March 28, 2005

2005 NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTEBOOK
#3-RANKED NO. 1 TENNESSEE LADY VOLS (29-4 overall)	vs.	#9/10-ranked NO. 3 RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (28-6 OVERALL)
Mar. 29, 2005 - 9:07 p.m. - ESPN - Liacouras Center - 10,206 - Philadelphia, Pa.

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BRING YOUR PJ's

The Tennessee Lady Vols will play after 9:00 p.m. for the third time in the tournament when it tips off against Rutgers in the Philadelphia Region Final on Mar. 29. The Lady Vols had tip times of 9:44 p.m. and 9:37 p.m. in Knoxville and breakfast with the Lady Vols on Easter Sunday with a 12:04 p.m. tip in Philadelphia. Pack your jammies.

THIS TIME WE'LL HAVE MOORE

In the first meeting with Rutgers, the Lady Vols were minus senior point guard Loree Moore who was recovering from a tonsillectomy that knocked her out of service for the month of December and six games. In her absence, the learning curve was ratcheted up for rookie Alexis Hornbuckle who took over point guard duties. In the December meeting with Rutgers, Hornbuckle tossed in nine points on dismal 3-12 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds and recorded an assist, a block and one turnover while snagging two steals in 34 minutes of action.

A DIFFERENT CAST OF CHARACTERS SECOND TIME AROUND

Things have changed a bit since the first meeting with Rutgers this season. Sophomore forward Sidney Spencer was a starter in the December game - this time she'll be watching from the bench after suffering a season-ending torn ACL. Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood was a rookie reserve playing in just her third collegiate game - she too is now sidelined after surgery to repair patellar tendonitis. Rookie Nicky Anosike was a rookie reserve who had a break-out game against Rutgers with then-career highs of 12 points and nine rebounds, while junior starting center Tye Fluker struggled in the game with just two points and five boards. This time around, Anosike is starting and Fluker is the reserve.

VICTIMS OF THE RAC ATTACK

When then-#8/10-ranked Tennessee traveled to #24 Rutgers on Dec. 29, 2004, it marked the Lady Vols first appearance in the Louis Brown Athletic Center, a.k.a. RAC, for the first time in a decade. In the Lady Vols last trip prior to Dec. 2004, unranked Rutgers ambushed #1-ranked Tennessee, 87-77, as an ice storm raged across the New Brunswick landscape in the previous Garden State meeting between the two teams on Jan. 17, 1994.

FACING RUTGERS

UT leads 10-3; In Knoxville: UT is 4-0; Away: UT is 1-3; Neutral: UT is 5-0; Overtime: UT is 0-0; Postseason: UT is 4-0.

A LITTLE BIT ON THE SERIES WITH RUTGERS

Tennessee and Rutgers have faced each other a total of 13 times over the years, with the first contest occurring in 1979. The Lady Vols won an AIAW East Regional semifinal game on March 16 played on Fordham University's home court in the Bronx, N.Y., 79-69. The teams would meet again in 1982, with the Scarlet Knights getting the victory at home, 68-57, on Jan 23. The Orange and White would serve Rutgers a cold dish the following season, as they avenged the earlier loss by notching a 20-point home victory (81-61) in Stokely Athletics Center on Jan. 19, 1983. The teams would not meet again until five years later, when UT accepted an invitation to play in the Bell Atlantic-Rutgers Invitational in 1988. UT ran away from RU, winning the game on Dec. 30, 93-53. In the fifth game of the series, the Lady Vols continued their winning ways, blowing out Rutgers, 97-56, on March 21, 1992, in the first round of the NCAA tournament. RU would follow that performance up by closing the gap slightly in another loss, 93-74, on Jan. 19, 1993, in Knoxville. The following season would prove sweet for Rutgers, however, as the Lady Vols fell in Piscataway, N.J., 87-77, on Jan. 17, 1994. At the time, UT was ranked number one and Rutgers was not ranked. To this day, it marks the only time an unranked team knocked off the nation's #1. The two schools would meet again, in 1998, this time with head coach C. Vivian Stringer at the helm. UT defeated Rutgers 92-60 in the NCAA Mideast Regional semifinal in Nashville, Tenn., on March 21. On Jan. 3, 1999, the two teams played in front of the then-largest crowd ever to see a women's collegiate game in Madison Square Garden. Again, UT came away victorious, 68-54. The next meeting came in the 2000 NCAA Final Four semifinal contest where UT won narrowly, 64-54. The last two meetings have alternated between Knoxville and New Brunswick. The Scarlet Knights visited Knoxville on Dec. 11, 2003, and lost a 59-49 contest. This past Dec. 29, 2004, the Lady Vols fell at the RAC, 65-51.

