| Team Statistical Comparisons |
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Auburn |
| 73.5 | Points | 69.3 |
| 72.0 | Opponent Points | 63.2 |
| +1.4 | Scoring Margin | +6.1 |
| .441 | Field Goal % | .442 |
| .437 | Opponent Field Goal % | .428 |
| .349 | Three-Point % | .335 |
| .351 | Opponent Three-Point % | .350 |
| .725 | Free Throw % | .670 |
| 38.1 | Rebounds | 37.0 |
| 33.8 | Opponent Rebounds | 31.3 |
| +4.3 | Rebounding Margin | +5.8 |
| 15.7 | Assists | 15.4 |
| 15.0 | Turnovers | 16.1 |
| 3.5 | Blocks | 5.2 |
| 6.1 | Steals | 8.9 |
| 13-11, 5-8 | Record | 13-11, 4-9 |
| Individual Statistical Leaders |
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Auburn |
| McFadgon, 18.1 | Points | Killingsworth, 14.2 |
| Crump, 7.2 | Rebounds | Davis, 7.0 |
| Watson, 5.4 | Assists | Monroe, 3.5 |
| Crump, .567 | Field Goal % | Killingsworth, .606 |
| Watson, .407 | Three-Point % | Young, .384 |
| McFadgon, .917 | Free Throw % | Young, .841 |
The Series
This will be the 99th meeting between the two schools ... Tennessee leads the all-time series 64-34 ... The Vols lead the series 38-7 in Knoxville ... The Tigers hold a 23-21 advantage in Auburn ... Tennessee has won five of the last six meetings between the schools ... Last year the two teams split their meetings ... Tennessee took a 60-57 win in Auburn Feb. 1, 2003 ... Auburn ended a five-game winning streak in the series with 66-53 win over the Vols in the second round of the 2003 SEC Tournament in New Orleans ... UT's five-game winning streak was its longest since winning five in a row over the Tigers from 1979-1980 ... UT holds a 7-3 advantage over Auburn when the two teams meet in the SEC Tournament ... The Vols have won their last two games at Beard-Eaves in Auburn.
Last Meeting
Faced with a must-win situation in order to hold on to any NCAA Tournament hopes, Auburn defeated Tennessee 66-53 in the second round of the SEC Tournament in New Orleans, La., March 14, 2003 ... Auburn never trailed and did not let the Vols get closer than four points (33-29) with 17:11 left in the second half ... In the first half the Tigers used an eight-minute Tennessee scoring drought to build an 11-point lead and eventually take a 31-24 advantage at halftime ... Ron Slay led Tennessee with 16 points and added nine rebounds before fouling out with 5:07 remaining in the game ... Brandon Crump turned in his second consecutive double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds ... Thaydeus Holden added 14 points ... Tennessee played without the services of Jon Higgins for the first time since 1999 ... Higgins was ruled ineligible for postseason play earlier in the week ... The Vols scored a season-low 53 points and shot just 36.7 percent from the field ... Marco Killingsworth led Auburn with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Marquis Daniels added 12 points.
Looking at Auburn
Auburn dropped a heartbreaking decision to intrastate rival Alabama Tuesday night that saw the Tigers' record fall to 13-11 on the season and 4-9 in Southeastern Conference action ... Junior guard Ian Young came off the bench to lead Auburn with a career-high 28 points on 6-of-12 shooting from 3-point range ... Young is averaging just 10.0 points on the season but in his last five games he is averaging 17.2 points per game ... The loss was the second in a row for the Tigers, who fell 59-68 to Kentucky last weekend in Auburn ... Junior forward Marco Killingsworth is leading Auburn with 14.2 points while also contributing 6.9 rebounds per game ... Killingsworth reached a pair of milestones Tuesday night against Alabama ... The Montgomery, Ala., native scored his 1,000th career point and gathered his 500th career rebound against the Crimson Tide ... Now with 1,010 points and 502 career rebounds Killingsworth is just the 18th player in school history to be in the 1,000-500 club ... Senior Kyle Davis is leading the SEC in blocked shots for the fourth consecutive year with 2.92 blocks per game ... His 358 career blocks are the second-most all-time in SEC history ... Lewis Monroe is leading the Tigers with 3.5 assists per game after missing Auburn's first 10 games this season with a fractured foot ... Auburn is 3-9 when scoring less than 70 points this season ... Auburn is outrebounding its opponents by 5.8 rebounds per game, the second-best mark in the SEC ... The Tigers' 8.9 steals per game ranks third in the SEC statistics.
