Tennessee Tidbits
* Louisville head coach Rick Pitino did color commentary for CBS's telecast of Tennessee's 2001 NCAA Tournament game against Charlotte. Five days later he was named head coach at Louisville.
* Tennessee is playing its fourth ranked team in its last five games. The Vols have played No. 14 Florida, No. 23 Vanderbilt, No. 9 Kentucky and now No. 5 Louisville.
* The Vols have outshot their opponents at the free throw line 379-219. UT has made more free throws (284) than its opponents have attempted (219).
* The Vols are 11-0 when scoring 70 or more points. They are 0-4 when scoring less than 70.
* Ten Vols are averaging eight minutes or more per game and have appeared in at least 80 percent of UT's games this season.
* All but two of Tennessee's games have been decided by at least 10 points this season. The only games decided by less than 10 points were UMass (74-66 win) and Kentucky (68-69 overtime loss).
* Scooter McFadgon's 33 points against Kentucky (1/20/04) marked the third time this season he has scored 30 or more points. It is the most points by a Vol since Ron Slay's 38 against New Mexico (1/4/03).
* Combining both his Memphis and UT career scoring totals, McFadgon has scored 924 career points.
* C.J. Watson has flirted with a triple-double in two of his last five games. He had nine points, eight rebounds and nine assists against Georgia (1/7/04) and then 11 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists against Vanderbilt (1/14/04).
* Tennessee is 54-3 in its last 57 home games against non-conference opponents.
* UT's 63.2 percent (12-of-19) 3-point shooting against Georgia (1/7/04) narrowly missed the school record of 64.3 percent (9-of-14) set against North Carolina State (1/27/92).
* UT's 108 points in its win over Texas A&M (12/2/03) are the most by the Vols in the Buzz Peterson era and the most since scoring 110 against Georgia (2/9/00).
* The Vol roster does not list any seniors. In fact, the only scholarship player who has been a part of the program for more than one season is junior forward Brandon Crump.
| Team Statistical Comparisons |
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Louisville |
| 78.9 | Points | 81.0 |
| 70.1 | Opponent Points | 58.7 |
| +8.9 | Scoring Margin | +22.3 |
| .457 | Field Goal % | .453 |
| .420 | Opponent Field Goal % | .362 |
| .355 | Three-Point % | .381 |
| .320 | Opponent Three-Point % | .307 |
| .749 | Free Throw % | .719 |
| 40.0 | Rebounds | .580 |
| 34.1 | Opponent Rebounds | 41.1 |
| +5.9 | Rebounding Margin | 37.5 |
| 17.1 | Assists | 18.3 |
| 14.9 | Turnovers | 13.9 |
| 4.2 | Blocks | 6.6 |
| 7.3 | Steals | 8.4 |
| 10-4 | Record | 14-1 |
| Individual Statistical Leaders |
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Louisville |
| McFadgon, 19.2 | Points | Garcia, 14.9 |
| Crump, 7.3 | Rebounds | Whitehead, 8.7 |
| Watson, 5.9 | Assists | Garcia, 5.6 |
| Crump, .603 | Field Goal % | Whitehead, .545 |
| watson, .420 | Three-Point % | Dean, .477 |
| McFadgon, .947 | Free Throw % | Dean, .870 |
The Series
Louisville leads the all-time series with Tennessee 9-7 ... Last year Louisville rallied from 11 points down to take a 72-69 win on Jan. 25, 2003, 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 both meetings by a combined four 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 4-1 ... 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.
Last Meeting
Louisville overcame an 11-point Tennessee lead in the second half to escape Knoxville with a 72-69 win Jan. 25, 2003 ... Reece Gaines led the Cardinals, who entered the game ranked ninth in the Associated Press poll, with a game-high 22 points and dished out the game-winning assist when he hit Kendall Dartez for a short jumper that gave the Cardinals the lead for good with 54 seconds left ... A Jon Higgins jump shot gave the Vols a 69-68 lead and then Tennessee turned the ball over on its next possession to set up Dartez's shot ... A pair of Erik Brown free throws with 24 seconds left sealed the win for the Cards ... Slay led the Vols with 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field to go with seven rebounds ... Thaydeus Holden, who made his third start of the season, finished with 14 points while C.J. Watson had 10 points ... Brandon Crump added eight points and nine rebounds ... Tennessee was the first team in 11 games to shoot better than 40 percent on the Cards when the Vols finished by shooting 43.1 percent from the field.
