked eighth in the Jan. 17 NCAA stats with 83.3 points per game ... The Cards are led by Rick Pitino who is 79-33 in his fourth year at Louisville and 431-157 in his 19th season as a head coach.

The Louisville Series
Louisville leads the all-time series with Tennessee 10-7 ... Last year Louisville went on a late run to take a 65-62 victory on Jan. 25, 2004, at Thompson-Boling Arena ... The series between the two schools was revived during the 2001-02 season after not playing since a 100-84 Tennessee win on March 29, 1985 in the consolation game of the National Invitation Tournament in New York City ... Since the revival of the series, the Cardinals have won all three meetings by a combined seven points ... Ironically, Tennessee leads the all-time series when it is played in Louisville 5-4 ... The Cardinals lead the series when it is played in Knoxville 5-1 ... It is tied 1-1 on neutral sites ... The series dates back to Feb. 19, 1913 when Tennessee took a 24-16 win in Louisville.

Louisville Connections
Tennessee and Louisville both played in the Maui Invitational this season but were in separate brackets and did not face each other ... Tennessee's C.J. Watson and Louisville's Lorrenzo Wade played at rival high schools in Las Vegas, Nev. ... Watson won 2002 state championship for Bishop Gorman HS while Wade led Cheyenne to a 2003 state title ... Louisville coach Rick Pitino has connections to UT's last opponent and the Vols' next opponent ... The Vols' last opponent, Florida, is coached by Billy Donovan, who played for Pitino at Providence ... Tennessee's next opponent, Kentucky, is coached by former Pitino assistant Tubby Smith.

Last Meeting With Louisville
For the third time in as many years Tennessee came close but could not pull the upset on the Louisville Cardinals ... This time, the Vols fell 62-65 to the fifth-ranked Cardinals Sunday, Jan. 25, 2004, at Thompson-Boling Arena ... Tennessee controlled the game for much of the first half and held a 43-36 lead midway through the second half ... Louisville then went on a deciding 12-0 run to take a 48-43 lead with 8:28 left in the game ... The Vols cut the U of L's lead to three points on Justin Albrecht's 3-pointer with 13 seconds left ... Taquan Dean, who had been side lined the entire second half with a groin injury, was fouled on the inbounds play and made both of his free throws to put the lead at five ... Scooter McFadgon, who was 0-of-7 from 3-point range to that point, sank a trey with 4.1 seconds to go to cut the lead to two ... Francisco Garcia appeared to step out of bounds on the inbound play but it was ruled that he was fouled first ... Garcia, who led all scorers with a career-high 24 points, sank one free throw for the deciding margin ... Brandon Crump led the Vols with 16 points while C.J. Watson chipped in 15 ... McFadgon, who saw his streak of 32 consecutive free throws end early in the game, struggled for 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting ... Jemere Hendrix recorded a career-high 12 rebounds.

Recent Tennessee-Louisville Games Providing Exciting Finishes
This is the final game in a four-year contract between Tennessee and Louisville ... The first three meetings in the four-year deal produced some of the most exciting college basketball games of the year ... Unfortunately for Vol fans, all three games have tilted in the Cardinals' favor with Louisville winning the three games by a combined total of seven points ... A review of last year's game was detailed earlier in the release while following is a synopsis of the first two games:

• Erik Brown sank a pair of free throws with 24 second left to give Louisville a 72-69 lead and then John Winchester's 3-pointer rimmed out to give U of L the win Jan. 25, 2003, at Thompson-Boling Arena. Taquan Dean hit a trey with 4:30 left to give the Cards their first lead of the game at 66-65. The teams exchanged free throws until Kendall Dartez and Brown hit key free throws in the last 1:15 that gave Louisville the win.

Last Game: Vols Work Overtime To Get Win At Florida
C.J. Watson hit his only field goal of the game to give the Vols a late lead and then Scooter McFadgon scored the game's final five points from the free throw line as Tennessee escaped Florida with an 83-76 overtime win on Wednesday, Jan. 19, at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center ... Anthony Roberson tied the game at 70 when he drilled a 3-pointer with nine seconds left in regulation, eventually sending the game into overtime ... Chris Lofton set the tone for the Vols early in the extra period by making 3-pointers on two of UT's first three possessions to give Tennessee a 76-72 lead with 3:25 left ... Florida came back to tie it 76-76 on layups by Roberson and Corey Brewer ... Watson then scored with 1:43 remaining to put the Vols up for good ... McFadgon then went 4-of-5 from the free throw line in the game's final 47 seconds to seal the win ... McFadgon led the Vols with 23 points while Lofton tied his career-high with 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting from 3-point range ... Brandon Crump added 18 points and seven rebounds ... Tennessee shot 50 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3-point range while committing just nine turnovers ... Florida was led by Roberson's 26 points on 9-of-26 shooting from the field ... The win was just Tennessee's second in its last 14 visits to the O'Connell Center.

