| Team
Statistical Comparisons |
Tennessee
|
Stat
Category
|
Coastal Carolina
|
71.7
|
Points
|
68.5
|
68.4
|
Opponent
Points
|
70.8
|
+3.4
|
Scoring
Margin
|
-2.3
|
.478
|
Field
Goal %
|
.461
|
.439
|
Opponent
Field Goal %
|
.460
|
.429
|
Three-Point
%
|
.369
|
.356
|
Opponent
Three-Point %
|
.399
|
.704
|
Free
Throw %
|
.649
|
33.1
|
Rebounds
|
32.6
|
32.2
|
Opponent
Rebounds
|
33.7
|
+0.9
|
Rebounding
Margin
|
-1.1
|
14.0
|
Assists
|
15.1
|
15.9
|
Turnovers
|
15.3
|
3.8
|
Blocks
|
1.7
|
7.7
|
Steals
|
7.8
|
6-5
|
Record
|
3-8
|
| Individual
Statistical Leaders |
|
Tennessee
|
Stat
Category
|
Coastal Carolina
|
|
McFadgon,
15.9
|
Points
|
Paelay, 16.6
|
Crump,
5.7
|
Rebounds
|
Nagel, 7.0
|
Watson,
5.6
|
Assists
|
Paelay, 3.4
|
Crump, .602
|
Field
Goal %
|
Sonko, .548
|
Lofton,
.615
|
Three-Point
%
|
Leasure, 542
|
Lofton,
.917
|
Free
Throw %
|
Green, .867
|
Looking At Coastal Carolina
Coastal Carolina enters Sunday's game with a 3-8 record following a 63-45 victory over the Ohio Northern Polar Bears Wednesday in Conway, South Carolina ... The Chanticleers held the Polar Bears to just 26.9 percent shooting from the field ... Pele Paelay, a 6-foot-4 junior guard, led the Chanticleers with a game-high 20 points and eight rebounds ... Paelay is leading CCU in scoring on the season with 16.6 points and 3.4 assists per game ... Jack Leasure, a 6-foot-3 freshman guard, is the only other Chanticleer averaging double figure scoring with 12.1 points per game ... Leasure was named the Big South Conference's Freshman of the Week on Dec. 20 following a 13-point effort against UNC Wilmington ... Moses Sonko, who was named to the Big South Conference All-Freshman team last season, is adding 8.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game ... Coastal Carolina opened the season with its first five games on the road ... The Chanticleers are 0-6 on the road this season ... Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook projects Coastal Carolina to finish seventh in the Big South Conference ... The publication also ranks the Chanticleers' backcourt as the third-best in the Big South ... A former Dayton assistant, Pete Strickland is 63-116 in his seventh season as Coastal Carolina's head coach.
The Coastal Carolina Series
This is the first meeting between Tennessee and Coastal Carolina ... The Vols are 10-0 all-time against teams from the Big South Conference ... Last year the Vols defeated Big South member UNC Asheville 80-67.
What Is A Chanticleer?
According to the Coastal Carolina media guide the nickname a Chanticleer (pronounced SHON-ti-cleer) comes from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales ... It is a "rooster who rules the barnyard with cunning and wit. His competitiveness never wanes as he battles to the end, using his brains to come out on top every time."
Chanticleers Connections
Tennessee's Major Wingate is a native of Florence, S.C., about 50 miles from the Coastal Carolina campus ... Tennessee assistant coach Ed Conroy was the head coach at near by Francis Marion University, an NCAA Division II school in Florence, S.C. ... Tennessee's C.J. Watson and Coastal Carolina's Chad Ferguson attended rival high schools in Las Vegas, Nev. ... Watson led Bishop Gorman HS to a 2002 state championship as a senior while Ferguson led Cheyenne to the 2003 state championship.