Looking at Louisville
The fifth-ranked Louisville Cardinals ran their record to 14-1 on the season with a 27-point (93-66) win over sixth-rated Cincinnati Wednesday night in Louisville ... After dropping their season opener in overtime against Iowa, the Cardinals have won 14 games in a row ... Louisville has the distinction of defeating two No. 1-ranked teams this year with wins over Florida (73-65 on Dec. 13) at Kentucky (65-56 on Dec. 27) ... According to the Jan. 19 NCAA statistics, Louisville ranked second in the nation by limiting its opponents to just 35.7 percent shooting from the field ... Francisco Garcia, a native of the Dominican Republic who now calls Bronx, N.Y., home, leads Louisville with 14.9 points and 5.6 assists per game ... Senior forward Luke Whitehead, who needs just 28 points to reach the 1,000-career point mark, leads the Cards with 8.7 rebounds per game while ranking second on the team with 14.4 points per game ... Taquan Dean, the only returning regular starter from last season's team, ranks 10th nationally by making 47.7 percent of his 3-pointers ... The preseason favorite to win Conference USA, U of L is 59-2 when scoring 80 or more points over the last five seasons ... Louisville, along with four other Conference USA schools, accepted an invitation to join the Big East Conference beginning with the 2004-05 season ... Rick Pitino is 58-21 in his third season at Louisville and 410-145 in 18 years as a head coach.
Recent Tennessee-Louisville Games Providing Exciting Finishes
The last two meetings between Tennessee and Louisville have provided college basketball fans with some thrilling finishes ... Unfortunately for Vol fans both games have tilted in the Cardinals' favor with Louisville winning the two games by a combined total of four points ... Following is a brief review of the two games:
* Erik Brown sank a pair of free throws with 24 second left gave 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.
* Louisville outscored the Vols 9-2 in the final 32 seconds on a flurry of three-pointers to steal a 73-72 win from Tennessee Dec. 20, 2001, at Freedom Hall. Reece Gaines, who finished the game with 22 points on 8-of-21 shooting, banked in a three-pointer with 36 seconds to cut the Tennessee lead to 70-67. Louisville's Erik Brown then stole the inbounds pass and found Bryant Northern open for a 3-pointer to tie the game. Marcus Haislip put the Vols back on top with a lay-in to make the score 72-70 with six seconds left in the game. Louisville scrambled to the other end of the floor without calling a time out and Gaines hit another trey to give the Cards a 73-72 lead with 1.8 seconds left. Ron Slay threw a baseball pass to Marcus Haislip near the Louisville basket but his shot rimmed out to give the Cardinals the win.
Buzz And Bilas Have A History
Tennessee head coach Buzz Peterson and ESPN announcer Jay Bilas are quite familiar with each other after attending rival schools ... Peterson was a guard at North Carolina from 1981-85 and was a part of the Tar Heels' 1982 NCAA Championship team ... Bilas played for Duke from 1982-86, leading the Blue Devils to the 1986 Final Four ... Buzz's Heels were 4-3 against Duke while the two were in school ... Peterson, Bilas and North Carolina State's Tommy Burleson also starred in an intro for the ACC Tournament in the late 1980s ... Set in a country store, the intro had Peterson and Bilas playing checkers against each other.
Last Time Out | UK 69, UT 68 OT
Kentucky's Cliff Hawkins canned a 3-pointer with 16 seconds in regulation to send the game into overtime where the Wildcats hung on for a 69-68 win over Tennessee Wednesday, Jan. 20, at Thompson-Boling Arena ... Tennessee trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half but used a pair of 9-0 runs in the second half to take a 52-51 lead with 7:37 left ... Kentucky retook the lead and then the teams battled back and forth until C.J. Watson gave the Vols a three point lead on a pair of free throws with 22 seconds left ... Hawkins then hurried down the court to tie the game on his trey ... Scooter McFadgon got a shot off at the buzzer but couldn't get it to fall ... A 3-pointer by Erik Daniels and then a Chuck Hayes offensive rebound and basket gave the Wildcats all they needed in the overtime period ... McFadgon, who scored 19 of UT's first 24 points, finished with a career-high 33 points ... Brandon Crump recorded a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds ... Daniels led three Kentucky players in double-figure scoring with 19 points while Hayes registered 18 points and 16 rebounds.
