University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee vs. Alabama State - Game Preview
December 13, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 13, 2004
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| Alabama State Hornets vs. Tennessee Volunteers
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Tennessee Trends
- The Alabama State game will mark the fifth time this season the Vols have played a team that appeared in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Stanford, North Carolina, Texas and Xavier also made NCAA appearances.
- Tennessee's 70.0 percent (7-of-10) 3-point shooting against Xavier (12/11/04) matched the Thompson-Boling Arena record that UT set Nov. 29, 1990, when the Vols made 7-of-10 treys against Kent State.
- Buzz Peterson won his 50th game at the University of Tennessee with the win over Xavier.
- Brandon Crump became the 37th player in Tennessee history to score 1,000 career points when he reached the mark against UT-Chattanooga (12/5/04). Just the fourth Vol 6-foot-10 or taller with 1,000 points, he currently has 1,031 career tallys.
- UT's starters have accounted for 83.1 percent (359 of 432 points) of the Vols' scoring this season.
- Scooter McFadgon saw his streak of 31 consecutive free throws made come to an end against Xavier. It was the second-longest streak of his career. He had a streak of 32 consecutive free throws last year.
- C.J. Watson's 335 career assists are ninth all-time at Tennessee. He needs 17 assists to tie Jon Higgins (1999-2003) for eighth all-time.
- The Vols are in a stretch where they play eight of nine games at home. UT's only road game during the month of December is a visit to New Mexico on the 18th.
- Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,334-870-2 in its 96th season of basketball.
- Tennessee returns all five starters and a total of nine letterwinners for the 2005 season. It is the first time that UT has returned all five starters since 1998-99.
- Every statistical category leader from 2004 returns for the 2005 season. The Vols return 88.1 percent of their scoring and 85.5 percent of their rebounding. In fact, UT returns at least 78 percent of its 2004 production in every statistical category.
- Tennessee was one of six teams without a senior in 2003-04. Of those six teams, only Tennessee and Wake Forest received postseason invitations.
- Tennessee has made postseason appearances in six of the last seven seasons. It is the second-best stretch in school history. The Vols made nine postseason appearances in 10 seasons (1976-85), including a stretch of seven in a row (1979-85).
- Freshman Chris Lofton is the third Kentucky Mr. Basketball to sign with the Vols. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 26.7 points per game for Mason County HS. Allan Houston (1989) and Jermaine Brown (1991) also earned Mr. Basketball honors in the state of Kentucky.
- Freshman guard JaJuan Smith was invited to join the Vols as a walk-on but was awarded a scholarship prior to the start of the season.
- Tennessee needs eight home wins this season to reach the 200-win milestone in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols are 192-79 in 17 seasons of play in Thompson-Boling Arena. UT, which has averaged 12 home wins in Buzz Peterson's three seasons in Knoxville, has 16 home games on the schedule this year.
| Team Statistical Comparisons | ||
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Alabama State |
| 72.0 | Points | 52.8 |
| 75.2 | Opponent Points | 65.6 |
| -3.2 | Scoring Margin | -12.8 |
| .445 | Field Goal % | .356 |
| .484 | Opponent Field Goal % | .457 |
| .408 | Three-Point % | .368 |
| .414 | Opponent Three-Point % | .355 |
| .767 | Free Throw % | .624 |
| 32.7 | Rebounds | 28.6 |
| 33.8 | Opponent Rebounds | 34.0 |
| -1.2 | Rebounding Margin | -5.4 |
| 11.3 | Assists | 9.6 |
| 15.8 | Turnovers | 14.3 |
| 3.2 | Blocks | 2.0 |
| 8.2 | Steals | 7.2 |
| 3-3 | Record | 1-4 |
| Individual Statistical Leaders | ||
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Alabama State |
| McFadgon, 16.0 | Points | Savage, 10.0 |
| Patterson, 6.0 | Rebounds | Spicer, 6.2 |
| Watson, 4.7 | Assists | Oliver/Smith, 2.0 |
| Patterson, .556 | Field Goal % | Spicer, .452 |
| Lofton, .545 | Three-Point % | Savage, .550 |
| McFadgon, .900 | Free Throw % | Alexander, .650 |
Week Focusing On Shot Selection Pays Off
After shooting 40.4 percent (23-of-57) from the field against UT-Chattanooga (12/5/04) Buzz Peterson spent the next week emphasizing shot selection during Tennessee's practices ... That emphasis paid off as the Vols converted 58.1 percent (25-of-43) of their field goals in a 71-69 win over Xavier (12/11/04) ... UT shot 70.0 percent (7-of-10) from behind the 3-point arc against the Musketeers ... It was the first time all season the Vols made at least 50 percent of their shots.