GENERALLY A LOW SCORING AFFAIR

The average score of a UT-Rutgers game is a double-figure differential margin (+12.9) - 74.5 for UT and 61.6 for Rutgers. Tennessee has scored 969 points in the series while Rutgers has totaled 801 points in 13 games.

SUMMITT AND STRINGER

Pat Summitt's Tennessee teams have faced C. Vivian Stringer while she was the head coach of Cheyney, Iowa and Rutgers. Summitt is 1-0 against Stringer at Cheyney, 2-1 against her at Iowa and 5-1 at Rutgers. Stringer is the second youngest women's coach (second only to Summitt) to reach the 500-career victory milestone (Jan. 28, 1994). She surpassed the 600-win plateau on Dec. 18, 1999, in a victory over Texas and reached the "700 Club" with a win over Princeton on Dec. 8, 2004.

TENNESSEE'S CONNECTION TO C. VIVIAN STRINGER AND THE FINAL FOUR

C. Vivian Stringer and her women's basketball teams at Cheyney, Iowa and Rutgers have been connected in the NCAA Tournament with the Tennessee Lady Vols in one form or fashion. In 1984, Tennessee and Pat Summitt defeated Stringer's Cheyney team in the semifinals of the NCAA Final Four, 82-73, at Pauley Pavilion at UCLA. Almost 10 years later (1993), Summitt's Lady Vols were hard-charging to the Final Four when Stringer's Iowa Hawkeyes bumped off Tennessee, 72-56, on their Iowa City home court to earn a trip to the Final Four. In 2000, Tennessee defeated Stringer's Rutgers team in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament in Philadelphia, 64-54.

THEY'VE GOT 20-20...GAMES THAT IS

Together, Pat Summitt and C. Vivian Stringer have a combined win-lost record of 1,604 and 416 (2,020 total games) for a staggering .794 winning percentage in a combined 64 years of women's hoops. Either Summitt or Stringer has been at 17 of the 23 Final Fours with their respective teams since the inception of the NCAA Women's Tournament in 1982. Might as well change that number to 18 out of 24, since one of the two programs - either Tennessee or Rutgers -- will advance to the Biggest Dance in Indianapolis, Ind.

BITTERSWEET

The Tennessee Lady Vols reconvened after the Christmas break on Dec. 26, individually flying into Newark from each of their hometowns. The first practice back was a big one for Lady Vol rookie phenom, 6-3 Candace Parker from Naperville, Ill. After sitting out for four months following articular cartilage surgery, she was cleared to begin practice at Rutgers. Parker's return was short-lived due to intermittent swelling in her knee. It was finally decided on Feb. 17 that Parker would redshirt this season. Parker took the news in stride. "I'm comfortable with the decision. I'm looking forward to feeling healthy and that's the most important thing. I wasn't feeling 100% -- this is my second major knee injury in two years. The knee is good. I'm fortunate to be at the University of Tennessee where they recognized this early. I felt in my heart that I would play this year. I feel like I'm a good healer. Jenny Moshak (Assistant Athletics Director for Sports Medicine) is great. There are no doubts in my mind about making the decision. There are no regrets," said Parker.

