| Team Statistical Comparisons |
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Kentucky |
| 79.8 | Points | 73.2 |
| 70.2 | Opponent Points | 62.0 |
| +9.6 | Scoring Margin | +11.2 |
| .468 | Field Goal % | .465 |
| .421 | Opponent Field Goal % | .397 |
| .364 | Three-Point % | .353 |
| .337 | Opponent Three-Point % | .311 |
| .741 | Free Throw % | .718 |
| 40.4 | Rebounds | 35.4 |
| 33.2 | Opponent Rebounds | 31.9 |
| +7.2 | Rebounding Margin | +3.5 |
| 17.5 | Assists | 15.2 |
| 14.8 | Turnovers | 15.7 |
| 4.4 | Blocks | 3.7 |
| 7.2 | Steals | 9.5 |
| 10-3, 2-2 | Record | 11-2, 2-1 |
| Individual Statistical Leaders |
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Kentucky |
| McFadgon, 18.1 | Points | Fitch, 17.5 |
| Crump, 6.8 | Rebounds | Hayes, 8.5 |
| Watson, 6.2 | Assists | Hawkins, 5.2 |
| Crump, .617 | Field Goal % | Daniels, .568 |
| Watson, .447 | Three-Point % | Azubuike, .486 |
| McFadgon, .937 | Free Throw % | Hawkins, .795 |
The Series
Kentucky leads the all-time series, 132-62 ... This will be the 195th meeting all-time between the two schools ... UK won both meetings last season ... The Cats won 74-71 on Jan. 8 in Knoxville and 80-68 on Feb. 26 in Lexington ... Kentucky leads the series 45-43 when played in Knoxville ... Tennessee has won three of the last five meetings in Thompson-Boling Arena ... The Wildcats hold a 78-15 all-time advantage when playing in Lexington ... Tennessee was the second team ever and the first SEC team to defeat Kentucky at Rupp Arena when the Vols took a 71-67 win on Jan. 12, 1977 ... Utah was the first opponent to win in Rupp when the Utes defeated the Wildcats 68-70 on Dec. 18, 1976 in the finals of the UK Invitation Tournament ... Tennessee's 62 wins against the Wildcats are almost double that of any other Kentucky opponent ... Vanderbilt has beaten UK 36 times to rank second ... Kentucky's 132 wins against Tennessee are the most of any Volunteer opponent ... Tennessee is 15-12 all-time against Kentucky when the Wildcats are not ranked ... The Kentucky series is Tennessee's oldest and most played among SEC opponents ... The Vols and Wildcats first met on Feb. 5, 1910 ... That was just the second season that the University of Tennessee fielded a
basketball team.
Last Meeting
Ron Slay's double-double was no match for Kentucky's balanced scoring attack as the second-ranked Wildcats outlasted Tennessee, 80-68, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2003 at Rupp Arena ... Keith Bogans led five Wildcats in double-figure scoring with 15 points as UK extended the nation's longest winning streak to 17 games ... Ron Slay led all scorers with 22 points and recorded a career-high 14 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season ... Brandon Crump chipped in 13 points for the Vols ... UT point guard C.J. Watson, who was saddled with foul trouble for much of the game, was limited to a season-low 25 minutes of action ... Tennessee shot a blistering 58.7 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Cats 29-21 but could not overcome 19 turnovers ... Kentucky held a 39-36 lead at halftime but came out of the locker room with its defensive pressure turned up ... The Vols missed five of their first seven shots and had committed five turnovers with 11 minutes left in the game ... Tennessee later went on a 9-0 run to trim UK's 15-point lead to six but could get no closer as Jules Camara converted a three-point play.