Crump Bounces Back
Brandon Crump's senior season didn't start the way he wanted it to ... After the Vols' first five games he was averaging 8.8 points per game, six points less than he averaged as a junior (14.8 ppg) ... The Houston, Texas, broke out of his early season slump in style with a career-high 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting against Xavier (12/11/04) ... The 26 points were one better than his previous career high that he had accomplished two times (most recently against Mississippi in 2004).
Looking At Alabama State
Alabama State is 1-4 on the season after a 54-72 loss at nationally-ranked Alabama Dec. 7 ... George Savage came off the bench to lead the Hornets with 14 points ... ASU opened the season with a loss at 2004 Final Four participant Georgia Tech ... The Hornets rallied from an early 27-4 deficit to take a 63-61 victory over South Alabama ... Savage is the only ASU player averaging in double figure scoring with 10.0 points per game ... Kevin Spicer, a 6-foot-6 senior forward/center from Tampa, Fla., earned second team preseason all-conference honors ... Spicer is second on the team with 9.6 points while leading the squad with 6.2 rebounds per game ... Oliver Alexander, a 6-foot-1 guard from Knoxville, is contributing 8.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists ... Ralfeal Golden, a senior guard from Memphis, was a preseason first team All-SWAC selection but has not played in any games this season due to a broken hand ... Alabama State was picked to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference in a poll of the league's coaches and sports information directors ... The Hornets won the 2004 SWAC Tournament, earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament where they faced Duke in the first round ... ASU is led by Rob Spivery who is 115-125 in his ninth season at the Montgomery, Ala., school and 290-270 in his 20th year as a head coach.
The Alabama State Series
This is the first meeting between Tennessee and Alabama State ... This is also Tennessee's first meeting with a team from the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Alabama State Connections
ASU junior Alexander Oliver attended Bearden High School in Knoxville ... His father, Charles Oliver, works in event management for the UT athletic department.
Last Game: Crump's Career Day Leads UT To Victory
Brandon Crump broke out of a season-long slump to score a career-high 26 points in leading the Vols to a 71-69 win over Xavier Saturday, Dec. 11, at Thompson-Boling Arena ... Tennessee fell behind early in the second half following a 11-3 Xavier run to start the half ... Chris Lofton picked up a steal and found Scooter McFadgon on the fast break to give UT a 66-64 lead with 3:19 remaining ... Tennessee held a 71-69 lead with eight seconds left when C.J. Watson missed a pair of free throws ... XU's Dedrick Finn raced down the court to take a final shot but Watson stole the ball when Finn pulled up to take a shot ... Watson was able to hold the ball as time expired to seal the win ... Despite shooting 4-for-10 at the free throw line in the game's final five minutes the Vols were able to hold on ... McFadgon needed just seven shots (5-of-7) to score 16 points but saw his streak of 31 consecutive free throws come to an end ... UT shot 58.1 percent (25-of-43) from the field and 70.0 percent (7-of-10) from 3-point range ... Finn led the Musketeers with 12 points while Justin Doellman had 11 and Justin Cage had 10 points.
Milestones For Crump: 1,000 Points and 500 Rebounds Reached This Season
Brandon Crump became the 37th player in Tennessee history to score 1,000 career points when he reached the milestone against UT-Chattanooga (12/5/04) ... He became just the fourth UT player 6-foot-10 or taller to reach the 1,000-point milestone ... The 6-foot-10 senior forward has scored 1,031 points in 94 career games ... He is the first Vol to reach 1,000 career points since Ron Slay accomplished the milestone in the 2002-03 season ... Crump recorded his 500th career rebound against North Carolina (11/23/04) ... He has 529 career rebounds.
Scooter's Free Throw Streak Stops At 31
After missing two free throws in the season-opener against Stanford (11/22/04), Scooter McFadgon went on a streak where he made 31 consecutive free throws without a miss ... The streak came to an end against Xavier (12/11/04) when he went 4-of-6 from the line ... The Memphis native missed two of his first six free throws against the Cardinal but rallied to make his last two attempts to begin the streak ... It was the second-longest streak for him as he had a streak of 32 consecutive free throws made last year ... McFadgon is shooting 90.0 percent (36-of-40) from the free throw line this season.
Smith Moving Into Lineup
After playing just 11 minutes in Tennessee's first four games, freshman JaJuan Smith has averaged 4.5 points in 21 minutes of action over the Vols' last two games ... In his first significant action of the young 2004-05 season against UT-Chattanooga (12/5/04) he doubled his previous output on the season with six points on 2-of-2 shooting from 3-point range in 13 minutes against the Mocs.
