University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Announce 2003-04 Basketball Schedule
August 13, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Aug. 13, 2003
Tennessee basketball coach Buzz Peterson announced a challenging 2003-04 schedule on Wednesday. In addition to playing in one of the most difficult conferences in the nation, the Vols will also face teams representing the Big 12, ACC, Conference USA and Atlantic 10 Conference.
"I am excited about the upcoming season," said Peterson, who is entering his third season at Tennessee. "We have a young team but one that will be exciting to watch. The non-conference portion of the schedule should do a good job of preparing us for SEC play. This league is always one of the best in the nation and this year should be no different."
Tennessee returns two starters from last year's team that finished 17-12 and made an appearance in the National Invitation Tournament. UT's 9-7 conference record ranked fourth in the SEC East and tied for the fourth-best in the entire Southeastern Conference. Junior forward Brandon Crump is UT's top returning scorer with 11.0 points and 5.9 rebounds. Sophomore point guard C.J. Watson was one of the top playmakers in the SEC as a true freshman, averaging 5.5 assists to go with his 9.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
The Vols will make at least 13 television appearances, including three games broadcast nationally on ESPN and one on ABC. UT will make its first national television appearance of the year on Jan. 3 when ESPN televises the Vols' game at Massachusetts. Tennessee will next appear on the network on Jan. 20 in a Tuesday night contest against Kentucky. Five days later, Tennessee's home game against Louisville will also be on ESPN. The Vols will make their first appearance on ABC in more than a decade when the network televises Tennessee's Feb. 7 game against Georgia Tech at Thompson-Boling Arena. Jefferson Pilot Sports will broadcast an additional six games while SEC-TV will carry three.
The Vols open the season with a three-game homestand that begins with a Nov. 21 game against Wofford. The Vols remain at home to play Tennessee State (Nov. 28) and Texas A&M (Dec. 2) before hitting the road for the first time to play at Nebraska (Dec. 13). UT returns home to play The Citadel (Dec. 17), Georgia State (Dec. 20), Tennessee Tech (Dec. 22) and UNC Asheville (Dec. 30) to close out 2003.
Tennessee will visit UMass in a nationally-televised game on Jan. 3 before starting Southeastern Conference play on Jan. 7 with a home game against Georgia. Conference play continues with a trip to Florida (Jan. 10) before returning home to host Vanderbilt (Jan. 14). UT hits the road again on Jan. 17 with a visit to South Carolina.
Kentucky will visit Thompson-Boling Arena on Jan. 20 for a Tuesday night contest televised on ESPN. On Sunday, Jan. 25, the Vols will take the first of two breaks from SEC action when they host Louisville in another game nationally-televised on ESPN.
UT returns to conference action when the Vols visit Mississippi State (Jan. 28), and will finish the season series with Florida (Jan. 31) at Thompson-Boling Arena. February begins with a trip to Baton Rouge to visit LSU (Feb. 4). Tennessee will take its final non-conference break when Georgia Tech visits Knoxville (Feb. 7) in a rematch of one of the most exciting finishes in Tennessee history. Last season, Jon Higgins hit a three-pointer from half court as time expired to give the Vols a 70-69 victory in Atlanta's Philips Arena.
Arkansas (Feb. 11) will come to Thompson-Boling Arena to get the Vols back into conference action. Tennessee will spend Valentine's Day in Tuscaloosa playing Alabama and will return to Knoxville on Feb. 18 to host Mississippi. A treacherous two-game road trip follows as the Vols visit Georgia (Feb. 21) and Kentucky (Feb.25) before returning home to host Auburn (Feb. 28). The Vols will travel to Nashville to play in-state rival Vanderbilt (March 3) before completing the regular-season portion of the schedule with a home date against South Carolina (March 6).
The regular season will conclude March 11-14 with the Southeastern Conference Tournament at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
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