Looking at Kentucky
Kentucky saw its 19-game regular season winning streak over SEC teams end with a 57-65 loss to Georgia Saturday afternoon at Rupp Arena ... The Wildcats went 16-0 in league play last season and then opened this year with wins over Vanderbilt and at Mississippi State ... Senior guard Gerald Fitch, who recorded his 1,000th career point earlier this season against Michigan State, leads the Wildcats with 17.5 points per game ... The front line of 6-foot-8 senior forward Erik Daniels (15.0 points and 6.5 rebounds) and 6-foot-6 forward Chuck Hayes (11.3 points and 8.5 rebounds) are playing a key role in Kentucky's success this season ... Cliff Hawkins, a 6-foot-1 senior guard, ranks second in the SEC stats with 5.23 assists and 2.85 steals per game ... Kentucky has won 25 of its last 27 games away from Rupp Arena ... The Cats have used the same starting lineup in all of its games this season ... UK lists just one starter (Daniels at 6-foot-8) taller than 6-foot-6 ... Only six players on the roster are averaging more than nine minutes per game ... Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith enters the game needing just one win for 300 in his career ... Smith owns a 175-49 record in his seventh season at UK and 299-111 in his 12th year as a head coach.
Kentucky Connections
Tennessee's Buzz Peterson and Kentucky's Tubby Smith both served as head coach at Tulsa University ... Peterson led the Golden Hurricane to a 2001 NIT championship in his lone season in the Sooner state while Smith was 79-43 and made two Sweet 16 appearances in four seasons at Tulsa (1991-95) ... UK's Smith and Tennessee track coach Bill Webb attended High Point University in North Carolina together in the 1970s ... Teammates on both the High Point basketball and track and field teams, they comprised half of the shuttle hurdle relay team that set a school record that still stands today ... Webb has led the Tennessee men's track and field team to 2001 outdoor and 2002 indoor national championships ... Smith led UK to the 1998 NCAA basketball championship.
Former Rivals Now Teammates
Former Southeastern Conference foes Vincent Yarbrough (Tennessee 2002), Marquis Estill (Kentucky 2003) and Matt Bonner (Florida 2003) are now teammates in Europe ... The trio are playing for Sicilia Messina in the Italian Series A league ... Yarbrough was a first team All-SEC selection in 2002 while Bonner earned first team honors in 2003 and Estill was a second team pick in 2003.
Last Time Out
The road woes continued for Tennessee as the Vols fell to South Carolina, 64-85, Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Colonial Center in Columbia, S.C. ... The Gamecocks shot 63.6 percent (35-of-55) from the field and 64.7 percent (11-of-17) from 3-point range in the win ... It was the best shooting performance in the three-year Dave Odom era at USC ... Brandon Crump and C.J. Watson led the Vols with 15 points each while John Winchester added 10 points ... Scooter McFadgon, who entered the game leading the SEC in scoring, was limited to a season-low seven points ... Josh Gonner led the Gamecocks with a career-high 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field ... South Carolina hit 10 of its first 13 shots to open a 24-6 lead at the start of the game and led by as many as 23 points in the first half ... A 13-3 run by the Vols cut the lead to 40-27 at halftime ... USC opened the second half on an 8-2 run and never looked back ... The game was played before 17,806 fans, the largest crowd to watch a basketball game in the state of South Carolina.
ESPN To Announce Silver Anniversary All-SEC Team At Halftime Of UT-UK Game
Celebrating its 25th season of covering college basketball, ESPN is listing its top 25 players from each major conference over the last 25 years (since the 1979-80 season) ... The network will announce the Silver Anniversary All-SEC Team at halftime of its telecast of the Tennessee-Kentucky game ... The teams are comprised of two guards, two forwards and a center and were chosen by a seven-member panel of SEC media and conference representatives.
Tennessee One of Nation's Youngest Teams
Tennessee is one of six NCAA Division I schools and the only SEC team without a scholarship senior on its roster ... UT joins Harvard, UNC Asheville, Oregon State Pepperdine and Wake Forest as the only schools without any seniors ... Only one player ( Brandon Crump) played on Buzz Peterson's first team at UT during the 2001-02 season ... The Vol roster lists only three scholarship juniors who are active this season ... Seven of the 10 scholarship players who are active this year are either freshman or sophomores ... Tennessee's starting lineup this season has typically featured three sophomores and two juniors ... The Vols lost three scholarship seniors (Jon Higgins, Thaydeus Holden and Ron Slay) from last year's team that went 17-12 and made an appearance in the NIT.
| MURDERS ROW SCHEDULE |
| Date | Opponent | Opp.