Allan Houston Named To ESPN's Silver Anniversary All-SEC Team
Former Tennessee standout and current New York Knicks star Allan Houston was named to ESPN's Silver Anniversary All-SEC Team at halftime of its telecast of the Tennessee-Kentucky game ... The second-leading scorer in Southeastern Conference history, Houston scored 2,801 career points while playing for the Vols (1989-93) ... Joining Houston on the team were Chris Jackson (LSU), Chuck Person (Auburn), Jamal Mashburn (Kentucky) and Shaquille O'Neal (LSU) ... Celebrating its 25th season of covering college basketball, ESPN listed its top 25 players from each major conference over the last 25 years (since the 1979-80 season) ... The teams were chosen by a seven-member panel of SEC media and conference representatives.
Tennessee Is 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.
UT Facing Tough Defenses
Louisville will mark the second time in three games that Tennessee has played against one of the top field goal percentage defenses in the nation ... According to the Jan. 19 NCAA statistics Louisville's 35.7 field goal percentage defense ranked second in the nation ... South Carolina, UT's opponent on Jan. 17, leads the nation at 35.4 percent ... The Vols shot 44.2 percent from the field against the Gamecocks but fell 64-85.
| MURDERERS' 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
L, 69-68 (OT) | 11-2 |
| Jan. 25 | #5 LOUISVILLE | 14-1 |
| Jan. 28 | at #19 Mississippi State | 15-1 |
| Jan. 31 | #17 Florida | 11-4 |
| Feb. 4 | at LSU | 12-3 |
| Feb. 7 | #11 Georgia Tech | 15-2 |
UT's Schedule Is Murderers' Row
Tennessee is in the midst of one of the toughest stretches in school history by playing eight of nine games against teams currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 ... The Vols play seven consecutive games against teams currently ranked ... The tough stretch began at Florida (1/10/04) and will continue through a Feb. 7 meeting with Georgia Tech ... Two of the opponents are currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 10 ... At one point during the season two of the teams (Florida and Kentucky) have achieved a No. 1 ranking ...
Tennessee Against Ranked Teams
Tennessee is 1-2 against teams ranked among the Associated Press Top 25 this year ... UT has a win over 23rd-ranked Vanderbilt and a losses at No. 14 Florida and vs. No. 9 Kentucky this season ... The Vols have won four of their last seven games against ranked teams ... The Vols are 80-182 all-time against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 ... Tennessee is 39-114 all-time against teams ranked in the AP Top 10 and 17-26 against teams ranked in the Top 5.
Did You Know?
Before transferring to Tennessee from Memphis, Scooter McFadgon played one game against Louisville ... In 34 minutes of action he had two points and five boards in an 80-70 win Jan. 30, 2002.
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 (19.2 ppg) and free throw percentage (94.7 percent) while he is fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (38.4 percent) ... C.J. Watson sits atop the assists (5.93 apg) list and is second in assist/turnover ratio (2.37 assists-to-turnovers) ... Brandon Crump is third in the league in field goal percentage by making 60.3 percent of his shots ... As a team, the Vols lead the SEC in free throw percentage (74.9 percent) and are third in scoring offense (78.9 ppg), rebounding offense (40.0 rpg) and assists (17.14 apg).
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 284 (284-of-379) free throws this season compared to just 219 attempts (150-of-219) for UT's opponents ... UT leads the SEC by making 74.9 percent of its free throws ... Eight 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.
Most SEC Games Haven't Been Close
Tennessee's five SEC games have been decided by an average of 18.8 points per game ... Just one of the Vols' league games have been decided by fewer than 10 points (a 68-69 overtime loss to No. 9 Kentucky Jan. 20) ... Only two of Tennessee's games on the season has been decided by single digits.