Pilfering Point Guard
C.J. Watson's 16 steals through six games are twice that of any other Vol ... Last year it took Watson nine games to reach the 16 steal mark ... Watson finished finished his sophomore season with 45 steals ... He has averaged 1.5 steals per game over his career ... He sealed the win against Xavier (12/11/04) when he took the ball from Dedrick Finn before he could get a shot off at the final buzzer.
No Shots? No Problem For Lofton
When Chris Lofton first set foot on the Tennessee campus he owned a reputation of being a dangerous scorer ... In Tennessee's first four games he proved that by averaging 13.8 points on 50.0 percent (19-of-38) shooting from the field and 57.7 percent (15-of-26) 3-point shooting ... In his last two games he has only managed eight shots but has found other ways to help the Vols ... Over the last two games he has averaged 4.5 assists, including a career-high seven dimes against UT-Chattanooga (12/11/04).
Lofton Hitting From Deep
Freshman Chris Lofton arrived on the UT campus with a reputation as an extraordinary 3-point shooter ... Six games into the season the Maysville, Ky., native has not disappointed ... He is shooting 54.5 percent (18-of-33) from behind the arc this year ... Against 11th-ranked North Carolina he drilled six of his 10 attempts from behind the arc ... Through UT's first six games he ranks fourth on the team with 10.7 points per game ... At Mason County High School he made 46.2 percent (353-of-764) of his 3-point attempts.
Former Vols Earn Degrees
Jon Higgins (1999-2003) and C.J. Black (1996-2000) received their college degrees on Dec. 10, 2004 ... Higgins, who is currently playing professionally in France, received a degree in political science while Black, who has played professionally in the U.S. and Europe, received an interdisciplinary studies - urban studies degree as a part of Tennessee's Renewing Academic Commitments (RAC) program.
New Faces Contributing Early
Newcomers Andre Patterson, a 6-foot-7 junior transfer from UCLA, and Chris Lofton, a freshman guard from Maysville, Ky., have been in the starting lineup for most of Tennessee's games early this season ... Lofton leads the Vols in 3-point shooting (18-of-33 for 54.5 percent) and is fourth on the team with 10.7 points per game ... Patterson leads the team in rebounding with 6.0 rebounds per game ... Freshman guard Jordan Howell has given the Vols an outside shooting presence coming off the bench to average 10.2 minutes per game ... JaJuan Smith, a freshman from Decatur, Tenn., has seen action in five games.
Vols Enjoy Success On And Off The Court In Hawaii
Tennessee's win over Stanford in the first round of the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational isn't the Vols' only victory in Hawaii so far ... Pee-Wee Gash was the champion of the EA SPORTS March Madness 2005 video game tournament Saturday, Nov. 20 ... Gash defeated North Carolina's Rashad McCants in the finals ... Buzz Peterson, along with a local youth, won a free throw shooting contest that featured the tournaments head coaches Sunday, Nov. 21 ... Peterson made all 10 of his attempts in the two rounds of the competition ... The event was to raise money for local Maui schools.
Vols Trio Earn Coaches Preseason All-SEC Honors
Tennessee was one of three SEC teams to have three players selected to the inaugural SEC men's preseason All-SEC first and second teams that were selected by the league's coaches ... Senior guard Scooter McFadgon was a first team selection while senior forward Brandon Crump and junior guard C.J. Watson were second team picks.
Crump, McFadgon & Watson Named Tri-Captains
Seniors Brandon Crump and Scooter McFadgon along with junior C.J. Watson have been named team captains for the 2004-05 season ... It is the first captaincy appointment for McFadgon while Crump and Watson were also captains last season ... In 95 years of Tennessee basketball prior to this season, only four players had been two-time captains ... V.H. Klein (1913-14), Harry Anderson (1935-36), Garland O'Shields (1945-46) and Johnny Darden (1978-79) are the only other Vols to serve two terms as captain.
Crump Attending Graduate School
Senior forward Brandon Crump received a degree in sport management in May 2004 and is currently pursuing a master's degree ... A true scholar-athlete, he ranked second on the team with 14.8 points per game while leading the Vols with 6.8 rebounds per game in 2004 ... In the classroom, he was named to the 2003-04 SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll and was selected as the Edamerica Scholar-Athlete of the month in February 2004.
Scooter Looks To Build On Free Throw Shooting
Scooter McFadgon broke one of Tennessee's oldest records last year when his 91.2 percent shooting at the free throw line dispatched a school record that had stood since 1969 ... The Memphis native connected on 134 of his 147 free throw attempts to lead the SEC and rank fifth in the nation ... His free throw success rate was the second-best in SEC history ... This year he enters his senior season as the league's second-leading returning scorer with 17.6 points per game ... Only Florida's Anthony Roberson averaged more points with 17.9.
