University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee vs. Belmont - Game Preview
December 19, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2004
| QUICK FACTS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Belmont Bruins vs. Tennessee Volunteers
RADIO
TV LIVE STATS RANKINGS: THE COACHES: Belmont Bruins
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tennessee Trends
- Tennessee is beginning a four-game home stand before opening conference play. The Vols host Belmont (Dec. 20), Campbell (Dec. 23), Nebraska (Dec. 30) and Coastal Carolina (Jan. 2) before opening SEC play at Georgia (Jan. 5).
- Five of Tennessee's first eight opponents appeared in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Stanford, North Carolina, Texas, Xavier and Alabama State made NCAA appearances in 2004.
- After shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from 3-point range in their first five games, the Vols are shooting 51.9 percent (69-of-133) from the field and converting 51.2 percent (22-of-43) of their 3-point attempts over their last three games.
- Chris Lofton is leading the Vols in field goal percentage (55.0 percent) despite 82 percent of his field goals this season having been made behind the 3-point line. He is shooting 61.4 percent from 3-point range.
- Twelve of Lofton's last 14 field goals have been 3-pointers.
- Lofton tied a school record for single-game 3-point percentage by going 5-for-5 from 3-point range at New Mexico (12/18/04). He tied the mark set by Shane Carnes (5-for-5 against Michigan State on Dec. 20, 1994) and Thaydeus Holden (5-for-5 against Vanderbilt on Jan. 18, 2003).
- Tennessee's 70.0 percent (7-of-10) 3-point shooting against Xavier (12/11/04) established a new school record for 3-point success. It broke the record of 64.3 percent (9-of-14) set Jan. 27, 1992 against a North Carolina State team on which Buzz Peterson was an assistant coach.
- 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 1,050 career tallys.
- UT's starters have accounted for 80.2 percent (450 of 561 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 344 career assists are ninth all-time at Tennessee. He needs eight 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 was a visit to New Mexico on the 18th.
- Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,335-871-2 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 seven home wins this season to reach the 200-win milestone in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols are 193-79 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 | Belmont |
| 70.1 | Points | 70.0 |
| 71.6 | Opponent Points | 75.4 |
| -1.5 | Scoring Margin | -5.4 |
| .455 | Field Goal % | .413 |
| .457 | Opponent Field Goal % | .438 |
| .413 | Three-Point % | .389 |
| .363 | Opponent Three-Point % | .265 |
| .742 | Free Throw % | .685 |
| 32.8 | Rebounds | 33.1 |
| 33.0 | Opponent Rebounds | 40.0 |
| -0.2 | Rebounding Margin | -6.9 |
| 11.9 | Assists | 14.4 |
| 16.1 | Turnovers | 18.3 |
| 3.5 | Blocks | 3.7 |
| 7.1 | Steals | 6.7 |
| 4-4 | Record | 2-5 |
| Individual Statistical Leaders | ||
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Belmont |
| McFadgon, 16.0 | Points | Preston/Otis, 11.0 |
| Crump, 5.9 | Rebounds | Three at , 4.0 |
| Watson, 4.9 | Assists | Collins, 3.4 |
| Lofton, .550 | Field Goal % | Otis, .543 |
| Lofton, .614 | Three-Point % | Otis, .512 |
| McFadgon, .898 | Free Throw % | Goodwin, .813 |
Looking At Belmont
Belmont enters Monday's game with a 2-5 record on the season and a 1-0 mark in Atlantic Sun Conference play ... The Bruins are coming off a 67-75 loss to UT-Chattanooga Saturday in Nashville ... Jese Snyder led Belmont with 19 points against the Mocs ... Belmont opened conference action Dec. 2 with an 86-73 victory over Troy ... The Tennessee game is the first game of a four-game road trip for the Bruins ... After that, Belmont will play 10 of their final 17 games at home ... According to the Dec. 13 NCAA statistics Belmont's 3-pointers made per game (9.4 pg) ranked ninth in the nation ... Last year Belmont ranked third in the NCAA with 9.8 3-pointers per game ... The Bruins have made a 3-pointer in 576 consecutive games ... Sophomore center Andrew Preston is tied for the team lead with 11.0 points per game ... Nick Otis, a 6-foot-4 senior guard, is coming off the bench to also average 11.0 points on a team-best 54.3 percent shooting from the field and 51.2 percent shooting from 3-point range ... Otis is averaging 15.8 points in his last three games ... Justin Hare was named the A-Sun Player of the Week on Dec. 13 after turning in career-highs for points (13) and assists (8) against Navy ... Brian Collins, a 6-foot-4 junior guard, was a preseason all-conference selection and is currently averaging 9.7 points per game ... Belmont has played an SEC school in each of its eight seasons since moving to Division I ... In a preseason poll of conference coaches, Belmont was picked to finish in a tie with Florida Atlantic for fifth-place in the Atlantic Sun Conference ... The Bruins turned in one of the biggest wins in school history last year with a 71-67 win at 23rd-ranked Missouri ... Belmont posted a 15-11 record in 1996-97, its first season as as a provisional NCAA Division I member ... Rick Byrd is 461-262 in his 24th year as a head coach and 369-207 in his 19th year at Belmont.