Record |
| Jan. 10 | at #15 Florida
L, 95-57 | 11-2 |
| Jan. 14 | #23 VANDERBILT
W, 76-66 | 12-2 |
| Jan. 17 | at South Carolina
L, 85-64 | 15-2 |
| Jan. 20 | #5 KENTUCKY | 11-2 |
| Jan. 25 | #8 LOUISVILLE | 11-1 |
| Jan. 28 | at #20 Mississippi State | 13-1 |
| Jan. 31 | #14 Florida | 11-2 |
| Feb. 4 | at LSU | 12-1 |
| Feb. 7 | #12 Georgia Tech | 12-2 |
UT's Murderers Row Schedule
Tennessee is in a stretch of playing nine games against opponents that have won 86 percent (103-17) of their games this season ... The tough stretch began at Florida (1/10/04) and will continue through a Feb. 7 meeting with Georgia Tech ... During the nine-game stretch, none of UT's opponents have more than three losses on the season ... Six of the nine games will be against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, including two that are ranked in the Top 10 ... The only two opponents in that stretch that are not ranked are on the road and are receiving votes in the poll ... Following is the schedule with the opponents' rank and record at the time of the game.
Tennessee Against Ranked Teams
Tennessee is 1-1 against teams ranked among the Associated Press Top 25 this year ... UT has a win over 23rd-ranked Vanderbilt and a loss at No. 14 Florida this season ... The Vols have won four of their last six games against ranked teams ... The Vols are 181-80 all-time against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 ... Tennessee is 113-39 all-time against teams ranked in the AP Top 10 and 26-17 against teams ranked in the Top 5.
Vols Well Represented in SEC Statistics
Tennessee players lead three of the 12 individual stat categories in the latest Southeastern Conference statistics ... Scooter McFadgon leads two categories, including scoring (18.1 ppg) and free throw percentage (93.7 percent) while he is fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (38.1 percent) ... C.J. Watson sits atop the assists (6.15 apg) list and is second in assist/turnover ratio (2.42 assists-to-turnovers) ... Brandon Crump is third in the league in field goal percentage by making 61.7 percent of his shots ... As a team, the Vols are second in the SEC in free throw percentage (74.1 percent), 3-point field goal percentage (36.4 percent), rebounding offense (40.4 rpg) and rebounding margin (+7.2).
Tennessee Making a Living at Free Throw Line
Head coach Buzz Peterson has said that, "... our goal is to make more free throws than they shoot." ... So far, the Vols have dominated the free throw line ... Tennessee has made 254 (254-of-343) free throws this season compared to just 193 attempts (132-of-193) for UT's opponents ... UT is second in the SEC by making 74.1 percent of its free throws ... Seven times the Vols have made more free throws than their opponents attempted ... Five times this season UT has limited its opponents to less than 10 free throw attempts.
New Guys Contributing
Without any seniors on the Tennessee roster this season, the Vols have been counting on some significant contributions from four new players in the lineup.
* Scooter McFadgon, a junior transfer from Memphis, is leading the Vols and the Southeastern Conference with 18.1 points per game ... Two times he has scored 31 points in a game this year.
* Jemere Hendrix, a sophomore transfer from Clemson, has started all 13 games and ranks second on the team with 6.5 rebounds per game ... Three times he has recorded double digit rebounds.
* Dane Bradshaw, a freshman guard, has given the Vols a huge boost off the bench with 4.5 points per game to go with 24 assists.
* Major Wingate, a 6-foot-10 freshman, has averaged 13.0 minutes per game off the bench ... He is third on the team with eight blocks.
Hitting The Boards
Tennessee ranks second in the Southeastern Conference with 40.4 rebounds per game ... The Vols have surpassed the 50-rebound mark two times with 50 boards at Nebraska (12/13/03) and 57 against The Citadel (12/17/03) ... UT is outrebounding its opponents by 7.2 rebounds per game which ranks second in the SEC ... The Vols held a 29-7 halftime rebounding advantage against The Citadel before finishing the game with 57 rebounds to the Bulldogs' 26 ... UT is averaging 13.85 offensive rebounds per game.