ONE THING IS FOR CERTAIN

One thing is for certain this year, Connecticut will not end the Lady Vols season. In four of the last five seasons (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004), the Huskies have dealt the Lady Vols their final loss of the year at the Final Four. In 2002 it was in the semifinals and the other three years it was in the NCAA title game.

SMITH AND RUPP DIDN'T DO IT

After Dean Smith and Adolph Rupp charted their record-setting wins, each went out and lost in their very next game in the NCAA Tournament. Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt avoided the record jinx and added to her winning total --- 881 --- and advanced to the Elite 8 to boot.

THIRTYSOMETHING

With a win over Rutgers, Tennessee could collect its 15th all-time 30-win season in Pat Summitt's 31-years at the helm. The previous 30-win years:

Season	Wins	Losses	Finish
1997-98	39	0	NCAA CHAMPS
1988-89	35	2	NCAA CHAMPS
1994-95	34	3	NCAA runner-up
1999-00	33	4	NCAA runner-up
1979-80	33	5	AIAW runner-up
2002-03	33	5	NCAA runner-up
1995-96	32	4	NCAA CHAMPS
1993-94	31	2	3rd Mideast Regionals
2000-01	31	3	3rd Mideast Regionals
1998-99	31	3	2nd East Regionals
1987-88	31	3	3rd NCAA Championships
2003-04	31	4	NCAA runner-up
1990-91	30	5	NCAA CHAMPS
1978-79	30	9	3rd AIAW Championships

FAMILIAR FACES IN THE 2005 ELITE 8

The Tennessee Lady Vols have seen some familiar faces among the seven other teams that remained in the Elite 8 as UT took on four of the these teams in five games this season. UT posted a dismal 2-3 overall record taking wins from then #2/2 Stanford (70-67) in Knoxville, #1/1 LSU (67-65) in the SEC Tournament Championship game, and suffered losses to then #10/9 Duke (59-57) in Knoxville, #1/1 LSU (68-58) in Baton Rouge and then #24 Rutgers (65-51) in Piscataway, N.J.

ADVANCING FROM THE ROUND OF 16 SURE IS SWEET

The Lady Vols have been fortunate to advance to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament for 24 consecutive years. Additionally, Tennessee has made it to the regional finals in 20 of the last 24 trips to the Sweet Sixteen. The Lady Vols did not advance to the regional finals in 1985 (losing to Ole Miss, 63-60), in 1992 (losing to Western Kentucky, 75-70), in 1994 (losing to Louisiana Tech, 71-68) and in 2001 after a devastating loss to Xavier, 80-65.

BUT GETTING TO THE ROUND OF 8 SURE IS ELITE

The Lady Vols have been fortunate to advance to the Elite 8 round of the NCAA Tournament for the 20th time in 24 consecutive years in NCAA Tournament. Additionally, Tennessee has advanced to the Final Four in eight of the last 10 years. Elite 8 games:

Mar. 21, 1982	Southern Cal	W	91	90 (OT)
Mar. 27, 1983	Georgia	L	63	67
Mar. 25 1984	Georgia	W	73	61
Mar. 22, 1986	Louisiana State	W	67	65
Mar. 21, 1987	Auburn	W	77	61
Mar. 26, 1988	Virginia	W	84	76
Mar. 25, 1989	Long Beach St.	W	94	80
Mar. 24, 1990	Virginia	L	75	79 (OT)
Mar. 23, 1991	Auburn	W	69	65
Mar. 27, 1993	Iowa	L	56	72
Mar. 25, 1995	Texas Tech	W	80	59
Mar. 25, 1996	Virginia	W	52	46
Mar. 24, 1997	Connecticut	W	91	81
Mar. 23, 1998	North Carolina	W	76	70
Mar. 22, 1999	Duke	L	63	69
Mar. 27, 2000	Texas Tech	W	57	44
Mar. 25, 2002	Vanderbilt	W	68	63
Mar. 31, 2003	Villanova	W	73	49
Mar. 30, 2004	Stanford	W	62	60
Mar. 29, 2005	vs. Rutgers