Auburn Connections
Tennessee freshman guard Jordan Howell has several connections to Auburn ... A native of Auburn, Ala., he attended Bob Jones High School ... Howell's older brother, Brett, is a sophomore guard for the Tigers ... Neither of the Howell brothers will see action Saturday as Jordan is spending the season as a redshirt and Brett is sitting out under NCAA transfer guidelines after transferring from William & Mary ... The brother's father, Rex, played basketball for the Tigers in 1966 while their uncle, Alex Howell, was a two-year starter and a 1967 All-SEC selection for the Auburn basketball team.
Vols Facing A Super Tuesday Team For Fifth Week In A Row
For the fifth Saturday in a row the Vols will be playing a team that had a Tuesday night game while Tennessee played on Wednesday ... Auburn hosted intrastate rival Alabama Tuesday night on ESPN ... On Feb. 21 the Vols traveled to play a Georgia team that had a Tuesday night upset of Florida ... Saturday, Feb. 14, UT faced Alabama when the Crimson Tide were coming off a Tuesday game at Kentucky ... Feb. 7 Tennessee hosted a Georgia Tech team coming off a Tuesday game at Florida State ... On Jan. 31 the Vols hosted a Florida team that was coming off a Tuesday game at Alabama ... The week before that, on Jan. 20, Tennessee met Kentucky on a Tuesday night.
Last Time Out
Kentucky shot a blazing 58.9 percent from the field and 57.9 percent from 3-point range in a 92-60 win over Tennessee Wednesday, Feb. 25, in Lexington ... Tennessee opened the game with a 5-0 run on a C.J. Watson 3-pointer and a pair of free throws by Stanley Asumnu ... UK quickly came back to take a 9-7 lead and eventually built it to 21-9 before the Vols could respond ... Late in the first half the `Cats used a 13-4 run to take a 42-24 lead and eventually took a 44-29 advantage into the locker room at half time ... The Wildcats connected on a season-high 11 3-pointers in the game ... All five Kentucky starters scored in double-figures, led by Kelenna Azubuike's 17 points ... Antwain Barbour, a late addition to the starting lineup, finished with 16 ... Cliff Hawkins added 15, Chuck Hayes had 14 and Erik Daniels had 12 ... Scooter McFadgon led the Vols with 18 points on 4-of-8 3-point shooting ... Asumnu recorded a career-high with 13 points ... Watson, who was questionable entering the game after suffering a sprained toe against Georgia four days earlier, added 11 points and six assists for the Vols.
Injury Doesn't Slow Watson
C.J. Watson scored 11 points and had six assists at Kentucky (2/25/04) despite suffering a sprained big toe against Georgia (2/21/04) ... Watson did not practice in the days leading up to the UK game but managed to give the Vols an inspiring 29 minutes of action.
Peterson Gets 150th Win
Tennessee head coach got his 150th career victory with an 83-66 win over Mississippi Feb. 18 ... In eight seasons as a head coach Peterson has recorded a 150-89 (.641) career mark ... Forty-five of those wins have come at Tennessee while 26 were at Tulsa and 79 were at Appalachian State ... Peterson's 150 career wins ranks seventh among active Southeastern Conference coaches.
McFadgon Named Second Team NABC All-District 7
Scooter McFadgon was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division I All-District Team on February 18 ... McFadgon is a second team All-District 7 selection ... The teams are selected by a panel of member coaches of the NABC ... First team selections are: Matt Freije (Vanderbilt), Francisco Garcia (Louisville), Gerald Fitch (Kentucky), Cuthbert Victor (Murray State) and Erik Daniels (Kentucky) ... Joining McFadgon on the second team are Antonio Burks (Memphis), Chuck Hayes (Kentucky), Ricky Minard (Morehead State) and Adrian Henning (Austin Peay).
