University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt - Game Preview
January 07, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 7, 2005
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| Vanderbilt Commodores vs. Tennessee Volunteers
RADIO
TV LIVE STATS RANKINGS: THE COACHES: Vanderbilt Commodores
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Tennessee Trends
- Tennessee is making its first appearance on CBS since the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
- A win over Vanderbilt would give the Volunteers their first 2-0 SEC start since opening the 2000-01 slate with three consecutive wins.
- The win at Georgia (1/5/05) ended a 10-game road losing streak for the Vols.
- Tennessee is 7-0 when leading or tied at halftime.
- Tennessee has shot 55.7 percent (39-of-70) from the free throw line in its last three games. The Vols shot 73.2 percent from the line in their first 10 games.
- Scooter McFadgon has registered double figure scoring in every game in which he has played this year.
- Major Wingate is averaging 5.3 points on 54.5 percent (12-of-22) shooting over his last seven games. He averaged just 2.3 points per game through Tennessee's first six games.
- Five Vols are shooting better than 50 percent from the field. Brandon Crump (61.2), Andre Patterson (59.7), Chris Lofton (58.2), Major Wingate (53.1) and Jemere Hendrix (50.0) are all making more than half of their shots.
- Tennessee has shot 50 percent or better from the field in six of its last eight games.
- Brandon Crump became the eighth Vol ever to have 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocked shots.
- Chris Lofton has made 33 of his last 48 (68.8 percent) field goals and 18 of 28 (64.3 percent) 3-pointers.
- C.J. Watson's 373 career assists are eighth all-time at Tennessee. He needs five assists to tie Fred Jenkins (1983-87) for seventh all-time.
- 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 53.0 percent (203-of-383) from the field and converting 44.9 percent (57-of-127) of their 3-point attempts over their last eight games.
- UT's starters have accounted for 80.0 percent (755 of 944 points) of the Vols' scoring this season.
- Ten different Vols have made a 3-pointer this season.
- C.J. Watson became the first Vol in five years to record 10 or more assists in a game when he registered a career-high 10 dimes against Nebraska (12/30/04).
- C.J. Watson and Chris Lofton have tied a school record for single-game 3-point percentage by going 5-for-5 from 3-point range. Watson did it against Campbell (12/23/04) and Lofton accomplished the feat at New Mexico (12/18/04). They 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.
- Six of Tennessee's 13 non-conference opponents this year appeared in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Stanford, North Carolina, Texas, Xavier and Alabama State made NCAA appearances in 2004.
- 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.
- Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,339-872-2 in its 96th season of basketball.
- Tennessee was one of six teams without a senior in 2003-04. Of those six teams, only Tennessee and Wake Forest received postseason invitations.
- 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.
- Tennessee needs four home wins this season to reach the 200-win milestone in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols are 196-80 in 18 seasons of play in Thompson-Boling Arena. UT, which has averaged 12 home wins in Buzz Peterson's first three seasons in Knoxville, has 16 home games on the schedule this year.
| Team Statistical Comparisons | ||
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Vanderbilt |
| 72.6 | Points | 74.9 |
| 66.8 | Opponent Points | 64.7 |
| +5.8 | Scoring Margin | +10.1 |
| .485 | Field Goal % | .475 |
| .425 | Opponent Field Goal % | .404 |
| .418 | Three-Point % | .428 |
| .359 | Opponent Three-Point % | .319 |
| .689 | Free Throw % | .699 |
| 34.8 | Rebounds | 35.8 |
| 31.5 | Opponent Rebounds | 32.4 |
| +3.3 | Rebounding Margin | +3.4 |
| 14.5 | Assists | 16.6 |
| 15.5 | Turnovers | 16.7 |
| 3.8 | Blocks | 3.6 |
| 7.5 | Steals | 6.4 |
| 8-5 | Record | 10-4 |
| Individual Statistical Leaders | ||
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Vanderbilt |
| McFadgon, 15.8 | Points | Moore, 14.2 |
| Crump, 6.10 | Rebounds | Przybyszewski, 5.4 |
| Watson, 5.2 | Assists | Moore, 3.5 |
| Crump, .612 | Field Goal % | Holwerda, .606 |
| Lofton, .593 | Three-Point % | Moore, .522 |
| Lofton, .875 | Free Throw % | Moore, .848 |
Looking At Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt is riding a six-game winning streak into Saturday's matchup following a 70-56 win over 19th-ranked Alabama in the Commodores' SEC opener Wednesday in Nashville ... Vandy ran its homecourt winning streak to 11 games, including 10-0 this season ... The Commodores are playing just the second road game of the year ... They are 0-4 when playing away from Memorial Gym (0-1 on the road and 0-3 in neutral site games) ... Vanderbilt's 42.8 percent 3-point shooting ranks second in the SEC and was bolstered by a 48.0 percent (12-of-25) effort against Alabama Wednesday ... The `Dores are leading the league and rank fifth nationally with 10.14 3-pointers made per game ... Six different Commodores have made at least 17 3-pointers this season ... Vandy's bench is averaging 38.8 points over its last six games ... Junior guard Mario Moore is leading the Commodores with 14.2 points and 3.5 assists per game ... Moore ranks second in the SEC with his 52.2 (36-of-67) 3-point percentage ... Corey Smith, a senior guard/forward who has been coming off the bench the last seven games, is second on the team with 10.9 points per game ... Dawid Przybyszewski, a 7-foot-2 center, is the tallest player the Vols have faced this season and is averaging 8.6 points on 45.3 percent (24-of-53) 3-point shooting ... The Commodores are led by Kevin Stallings, who is 95-73 in his sixth year at Vanderbilt and 218-136 in his 12th season as a head coach.