The Belmont Series
This is the first meeting between Tennessee and Belmont ... Tennessee is 8-4 all-time against teams from the Atlantic Sun Conference ... Belmont is 0-11 against Southeastern Conference teams since moving up to NCAA Division I in 1996-97 ... The Bruins have met Auburn (0-1), Florida (0-1), Georgia (0-1), LSU (0-1), Mississippi (0-2), Mississippi State (0-1), South Carolina (0-1) and Vanderbilt (0-3).
Belmont Connections
No cheering will be allowed on press row despite several close connections between Belmont coach Rick Byrd and certain people sitting on press row ... Rick Byrd's father, Ben, covered the Vols for several years for the Knoxville Journal and even authored a book (The Basketball Vols) covering the history of Tennessee basketball ... Leonard Butts, a writer for the Maryville The Daily Times who regularly covers the Vols, is a brother-in-law of the Belmont head coach ... Rick Byrd is a native of Knoxville and attended South Doyle High School ... He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Tennessee and served as a student assistant under Tennessee's all-time winningest coach Ray Mears ... Former Vol Boomer Herndon transferred to Belmont following the 2003-04 season ... Herndon must sit out the 2004-05 campaign before becoming eligible.
Last Game: Lofton's 19 Not Enough To Win In The Pit
Chris Lofton went 5-for-5 from behind the 3-point arc to lead the Vols with 19 points but it wasn't enough as Tennessee fell to New Mexico 58-77 Saturday, Dec. 18, at The Pit in Albuquerque ... Lofton's 100 percent shooting from behind the 3-point arc tied the school record for 3-point success rate in a game ... The Vols managed just 17 points on 26 percent shooting in the opening period ... The Lobos, held to just 18.8 percent (3-of-16) 3-point shooting in the first half, managed just a 29-17 halftime lead ... The Vols came out of the locker room on a mission, cutting the Lobo lead to four points (38-34) with 12:46 remaining ... New Mexico responded with an 18-6 run to regain control of the game ... Preseason Mountain West Conference Player of the Year Danny Granger scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the game's finals 12 minutes to seal the win ... UNM made 13 of its last 18 field goals, shooting 64 percent in the second half ... It was the sixth win in a row for the Lobos ... Scooter McFadgon was the only other Vol scoring in double figures, scoring 14 of his 16 points in the second half ... Granger led five Lobos in double figure scoring.
Lofton Leading UT In Field Goal Percentage
Chris Lofton, a 6-foot-2 freshman guard, is leading the Vols in field goal percentage by making 55.0 percent of his shots this season ... Brandon Crump, a 6-foot-10 senior forward, is second on the squad by making 54.5 percent of his field goals ... Lofton leads the Southeastern Conference with a 61.4 percent (27-of-44) 3-point percentage ... 81.8 percent (27-of-33) of Lofton's field goals this season have come behind the 3-point line ... A guard has not led the Vols in field goal percentage since Bobby Carter's 46.1 percentage (142-of-310) in 1960-61.
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 in the three games since then the Vols have converted 51.9 percent (69-of-133) of their field goals ... UT set a school record by shooting 70.0 percent (7-of-10) from behind the 3-point arc against the Musketeers (12/11/04) ... Tennessee converted 55.6 percent (25-of-45) of its field goals against Alabama State (12/14/04).
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) ... In his last three games he is averaging 15.0 points on 17-of-26 shooting (65.4 percent).
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 1,050 points in 96 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 542 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 89.8 percent (44-of-49) from the free throw line this season.
Smith Moving Into Lineup
After playing just 11 minutes in UT's first four games, freshman JaJuan Smith seen his role increase since then ... Against New Mexico (12/18/04) he was the first Vol off the bench ... 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 19 steals through eight games are twice that of any other Vol ... Last year it took Watson 13 games to reach the 19 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.
Lofton Hitting From Deep
Freshman Chris Lofton arrived on the UT campus with a reputation as an extraordinary 3-point shooter ... Eight games into the season the Maysville, Ky., native has not disappointed ... He is shooting 61.4 percent (27-of-44) from behind the arc this year ... He tied a school record by going 5-for-5 from 3-point range at New Mexico (12/18/04) ... Against 11th-ranked North Carolina he drilled six of his 10 attempts from behind the arc ... Through UT's first eight games he ranks second on the team with 11.9 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 (27-of-44 for 61.4 percent) and is second on the team with 11.9 points per game ... Patterson is second on the team in rebounding with 5.4 rebounds per game ... Freshman guard Jordan Howell has given the Vols an outside shooting presence coming off the bench to average 9.5 minutes per game ... JaJuan Smith, a freshman from Decatur, Tenn., has seen action in seven 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 193-79 (.710) in its 18th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 94-20 (.825) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Tennessee is 80-18 (.816) 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 57 of its last 63 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) |