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 19.2 points per game ... Three times he has scored 30 or more points in a game.
* Jemere Hendrix, a sophomore transfer from Clemson, has started 13 games and ranks second on the team with 6.1 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 26 assists.
* Major Wingate, a 6-foot-10 freshman, has averaged 13.9 minutes per game off the bench ... He is third on the team with eight blocks.
Hitting The Boards
Tennessee ranks third in the Southeastern Conference with 40.0 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 5.9 rebounds per game which ranks fourth 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 13.57 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 84.8 points per game and are shooting 49.4 percent from the field ... On the road UT is averaging 64.2 points on 36.4 percent shooting ... The Vols opponents are averaging just 65.8 points on 38.5 percent shooting in Thompson-Boling Arena ... When hosting UT, the Vols' opponents are scoring 80.8 points on 52.0 percent shooting ... Tennessee is 9-1 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 5.93 assists per game this season ... His assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.37 (83 assists against 35 turnovers in 464 minutes) is second in the SEC ... According to the Jan. 20 NCAA statistics, Watson's 6.2 assists ranked 19th 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 5.93 assists per game, he ranks third on the team with 11.4 points per game ... He has also established himself as a deep threat by leading the team in 3-point percentage (.420) and ranking second in 3-pointers made (21) ... Over his last six games he is shooting 48 percent (11-of-23) 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).
Scooter Nearing UT Free Throw Mark
Scooter McFadgon gets mad when he misses a free throw, calling free throws "the easiest baskets you'll ever get." ... The junior guard hasn't gotten mad very often this season as he is leading the SEC by making 94.7 (72-of-76) free throws this season ... According to the Jan. 19 NCAA statistics he ranked fifth in the nation with a 93.7 free throw percentage ... He currently has a streak of 32 consecutive free throws made dating back the the UMass game (1/3/04) ... The school record for consecutive free throws made is 39 by Danny Schultz (12/2/63 - 12/28/63) and Michael Brooks (1/30/85 - 3/6/85) ... He also had a streak of 27 consecutive free throws made until a miss against UNC Asheville 12/30/03).
Scooter Scores Big
Playing his first season of Southeastern Conference basketball, Scooter McFadgon has taken the league by storm ... The Memphis transfer leads the SEC in scoring with 19.2 points per game this year ... His 38.4 percent 3-point shooting ranks fourth in the league while his 2.15 treys per game is seventh ... He owns three of the top six scoring performances in the Southeastern Conference this year ... He has scored 20 or more points six times and 30 or more points three times ... Against ninth-ranked Kentucky (1/20/04) he scored a career-high 33 points, scoring 19 of the Vols' first 24 points against the Wildcats ... The junior guard 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) ... In the SEC opener he matched that mark with a 31-point effort against Georgia (1/7/04).
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 17th in the SEC with 6.1 boards per game ... 40.7 percent (35-of-86) of his rebounds have come at the offensive end of the floor ... He is averaging 2.5 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.
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 14.8 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 26 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 60.3 field goal percentage ... According to the Jan. 20 NCAA statistics, Crump's 61.7 field goal percentage ranked 17th in the nation ... He ranks eighth in the SEC in scoring (15.8 ppg) and 10th in rebounding with 7.3 boards per game ... The 6-foot-10 forward has scored 20 or more points in five games after not reaching the 20-point mark in his first two seasons at Tennessee ... He has four double-doubles on the season and seven 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 15.8 points and 7.3 rebounds as a junior this year ... Against Nebraska (12/13/03) he recorded a career-high 25 points.
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 185-76 (.708) in its 17th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
* Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 86-17 (.835) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
* Tennessee is 72-15 (.828) 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 38-14 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. LOUISVILLE |
| ? | G-GS | FG-A | 3FG-A | FT-A | Reb | Avg | A | To | Blk | Stl | Pts | Avg |
| Albrecht | 1-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1-1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Crump | 2-1 | 9-18 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 4-10-14 | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 9.0 |
| Hendrix | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Watson | 1-1 | 2-9 | 0-1 | 6-10 | 0-3-3 | 3.0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10.0 |
| Winchester | 1-0 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
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