TENNESSEE'S AVERAGE SCORE IN THE ELITE 8

Known as the toughest 40 minutes in collegiate basketball, in 19 all-time games in the Elite 8, the Lady Vols have averaged 72.1 ppg and gave up 66.1 ppg to the opposition for a winning differential of just +6.0. The four times Tennessee lost an Elite 8 game, UT averaged just 64.3 ppg while the opponents tallied 71.7 ppg giving the Lady Vols a losing average of -7.4. In six Elite 8 games played in Knoxville, the Lady Vols doubled their overall winning average, outscoring the visitors 78.0 ppg while holding them to 65.2 ppg for a +12.8 winning margin.

ELITE 8 RANDOM NOTES

Last year, in the 23rd year of the NCAA Women's Basketball Championships, Tennessee Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt coached in her 100th game in tournament play with a victory over Stanford to advance to the 2004 Final Four. Summitt's current overall record in NCAA play (including 2005 games) is a phenomenal 88-17 (.833) in 105 NCAA contests.

UT's 1982 win over the Southern Cal Women of Troy, who were led by Pamela and Paula McGee in the first NCAA Tournament, also marked the first overtime game in NCAA women's tournament history. UT also played in a Regional Final overtime affair in 1990 but lost to Virginia, 79-75.

UT has faced seven different conferences in Elite 8 games: ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, PAC 10, SEC and WAC. Of the 19 all-time games, UT is most likely to see a team from the Southeastern Conference - six times. UT has advanced to the NCAA Final Four five times after defeating an SEC team. Tennessee has faced the ACC the next most times to advance to the Final Four - five times. The Lady Vols have earned three Final Four spots after defeating ACC teams.

20th time Tennessee has advanced to the Elite 8 and 10th time out of the last 12 years.

The Lady Vols have been placed in the Philadelphia (East) bracket of the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in 24 trips to the Big Dance. Tennessee advanced to the Final Four from the East in 1988 (finishing in 3rd in Tacoma, Washington), again in 1989 (winning UT's second NCAA title while playing in Tacoma, Wash.), and in 1996 (winning UT's fourth NCAA title at the Final Four in Charlotte, N.C.). While advancing from the East produced two NCAA titles and a third place finish, the East Regional is more remembered for what failed to occur for the Lady Vols. In 1990, the Lady Vols were sent to the East Regional at Old Dominion where two wins separated the Lady Vols from playing for a national championship on their home floor in Knoxville, site of the 1990 NCAA Final Four. UT got by Clemson, 80-62 in the Sweet 16 and then lost in overtime to Virginia, 79-75, failing to play in the NCAA Final Four in Knoxville. Instead of "Tennessee and the Final Three," the Lady Vols served as hostesses for the event. Almost a decade later, the East Regional would serve up another dark day in Lady Vol hoops history. In 1999, UT was going for its fourth consecutive NCAA title after winning in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Current Western Carolina head coach Kellie Jolly Harper was the Lady Vol point guard and her sidekick was four-time All-America Chamique Holdsclaw. The duo helped UT get by Virginia Tech, 68-52, in the Sweet 16 in Greensboro, N.C. However, Duke dashed Tennessee's dream of a fourth consecutive title with a 69-63 win. It marked UT's last trip to the East until 2005.

"GO HARD OR GO HOME"

Lady Vol senior Shyra Ely made that comment in the post-game press conference after the win over Texas Tech in the Philadelphia Regional semifinals. Ely is on a mission to help get the Lady Vols to Indianapolis, site of the 2005 Final Four and her hometown. Ely was a standout at Indy's Ben Davis High School. Like many of her Lady Vol teammates, Ely has written a few reminders on her shoes. "On my shoe it says 'Homeward Bound' because I plan on going home next week and playing for a national championship," Ely said.