King a Finalist For Basketball Hall Of Fame
Former Tennessee Vol Bernard King (1975-77) has been named one of 16 finalists for this year's Basketball Hall of Fame class ... A three-time All-America selection, King averaged 25.8 points per game in his three seasons at Tennessee ... The Brooklyn, N.Y., native went on to score 19,655 career points in 14 seasons in the NBA ... A four-time NBA All-Star, he led the league in scoring with 32.9 points in 1984-85 and finished his career with a career scoring average of 22.5 points ... Playing for the New Jersey Nets Nets, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and Washington Bullets he scored 19,655 career points ... The new members will be announced April 5 at the NCAA men's Final Four in San Antonio; induction is September 10.
Houston Named To ESPN's Silver Anniversary All-SEC Team
Former UT 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 Jan. 20 ... 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 five 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 league 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 ... 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.
Watson Named To SEC Good Works Team (Feb. 11-14)
Sophomore point guard C.J. Watson was featured as the SEC Good Works Team Player of the Week on Jefferson Pilot's telecasts the week of Feb. 11-14 ... The Las Vegas, Nev., native was named the 2003 co-Male Community Service Student-Athlete of the Year by Tennessee's CHAMPS/Life Skills Office for his community efforts ... He assisted the Meals On Wheels program, delivering warm meals to the elderly in Knoxville on Thanksgiving Day, hosted children from The Wesley House and spoke at the Westbury Christian Upward Bound Banquet ... This is the first time Watson has been named to the SEC Good Works Team ... He joins C.J. Black (2000) and Jon Higgins (2001, 2002, 2003) as Vols who have been named to the Good Works Team.
Tennessee Against Ranked Teams
Tennessee is 2-6 against teams ranked among the Associated Press Top 25 this year ... UT has wins over 23rd-ranked Vanderbilt and No. 22 Florida and a losses at No. 14 Florida, vs. No. 9 Kentucky, vs. No. 5 Louisville, at No. 11 Mississippi State, vs. No. 15 Georgia Tech and at No. 9 Kentucky this season ... The Vols are 81-186 all-time against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 ... Tennessee is 39-116 all-time against teams ranked in the AP Top 10 and 17-27 against teams ranked in the Top 5.
Home Sweet Home
While the Vols have struggled on the road this season, they have been tough at home ... Tennessee is 12-3 at Thompson-Boling Arena this season ... UT's only home losses have come to No. 9 Kentucky, No. 5 Louisville and No. 15 Georgia Tech ... Kentucky needed a 25-foot 3-pointer with 16.3 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime in the Wildcats' win.
Vols Well Represented in SEC Statistics
Tennessee players lead two of the 12 individual categories in the latest Southeastern Conference statistics ... Scooter McFadgon leads the league in free throw percentage (91.7 percent) while he is third in scoring (18.1 ppg) and fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (39.1 percent) ... C.J. Watson sits atop the assists (5.42 apg) list and is second in assist/turnover ratio (2.17 assists-to-turnovers) ... Brandon Crump is fifth in the league in field goal percentage by making 56.7 percent of his shots while ranking 11th in scoring (15.2 ppg) and seventh in rebounding (7.2 rpg) ... As a team, the Vols are second in rebounding offense (38.1 rpg) and are third in free throw percentage (72.5 percent) and assists (15.71 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 438 (438-of-604) free throws this season compared to just 464 attempts (315-of-464) for UT's opponents ... UT is third in the SEC by making 72.5 percent of its free throws ... Ten times the Vols have made more free throws than their opponents attempted ... Six times this season UT has limited its opponents to less than 10 free throw attempts.
Hitting The Boards
Tennessee ranks second in the Southeastern Conference with 38.1 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 4.3 rebounds per game which ranks fourth in the SEC ... UT is averaging 13.38 offensive rebounds per game.
Hendrix, Vols Getting to Offensive Boards
Tennessee ranks third in the SEC with 13.38 offensive rebounds per game on the season ... Ten times the Vols have recorded 15 or more offensive rebounds in a game ... Jemere Hendrix has been leading the offensive charge with 73 offensive rebounds, a number that ranks fifth in the SEC (3.04 rpg) ... Against 15th-ranked Georgia Tech he recorded a career-high nine rebounds at the offensive end of the court.