Last Game: Late Misses At The Free Throw Line Prove Costly For Vols
Tennessee missed all four of its free throws in the game's last 36 seconds while Nebraska's Marcus Neal drilled three free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining to give the Huskers a 62-61 win Thursday, Dec. 30, in Knoxville ... The Vols used a 10-0 run to take a 61-57 lead with 41 seconds left but could not put the game away after missing the front end of two one-and-one opportunities and both attempts on a two-shot foul ... UT took the 61-57 lead on an Andre Patterson dunk but the Huskers sprinted back down the court and Jean Dourisseau slammed down an alley-oop just three seconds after Patterson's slam ... Scooter McFadgon, a 90 percent shooter from the line entering the game, missed two free throws with 9.8 seconds left, giving the Huskers one more opportunity ... Neal grabbed a loose ball on NU's last possession and was fouled while attempting a desperation 3-pointer ... Tennessee shot just 35.3 percent (6-of-17) from the free throw line ... Brandon Crump led all scorers with 19 points ... McFadgon added 15 points ... C.J. Watson became the first Vol in five years to record 10 assists in a game while recording his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 assists ... Neal led Nebraska with 17 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range and 3-of-4 shooting from the free throw stripe.
Lofton Leading The Nation In 3-Point Percentage
Freshman Chris Lofton arrived on the UT campus with a reputation as an extraordinary 3-point shooter ... Eleven games into the season the Maysville, Ky., native has not disappointed ... According to the Dec. 20 NCAA Statistics Lofton's 62.2 percent (28-of-45) 3-point shooting is best in the nation ... He is currently shooting 61.5 percent (32-of-52) from 3-point range ... Against New Mexico (12/18/04) he tied a school record by going 5-for-5 from 3-point range ... His 11.7 points per game ranks fourth on the UT roster so far this season ... 74.4 percent (32-of-43) of Lofton's field goals this season have come behind the 3-point line ... His 57.3 percent shooting from the field is second 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.
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 six games since then the Vols have converted 53.2 percent (148-of-278) of their field goals ... UT has shot 50 percent or better from the field in four of its last six 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).
Watson Breaks Out Of Shooting Slump With School 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.
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 five games he is
averaging 15.2 points on 68.3 percent (28-of-41 shooting).
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 1,081 points in
98 career games ... He is the first Vol to reach 1,000 career points since Ron Slay accomplished the milestone
in the 2002-03 season ... Crump recorded his 500th career rebound against North Carolina
(11/23/04) ... He has 551 career rebounds.
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 ... McFadgon
is leading the SEC with his 90.0 percent (45-of-50) shooting from the free throw line this season.
Smith Moving Into Lineup
JaJuan Smith initially came to Tennessee as an invited walk-on but was awarded a scholarship prior to
the start of the fall semester ... The Decatur, Tenn., native is earning that scholarship after a slow start to
the season ... After playing just 11 minutes in UT's first four games, he has seen his role increase since
then ... He has been the first Vol off the bench in two of Tennessee's last three games ... He is averaging
4.0 points in 12.0 minutes of action over his last three games ... In his first significant action of the young
2004-05 season against UT-Chattanooga (12/5/04) he doubled his previous output on the season with six
points on 2-of-2 shooting from 3-point range in 13 minutes against the Mocs.
Pilfering Point Guard
C.J. Watson's 23 steals through 10 games are almost double that of any other Vol ... Last year it took
Watson 14 games to reach the 23 steal mark ... 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.
Patterson's Up To His Old Tricks
Andre Patterson's 5.2 rebounds per game ranks second on the Tennessee team and his 58.6 percent shooting
from the field is second on the squad, less than one percentage point behind leader Chris Lofton (59.4
percent) ... The transfer from UCLA, who is in his first season playing for the Vols, 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).
Hendrix Enjoys Best Game Of Season Against Belmont
Jemere Hendrix recorded a season-highs for scoring (8 points) and rebounding (6 rebounds) coming off
the bench in the Vols' win over Belmont (12/20/04) ... The Covington, Ga., native earned three starting
assignments for the Vols this year but has found his best success coming off the bench ... In three games
as a starter he averaged 1.3 points and 2.0 rebounds while he is averaging 3.3 points and 3.3 rebounds coming
off the bench.
