Tennessee Tidbits
* Tennessee is playing its fifth ranked team in its last six games. The Vols have played No. 14 Florida, No. 23 Vanderbilt, No. 9 Kentucky and No. 5 Louisville.
* UT has held its opponents to 14.9 percent (7-of-47) shooting from 3-point range the last two games.
* The Vols have outshot their opponents at the free throw line 398-245 this season. UT has made more free throws (296) than its opponents have attempted (245).
* Over the last 11 games the Vols have opened the second half by outscoring their opponents 118-73 before the first media time out.
* Tennessee is 10-0 when leading with five minutes left in a game.
* The Vols are 11-0 when scoring 70 or more points. They are 0-5 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.
* Twelve of Tennessee's 15 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), Kentucky (68-69 overtime loss) and Louisville (62-65 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 934 career points.
* C.J. Watson has flirted with a triple-double in two games this year. 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).
| Team Statistical Comparisons |
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Mississippi State |
| 77.8 | Points | 75.4 |
| 69.7 | Opponent Points | 63.4 |
| +8.1 | Scoring Margin | +12.1 |
| .456 | Field Goal % | .474 |
| .418 | Opponent Field Goal % | .399 |
| .352 | Three-Point % | .324 |
| .309 | Opponent Three-Point % | .329 |
| .744 | Free Throw % | .657 |
| 39.9 | Rebounds | 40.2 |
| 34.1 | Opponent Rebounds | 33.7 |
| +5.7 | Rebounding Margin | +6.5 |
| 17.1 | Assists | 14.4 |
| 15.4 | Turnovers | 15.4 |
| 4.1 | Blocks | 5.0 |
| 7.3 | Steals | 10.2 |
| 10-5, 2-3 | Record | 16-1, 5-1 |
| Individual Statistical Leaders |
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Mississippi State |
| McFadgon, 18.6 | Points | Roberts, 16.5 |
| Crump, 7.3 | Rebounds | Roberts, 10.4 |
| Watson, 5.7 | Assists | Bowers, 4.5 |
| Crump, .586 | Field Goal % | Roberts, .573 |
| Watson, .422 | Three-Point % | Power, .371 |
| McFadgon, .938 | Free Throw % | Bowers/Frazier, .762 |
The Series
Tennessee leads the all-time series 69-37 ... Mississippi State holds a narrow 25-23 advantage when the series is played in Starkville ... The Vols hold a 40-9 all-time advantage when the series is played in Knoxville ... Last year Tennessee took a 59-49 win in Knoxville on March 5, 2003 ... Nine of the last 11 meetings have been decided by eight points or less ... The Vols and Bulldogs have met three times in the SEC Tournament with Mississippi State winning two of those meetings ... The Mississippi State series dates back to the 1924 season ... Tennessee defeated MSU, 20-17, on Jan. 15, 1924, in the first meeting between the two schools.
Last Meeting
Ron Slay, playing his final regular season game at Thompson-Boling Arena, led the Vols to their sixth win in a row on Senior Day with a 59-49 upset of 23rd-ranked Mississippi State March 5, 2003 ... Slay led all scorers with 17 points and six rebounds while sophomore Brandon Crump added 16 points for the Vols ... Head coach Buzz Peterson started five seniors, including walk-ons Zach Turner and Drew Clemmons ... Instead of being a liability in the lineup, Turner and Clemmons set the tone for the Vols ... When the two subbed out of the game at the 17:22 mark, the Vols were leading the Bulldogs 4-2 ... Tennessee led the entire game, including a 13-point first half lead taking a 27-21 advantage at halftime ... In the second half the Vols held onto their lead but the Bulldogs cut it to two points on a three-pointer by Timmy Bowers with 6:12 left ... Elgrace Wilborn made a steal and Crump converted a three-point play at the other end to give UT a more comfortable lead ... After starting the game by making just 12-of-21 of its free throws, Tennessee went 8-of-8 from the line down the stretch to seal the win ... The UT defense held MSU to just four first half field goals and 15 for the game ... Mario Austin had just six field goal attempts in leading the Bulldogs with 13 points.
Looking at Mississippi State
Mississippi State enters Wednesday's game in Starkville with more league wins than any other school in the Southeastern Conference ... The Bulldogs improved to 16-1 overall and 5-1 in the SEC with a 71-58 win over Georgia Saturday ... MSU held Georgia scoreless for the first eight minutes of the game on its way to building a 19-0 lead ... The Bulldog's only loss this season came on a buzzer-beater against Kentucky ... Lawrence Roberts, a transfer from Baylor who was granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA, leads Mississippi State with 16.5 points per game ... The two-time all-Big 12 Conference performer also leads the team and ranks second in the SEC with 10.4 rebounds per game ... Winsome Frazier is leading the SEC in steals with 3.0 per game ... Timmy Bowers ranks 10th in the SEC with 15.6 points and third with 4.47 assists per game ... Mississippi State is shooting 47.4 percent from the field which ranks second in the SEC this season ... MSU's 13 consecutive wins to start the season is a school record ... Head coach Rick Stansbury is 116-61 in his sixth season at MSU.