Road Woes
Tennessee has been two different teams at home and on the road this season ... When playing at home the Vols are averaging 86.7 points per game and are shooting 51.3 percent from the field ... On the road UT is averaging 64.2 points on 36.4 percent shooting ... The Vols opponents are averaging just 65.4 points on 38.3 percent shooting in Thompson-Boling Arena ... When hosting UT, the Vols' opponents are scoring 80.8 points on 52.0 percent shooting ... Tennessee is 9-0 at home and 1-3 on the road this season.
Watson Leads SEC in Assists
While several other point guards around the nation have been bogarting the headlines and highlights, Tennessee sophomore C.J. Watson has quietly established himself as one of the top playmakers in the college game ... Nicknamed "The Quiet Storm," he leads the Southeastern Conference with 6.15 assists per game this season ... His assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.42 (80 assists against 33 turnovers in 433 minutes) is second in the SEC ... According to the Jan. 5 NCAA statistics, Watson's 6.4 assists ranked 12th in the nation ... Five times this season he has had a game with eight or more assists ... As a true freshman last season he led the SEC in minutes played (35.8 mpg) while leading the league with 5.44 assists per game against conference opponents ... His 160 assists as a rookie ranked seventh on UT's single-season charts and were the second-most ever by a Tennessee freshman.
Watson Can Score Too
Although he usually looks to pass first, Watson has also found opportunities to score ... While leading the SEC with 6.15 assists per game, he ranks third on the team with 11.8 points per game ... He has also established himself as a deep threat by leading the team in 3-point percentage (.447) and ranking second in 3-pointers made (21) ... Over his last five games he is shooting 55 percent (11-of-20) from 3-point range.
Watson Flirting With Triple-Doubles
Sophomore point guard C.J. Watson has flirted with history two times in SEC action this season ... In the SEC opener against Georgia (1/7/04) the Las Vegas native nearly became the first Tennessee player in history to record a triple-double ... He finished the game with nine points, eight rebounds and nine assists ... Against Vanderbilt (1/14/04) he came close with a career-high 13 rebounds, 11 points and seven assists... This year isn't the first time he has come close to a triple-double ... In just his second collegiate game he recorded nine points, seven rebounds and eight assists against VMI (11/25/02).
Jumping Jemere Gets The Rebounds
Saying that he would rather have 20 rebounds than score 20 points in a game because "anyone can score 20 points but not many can get 20 rebounds" Jemere Hendrix has been a presence on the boards this season ... A transfer from Clemson, the 6-foot-8 Hendrix ranks second on the Vols and ranks 13th in the SEC with 6.5 boards per game ... 41.2 percent (35-of-85) of his rebounds have come at the offensive end of the floor ... He is averaging 2.69 offensive rebounds per game ... Two times this season he has recorded a career-high 11 rebounds ... Defensively he has given the Vols another boost ... He held Preseason SEC Player of the Year Matt Freije to just eight points on 2-of-12 shooting and two rebounds on Jan. 14.
Scooter Scores Big
Scooter McFadgon had a memorable debut in a Tennessee uniform with a 31-point outing against Wofford (11/21/03) ... His 31 points were the most in a UT debut since Bernard King scored 42 against Wisconsin-Milwaukee (11/30/74) ... McFadgon hasn't had a scoring letdown since the season opener ... In the SEC opener he matched his career scoring mark with a 31-point effort against Georgia (1/7/04) ... The Memphis transfer leads in the SEC with 18.1 points per game ... He has scored 20 or more points five times and 30 or more points two times ... While carrying a reputation as an outstanding outside shooter, he has scored 59 of his points at the free throw line ... He leads the SEC with his 93.7 percent free throw percentage.
Bradshaw Giving UT A Backcourt Boost
Last year point guard C.J. Watson led the Southeastern Conference by playing 35.8 minutes per game ... This year Watson has received relief from freshman Dane Bradshaw ... The Memphis native is averaging 14.4 minutes per game off the bench and is contributing 4.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game ... A player who has a outstanding feel for the game, Bradshaw has dished out 24 assists.