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.
Vols Trio Earn Coaches Preseason All-SEC Honors
Tennessee was one of three SEC teams to have three players selected to the inaugural SEC men's preseason All-SEC first and second teams that were selected by the league's coaches ... Senior guard Scooter McFadgon was a first team selection while senior forward Brandon Crump and junior guard C.J. Watson were second team picks.
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.
Scooter Looks To Build On Free Throw Shooting
Scooter McFadgon broke one of Tennessee's oldest records last year when his 91.2 percent shooting at the free throw line dispatched a school record that had stood since 1969 ... The Memphis native connected on 134 of his 147 free throw attempts to lead the SEC and rank fifth in the nation ... His free throw success rate was the second-best in SEC history ... This year he enters his senior season as the league's second-leading returning scorer with 17.6 points per game ... Only Florida's Anthony Roberson averaged more points with 17.9.
What Returns
Who could blame Buzz Peterson for being excited when he looks at what is back from last year's team ... The Vols return an unprecedented amount of their production from last season's squad ... UT returns all five starters and a total of nine letterwinners from last year's squad ... In fact, nearly 80 percent of every statistical category returns from 2003-04 ... A total of 88.1 percent of UT's scoring is back from a team that averaged 71.1 points per game ... 85.5 percent of the team's rebounding returns and 83.0 percent of the Vols' assists are also back.
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 195-79 (.712) in its 18th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 96-20 (.828) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Tennessee is 82-18 (.820) 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 43-14 against SEC teams at home over the last six seasons.
- UT has won 59 of its last 65 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.
Preseason Honors & Predictions
| Team Predictions |
| SEC Media | 3rd/SEC East |
| Athlon Sports |
3rd/SEC East |
| Street & Smith's | 3rd/SEC East |
| Basketball Time In TN | 3rd/SEC East |
| Lindy's Basketball |
3rd/SEC East |
| Blue Ribbon | 4th/SEC East |
| The Sporting News | 4th/SEC East |
| Basketball News |
4th/SEC East |
| Postseason Predictions |
| Athlon Sports |
NCAA Tournament |
| Basketball News |
NCAA Tournament |
| Lindy's Basketball |
NCAA Tournament |
| Individual Predictions |
| Scooter McFadgon | First Team All-SEC (SEC Coaches) |
| First Team All-SEC (SEC Media) |
| First Team All-SEC (Athlon Sports) |
| First Team All-SEC (Basketball News) |
| First Team All-SEC (Blue Ribbon CBY) |
| Second Team All-SEC (The Sporting News) |
| Second Team All-SEC
(Lindy's Basketball) |
| No. 9 "Slasher" nationally
(Athlon Sports) |
| No. 15 "SG" nationally (Lindy's
Basketball) |
| No. 16 "SG" nationally
(The Sporting News) |
| SEC's "Most Entertaining" (Lindy's
Basketball) |
|
| C.J. Watson | Second Team All-SEC (SEC Coaches) |
| Third Team All-SEC (Athlon Sports) |
| SEC's "Best Playmaker" (The
Sporting News) |
| SEC's "Best Passer" (Street & Smith's) |
| SEC's "Top Playmaker" (Lindy's
Basketball) |
|
| Brandon Crump | Second Team All-SEC (SEC Coaches) |
| Third Team All-SEC (Athlon Sports) |
| Third Team All-SEC
(Lindy's Basketball) |
|
| Andre Patterson | No.
7 "Top Transfer" nationally (Lindy's Basketball) |
| Top Transfer (Athlon Sports) |
| Top Transfer (Basketball News) |
| SEC's "Best Transfer" (Street & Smith's) |
|
| Chris Lofton | Top
100 Freshmen (Street & Smith's) |
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