Saturday's Game Features Two Of Nation's Best 3-Point Shooters
Chris Lofton has spent most of the season leading the nation in 3-pointers until dropping out of the NCAA statistics due to lack of 3-pointers made per game (NCAA minimum is 2.5 per game) ... Lofton is shooting 51.7 percent (45-of-87) from 3-point range in his freshman season ... Louisville's Taquan Dean rated fifth nationally in the Jan. 17 NCAA statistics with a 50.5 3-point percentage ... Dean enters Saturday's contest shooting 51.0 percent (53-of-104) from behind the 3-point arc.

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.

Looking At Tennessee's Last Three Games
The Vols have rebounded impressively from a disheartening 63-88 home loss to Vanderbilt (1/8/05) by winning two of their next three games, including an upset of 11th-rank Mississippi State and a rare win at Florida ... Some of the keys to Tennessee's success during the three-game stretch include:

• Turning the ball over just 8.7 times per game and having a turnover margin of +5.7.
• Controlling the tempo and being more patient on the offensive end of the floor.
• Amping up the defense with 7.3 steals per game.
• Scooter McFadgon is averaging 18.0 points while Chris Lofton and Brandon Crump each add 13.7.

Time Focusing On Shot Selection Pays 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 12 games since then the Vols have converted 50.0 percent (306-of-612) of their field goals ... UT has shot 50 percent or better from the field in seven of its last 12 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.

Lofton Drops Out Of National 3-Point Percentage Rankings, Until Next Week
Freshman Chris Lofton arrived on the UT campus with a reputation as an extraordinary 3-point shooter ... Seventeen games into the season the Maysville, Ky., native has not disappointed ... After leading the nation in 3-point percentage since the Dec. 20 NCAA statistics, Lofton dropped out of the rankings on Jan. 18 for not having the necessary 2.5 3-pointers made per game (he averaged 2.4375 triples per game when the rankings were accumulated) ... Had he qualified, his 50.6 percent (39-of-77) would have ranked fifth nationally ... After a 22-point effort at Florida (1/19/05) in which he went 6-of-10 from behind the arc, he will have no problem qualifying for next week's NCAA statistics even if he does not make a trey against Louisville ... He is currently shooting 51.7 percent (45-of-87) from 3-point range ... He has made 60.5 percent (26-of- 43) of his shots inside the 3-point line ... Against New Mexico (12/18/04) he tied a school record by going 5-for-5 from 3-point range ... His 11.9 points per game ranks third on the UT roster so far this season ... 63.4 percent (45-of-71) of Lofton's field goals this season have come behind the 3-point line ... His 54.6 percent shooting from the field is third 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.

Pilfering Point Guard
C.J. Watson's 33 steals through 17 games leads the Vols ... Watson finished 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 in the Maui Invitational.

Crump Bounces Back
Brandon Crump's senior season didn't start the way he wanted it to when 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) ... The Houston, Texas, 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 12 games he is averaging 13.4 points on 63.4 percent (64-of-101 shooting).

Watson Breaks Out Of Shooting Slump With Record Game
C.J. Watson broke out of a six-game shooting slump with a school record effort from behind the 3-point line against Campbell (12/23/04) ... Watson tied the school record for 3-point percentage by going 5-of- 5 from 3-point range and finished the game with a career-high 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field ... Watson shot 32.6 percent (15-of-46) from the field and averaged 8.8 points per game in UT's previous six games.

Milestones For Crump: 1,000 Points and 500 Rebounds Reached This Season
Brandon Crump 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 ... The 6-foot-10 senior forward has scored 1,166 points in 105 career games ... 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 nine rebounds to become the 23rd Vol to record 600 in a career.

Scooter's Free Throw Streak Stops At 31
After missing two free throws in the season-opener against Stanford (11/22/04), Scooter 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 ... The Memphis native missed two of his first six free throws against the Cardinal but rallied to make his last two attempts to begin the streak ... It was the second-longest streak for him as he had a streak of 32 consecutive free throws made last year.

Patterson's Up To His Old Tricks
Andre Patterson's 6.1 rebounds per game leads the Tennessee team and his 58.1 percent shooting from the field is second 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).

Bradshaw Breaking In
After averaging just 12.4 minutes in Tennessee's first 12 games, Dane Bradshaw has seen his role increase with the start of conference play ... In five SEC games the sophomore guard is averaging 17.4 minutes per game ... In non-conference games he averaged 1.7 assists but has improved that to 3.0 in league games.

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 197-81 (.709) in its 18th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
• Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 98-22 (.817) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
• Tennessee is 84-20 (.808) 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 44-15 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.

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