Watson: One Of The SEC's Top Playmakers
While several other point guards around the nation have been bogarting the headlines and highlights, 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 SEC with 5.42 assists per game ... His assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.17 (130 assists against 60 turnovers in 804 minutes) is second in the SEC ... According to the Feb. 24 NCAA statistics, Watson's 5.4 assists ranked 41st in the nation ... Five times this season he has had a game with eight or more assists ... Tennessee is 10-2 when Watson has six or more assists in a game this season ... 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 freshman.
Watson Can Score Too
Although he usually looks to pass first, Watson has also found opportunities to score ... While leading the SEC with 5.42 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 (.407) and ranking second in 3-pointers made (37).
McFadgon Challenging Free Throw Charts
Scooter McFadgon's 91.7 percent (111-of-121) shooting from the free throw line this season ranks as the second-best percentage in Tennessee history ... Bill Justus, who led the nation with a 92.0 percent (133-of-147) success rate during the 1968-69 season, holds the school record.
McFadgon Leads The SEC, Ranks Fourth In The Nation In Free Throw Percentage
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 91.7 (111-of-121) free throws this season ... According to the Feb. 24 NCAA statistics he ranked fourth in the nation with a 91.5 free throw percentage ... He saw a streak of 32 consecutive free throws made 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 ranks third in the SEC in scoring with 18.1 points per game this year ... His 39.1 percent 3-point shooting ranks fifth in the league while his 2.35 treys per game is fifth ... He owns three of the top eight scoring performances in the Southeastern Conference this year ... He has scored 20 or more points 10 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).
McFadgon Gets 1,000 Career Points
Junior transfer Scooter McFadgon scored his 1,000th career point against Georgia Tech (2/7/04) ... He has scored 1,091 points in his three years playing college basketball ... The 6-foot-5 guard scored 674 points in two seasons at Memphis and has scored 417 points in his first season at Tennessee.
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 fifth in the league with a 56.7 field goal percentage ... According to the Feb. 24 NCAA statistics, Crump's 56.9 field goal percentage ranked 33rd in the nation ... He ranks 11th in the SEC in scoring (15.2 ppg) and is seventh in rebounding with 7.2 boards per game ... The 6-foot-10 forward has scored 20 or more points in six games after not reaching the 20-point mark in his first two seasons at Tennessee ... He has eight double-doubles on the season and 11 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 15.2 points and 7.2 rebounds as a junior this year ... Against Nebraska (12/13/03) he recorded a career-high 25 points.
Crump Doubles Up
Junior forward Brandon Crump has recorded eight double-doubles this season ... That is the most by a Vol since Steve Hamer recorded nine double-doubles during the 1995-96 season ... Crump's eight double-doubles are the tied for third-most in the Southeastern Conference this season ... His five double-doubles in SEC action are tied for second-most in the league.
Asumnu Providing Vols With A Spark
Sophomore Stanley Asumnu provided the Vols with a huge defensive spark off the bench early in the season ... That play has earned Asumnu a starting spot in each of Tennessee's last five games ... At Kentucky (2/24/04) he recorded a career-high 13 points ... He ranks second on the team with 22 steals this year.
Wingate Making an Impact in Starting Lineup
Playing solid defense in practice earned freshman center Major Wingate a spot in the starting lineup against Kentucky (1/20/04) ... Since then he has started 10 of 11 games ... During those 11 games he has tied his career-high of eight points two times, including an eight point and eight rebound effort against No. 9 Kentucky ... He scored Tennessee's first six points in Vols' win over 22nd-ranked Florida (1/31/04).
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 13.5 minutes per game off the bench and is contributing 3.3 points and 2.2 rebounds per game ... A player who has a outstanding feel for the game, Bradshaw has dished out 38 assists.
| TENNESSEE CAREER STATS vs. AUBURN |
| ? | G-GS | FG-A | 3FG-A | FT-A | Reb | Avg | A | To | Blk | Stl | Pts | Avg |
| Asumnu | 2-1 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 3-4 | 1-2-3 | 1.5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 2.5 |
| Crump | 3-3 | 13-23 | 0-0 | 5-8 | 8-11-19 | 6.3 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 31 | 10.3 |
| Smithwick | 1-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Watson | 2-2 | 4-15 | 1-6 | 3-5 | 0-10-10 | 5.0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 6.0 |
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