Crump Making His Presence Felt
With each year at Tennessee, Brandon Crump has steadily improved his play ... The Houston, Texas, native owns one of the best shooting percentages in the Southeastern Conference, currently ranking third in the league with a 61.7 field goal percentage ... According to the Jan. 5 NCAA statistics, Crump's 64.6 field goal percentage ranked 12th in the nation ... He ranks ninth in the SEC in scoring (15.9 ppg) and 12th in rebounding with 6.8 boards per game ... The 6-foot-10 forward has scored 20 or more points in five of his last 10 games after not reaching the 20-point mark in his first two seasons at Tennessee ... He has three double-doubles on the season and six in his career ... He has steadily improved his averages from 7.1 points and 4.2 rebounds as a freshman to 11.0 points to 5.9 rebounds as a sophomore to 15.9 points and 6.8 rebounds as a junior this year ... Against Nebraska (12/13/03) he recorded a career-high 25 points.
Winchester Long-Range Rifle
Since playing in front of more than 40 friends and family attending Tennessee's game at Massachusetts Jan. 4, John Winchester has been on fire ... The sophomore from Stamford, Mass., is shooting 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from 3-point range in his last five games ... During that stretch he is averaging 8.8 points in 25.2 minutes per game ... On the season he has improved his scoring from 1.5 points per game as a freshman to 7.0 this year ... In conference games he has expanded his scoring to 9.0 points per game ... His role on the court has increased as he has been a key part in Tennessee's backcourt by starting seven games and averaging 21.0 minutes per game on the season.
Sonic Boom-er
Sophomore center Boomer Herndon has raised his game a couple of notches of the last few contests ... Over the last nine games the Nashville native has scored 36 points and gathered 33 rebounds in 93 minutes of action ... When taking those statistics and averaging them as if he played a full 40 minutes per game during that stretch he would be averaging 14.6 points, 14.2 rebounds (including 8.2 on the offensive end of the floor) and 5.2 blocks.
Howell Back At Practice
Jordan Howell, a 6-foot-3 freshman guard from Auburn, Ala., has returned to practice with the Vols after withdrawing from school during the fall semester due to medical reasons ... Howell became eligible to practice on Dec. 12 ... No definite decision has been made whether he will redshirt or not this season ... He has not dressed for any of UT's games this season.
Where Are They Now?
Allan Houston (New York Knicks of the NBA), Marcus Haislip (Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA), Kevin O'Neill (Head coach Toronto Raptors of the NBA), Vincent Yarbrough (Sicilia Messina in Italy), Isiah Victor (Great Lakes Storm of the CBA), Tony Harris (Great Lakes Storm of the CBA), Ron Slay (Galatasaray of Istanbul in Turkey's premier league), Jon Higgins (WBC Kraftwerk in Wels, Austria), C.J. Black (Furstenfeld Panthers in the Austrian league), Damon Johnson (Caceres Destino Turistico in Spain), Rashard Lee (Elitzur Ashkelon in Isreal's premier league), Ian Lockhart (Teramo Basket in Italy), Charles Hathaway (China).
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 185-75 (.712) in its 17th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
* Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 86-16 (.843) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
* Tennessee is 72-14 (.837) 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 and 12-5 in 2003.
* The Vols are 38-13 against SEC teams at home over the last four plus seasons.
* UT has won 54 of its last 57 home games against non-conference opponents.
| TENNESSEE CAREER STATS VS. KENTUCKY |
| ? | G-GS | FG-A | 3FG-A | FT-A | Reb | Avg | A | To | Blk | Stl | Pts | Avg |
| Asumnu | 2-0 | 3-6 | 1-4 | 1-2 | 1-1-2 | 1.0 | 3-0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4.0 |
| Crump | 3-3 | 7-9 | 0-1 | 4-7 | 2-8-10 | 3.3 | 10-1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 6.0 |
| Watson | 2-2 | 5-8 | 2-4 | 8-13 | 0-6-6 | 3.0 | 8-0 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 10.0 |
| Winchester | 2-0 | 1-4 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0-0 | 0.0 | 1-0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1.0 |
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