Last Time Out
For the third time in as many years Tennessee came close but could not pull the upset on the Louisville Cardinals ... This time, the Vols fell 62-65 to the fifth-ranked Cardinals Sunday, Jan. 25, at Thompson-Boling Arena ... Tennessee controlled the game for much of the first half and held a 43-36 lead midway through the second half ... Louisville then went on a deciding 12-0 run to take a 48-43 lead with 8:28 left in the game ... The Vols cut the U of L's lead to three points on Justin Albrecht's 3-pointer with 13 seconds left ... Taquan Dean, who had been side lined the entire second half with a groin injury, was fouled on the inbounds play and made both of his free throws to put the lead at five ... Scooter McFadgon, who was 0-of-7 from 3-point range to that point, sank a trey with 4.1 seconds to go to cut the lead to two ... Francisco Garcia appeared to step out of bounds on the inbound play but it was ruled that he was fouled first ... Garcia, who led all scorers with a career-high 24 points, sank one free throw for the deciding margin ... Brandon Crump led the Vols with 16 points while C.J. Watson chipped in 15 ... McFadgon, who saw his streak of 32 consecutive free throws end early in the game, struggled for 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting ... Jemere Hendrix recorded a career-high 12 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 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
L, 69-68 OT | 11-2 |
| Jan. 25 | #5 LOUISVILLE
L, 65-62 | 14-1 |
| Jan. 28 | at #11 Miss. State
| 16-1 |
| Jan. 31 | #17 Florida | 12-4 |
| Feb. 4 | at LSU | 12-4 |
| Feb. 7 | #13 Georgia Tech | 12-2 |
| ? |
| * Record/AP Ranking at time of game vs. UT |
UT Facing Murderers Row Schedule
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 Jan. 10 at Florida 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 ... Following is the schedule with the opponents' current rank and record:
Tennessee Against Ranked Teams
Tennessee is 1-3 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, vs. No. 9 Kentucky and vs. No. 5 Louisville this season ... The Vols have won four of their last eight games against ranked teams ... The Vols are 80-183 all-time against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 ... Tennessee is 39-115 all-time against teams ranked in the AP Top 10 and 17-27 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 (18.6 ppg) and free throw percentage (93.8 percent) while he is seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (35.8 percent) ... C.J. Watson sits atop the assists (5.73 apg) list and is third in assist/turnover ratio (2.21 assists-to-turnovers) ... Brandon Crump is fourth in the league in field goal percentage by making 58.6 percent of his shots ... As a team, the Vols lead the SEC in free throw percentage (74.4 percent) and are third in scoring offense (77.8 ppg), rebounding offense (39.9 rpg) and assists (17.07 apg).
Tennessee Leading SEC at FT 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 296 (296-of-398) free throws this season compared to just 245 attempts (167-of-245) for UT's opponents ... UT leads the SEC by making 74.4 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 three 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 18.6 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 6.5 rebounds per game ... Four times he has recorded double digit rebounds.
* Dane Bradshaw, a freshman guard, has given the Vols a huge boost off the bench with 4.2 points per game to go with 26 assists.
* Major Wingate, a 6-foot-10 freshman, has averaged 14.0 minutes per game off the bench ... He is third on the team with nine blocks.
Hitting The Boards
Tennessee ranks third in the Southeastern Conference with 39.9 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 5.7 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 13.73 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 82.7 points per game and are shooting 49.0 percent from the field ... On the road UT is averaging 64.2 points on 36.4 percent shooting ... The Vols opponents are averaging just 65.7 points on 38.6 percent shooting in Thompson-Boling Arena ... When hosting UT, the Vols' opponents are scoring 80.8 points on 52.0 percent shooting ... Tennessee is 9-2 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 5.73 assists per game this season ... His assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.21 (86 assists against 39 turnovers in 499 minutes) is third 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 5.73 assists per game, he ranks third on the team with 11.6 points per game ... He has also established himself as a deep threat by leading the team in 3-point percentage (.442) and ranking second in 3-pointers made (23) ... Over his last seven games he is shooting 52 percent (13-of-25) 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).
Free Throw Scooter
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 93.8 (75-of-80) 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 saw a streak of 32 consecutive free throws made dating come to an end against Louisville (1/25/04) ... He also had a streak of 27 consecutive free throws made until a miss against UNC Asheville 12/30/03) ... 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).
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 18.6 points per game this year ... His 35.8 percent 3-point shooting ranks seventh in the league while his 2.07 treys per game is sixth ... 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).
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 fourth in the league with a 58.6 field goal percentage ... According to the Jan. 20 NCAA statistics, Crump's 61.7 field goal percentage ranked 17th in the nation ... He ranks ninth in the SEC in scoring (15.8 ppg) and ninth 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.
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.
| TENNESSEE CAREER STATS vs. MISSISSIPPI STATE |
| ? | G-GS | FG-A | 3FG-A | FT-A | Reb | Avg | A | To | Blk | Stl | Pts | Avg |
| Asumnu | 1-0 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 2-2-4 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3.0 |
| Crump | 2-0 | 10-14 | 0-0 | 4-7 | 1-4-5 | 2.5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 12.0 |
| Hendrix | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Herndon | 1-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| McFadgon | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Watson | 1-0 | 1-5 | 0-1 | 8-12 | 2-1-3 | 3.0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 10.0 |
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