What Returns
Who could blame Buzz Peterson for being excited when he looks at what is back from last year's team ... The Vols return an unprecedented amount of their production from last season's squad ... UT returns all five starters and a total of nine letterwinners from last year's squad ... In fact, nearly 80 percent of every statistical category returns from 2003-04 ... A total of 88.1 percent of UT's scoring is back from a team that averaged 71.1 points per game ... 85.5 percent of the team's rebounding returns and 83.0 percent of the Vols' assists are also back.
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 192-79 (.709) in its 18th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 93-20 (.823) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Tennessee is 79-18 (.814) 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, 12-5 in 2003 and 14-3 in 2004.
- The Vols are 43-14 against SEC teams at home over the last six seasons.
- UT has won 56 of its last 62 home games against non-conference opponents.
Vols Sign Three In Early Period
Buzz Peterson announced that three players signed national letters of intent to play basketball at the University of Tennessee in the November signing period.
- Tyler Smith, a 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward from Pulaski, Tenn., was selected as one of the top 10 high school players in the nation when Street & Smith's named him a second team selection on the 2004 Boys High School All-America Team. As a junior at Giles County High School the first team all-state selection averaged 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists while leading the Bobcats to the state tournament. As a sophomore he earned tournament MVP honors after leading Giles County to a state championship. Rated a four-star prospect by Rivals.com, he was named the MVP of the all-star game at the adidas Superstar camp last summer in Atlanta.
- Matthew Dotson, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound forward from Centerville, Tenn., is rated a three-star prospect by Rivals.com. He was named the Class 3A Player of the Year for Hickman County High School's district last year. A big man who has a deft outside shooting touch that extends beyond the 3-point arc, he averaged 23 points and 14.5 rebounds as a junior.
- Damion Harris, a 6-foot-10, 275-pound center from Greenville, S.C., was a Class AAA All-State selection at Wade Hampton High School last season. As a senior in 2003-04 he led the Generals to the state tournament and as a junior he averaged 16 points, 14 rebounds and 6.5 blocks in leading Wade Hampton to the Class AAA Upper State finals. He first signed with the Vols last year, but is spending the 2004-05 season playing for Prince Avenue Prep in Pickens, S.C.
Preseason Honors & Predictions
| Team Predictions | |
| SEC Media | 3rd/SEC East |
| Athlon Sports | 3rd/SEC East |
| Street & Smith's | 3rd/SEC East |
| Basketball Time In TN | 3rd/SEC East |
| Lindy's Basketball | 3rd/SEC East |
| Blue Ribbon | 4th/SEC East |
| The Sporting News | 4th/SEC East |
| Basketball News | 4th/SEC East |
| Postseason Predictions | |
| Athlon Sports | NCAA Tournament |
| Basketball News | NCAA Tournament |
| Lindy's Basketball | NCAA Tournament |
| Individual Predictions | |
| Scooter McFadgon | First Team All-SEC (SEC Coaches) |
| First Team All-SEC (SEC Media) | |
| First Team All-SEC (Athlon Sports) | |
| First Team All-SEC (Basketball News) | |
| First Team All-SEC (Blue Ribbon CBY) | |
| Second Team All-SEC (The Sporting News) | |
| Second Team All-SEC (Lindy's Basketball) | |
| No. 9 "Slasher" nationally (Athlon Sports) | |
| No. 15 "SG" nationally (Lindy's Basketball) | |
| No. 16 "SG" nationally (The Sporting News) | |
| SEC's "Most Entertaining" (Lindy's Basketball) | |
| C.J. Watson | Second Team All-SEC (SEC Coaches) |
| Third Team All-SEC (Athlon Sports) | |
| SEC's "Best Playmaker" (The Sporting News) | |
| SEC's "Best Passer" (Street & Smith's) | |
| SEC's "Top Playmaker" (Lindy's Basketball) | |
| Brandon Crump | Second Team All-SEC (SEC Coaches) |
| Third Team All-SEC (Athlon Sports) | |
| Third Team All-SEC (Lindy's Basketball) | |
| Andre Patterson | No. 7 "Top Transfer" nationally (Lindy's Basketball) |
| Top Transfer (Athlon Sports) | |
| Top Transfer (Basketball News) | |
| SEC's "Best Transfer" (Street & Smith's) | |
| Chris Lofton | Top 100 Freshmen (Street & Smith's) |