The Vanderbilt Series
Tennessee leads the all-time series, 102-63 ... In the last meeting, Vanderbilt ended a three-game UT winning streak in the series with a 61-58 win in Nashville on March 3, 2004 ... Tennessee earned the win in Knoxville with a 76-66 upset of the 23rd-rated Commodores on Jan. 14, 2004 ... UT leads the series 62-15 when playing in Knoxville ... Vanderbilt leads 47-34 when it is played on the Commodores' home court ... Tennessee's 102 wins over Vanderbilt is the most by the Vols over any opponent ... Tennessee and Vanderbilt have played every season since their first meeting during the 1922 season except for the war years of 1944 and 1945 ... Only Kentucky has been an opponent of the Vols more times than Vanderbilt ... The Vols have played the Wildcats 196 times while Wednesday's game will be their 166th against the Commodores ... UT has won nine of the last 13 meetings between the schools and 13 of the last 20 games ... Tennessee has won more games at Vanderbilt (36) than any other place outside of Knoxville.
Last Meeting With Vanderbilt
Tennessee led by as many as 14 points but could not hold on to the lead down the stretch as the Commodores rallied for a 61-58 win March 3, 2004, at Memorial Gym in Nashville ... Vanderbilt's Matt Freije, who was playing his last regular season game in Memorial Gym, scored 19 of his game-high 28 points in the second half to lead the rally ... Tennessee used an 11-0 run to take a 26-12 lead with 6:40 remaining in the first half ... Freije then led a 10-0 Commodore run that cut the lead to 26-22 ... UT's John Winchester hit a circus shot at the halftime buzzer to give UT a 35-30 lead at the break ... In the second half it was all Freije as he had six of VU's nine second half field goals, including a 3-pointer with 1:58 left in the game that gave the Commodores their first lead since a 3-2 advantage early in the game ... VU used a layup by Russell Lakey and a pair of free throws by Scott Hundley to seal the win ... Scooter McFadgon hit a 3-pointer with seven seconds left but Tennessee couldn't rally ... C.J. Watson led the Vols with 15 points while McFadgon added 13 points ... UT shot 51.1 percent from the field but just 41.7 percent (5-of-12) from the free throw line.
Vanderbilt Connections
Tennessee head coach Buzz Peterson is no stranger to Vanderbilt ... The fourth year Vol mentor spent three seasons as the associate head coach on Jan van Breda Kolff's coaching staff ... During that three-year run the Commodores were 51-41 and made two appearances in the National Invitation Tournament, including an appearance in the 1994 championship game ... Peterson and Vanderbilt assistant coach Brad Frederick are both North Carolina grads ... Peterson played for the Tar Heels from 1981-85 while Frederick played from 1996-99 ... C.J. Watson's sister, Vonyette, along with his grandparents live in Nashville ... Tennessee's Brandon Crump and Stanley Asumnu along with Vandy's Mario Moore are all natives of Houston, Texas, but attended different high schools.
Last Game: Vols Start SEC Play With Win Over Georgia
Tennessee won its fifth SEC opener in its last six attempts with a 72-65 win at Georgia on Wednesday, Jan. 5 ... Tennessee held a 60-52 lead with just over seven minutes left when the Bulldogs went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to two points with 4:41 remaining ... A pair of C.J. Watson free throws capped an 11-0 UT run that secured the Vols' lead at 71-58 with 2:30 left in the game ... Watson made 7 of 8 free throws in the game's final 2:30 to lead the Vols with 17 points ... Chris Lofton, who along with Watson had to overcome foul trouble, scored 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 from 3-point range ... Andre Patterson had one of his best games as a Vol with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting to go with seven rebounds ... Scooter McFadgon was the only other Vol in double figure scoring with 11 points ... Dane Bradshaw had two points and three assists in 22 strong minutes of relief for Watson and Lofton ... Georgia's Levi Stukes and Sundiata Gaines combined for nearly 67 percent of the Bulldogs' scoring ... Gaines had a game-high 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting while his backcourt mate Stukes had 21 points ... Tennessee struggled with 15 turnovers but made up for it by making 51.1 percent of its field goals.
Time 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 eight games since then the Vols have converted 53.0 percent (203-of-383) of their field goals ... UT has shot 50 percent or better from the field in six of its last eight games ... 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 62.5 percent (25-of-40) of its field goals against Belmont (12/20/04).
Lofton Leading The Nation In 3-Point Percentage
Freshman Chris Lofton arrived on the UT campus with a reputation as an extraordinary 3-point shooter ... Thirteen games into the season the Maysville, Ky., native has not disappointed ... According to the Jan. 3 NCAA Statistics Lofton's 60.4 percent (32-of-53) 3-point shooting is best in the nation ... He is currently shooting 59.3 percent (35-of-59) from 3-point range ... His 2.69 3-pointers made per game rank third in the SEC ... Against New Mexico (12/18/04) he tied a school record by going 5-for-5 from 3-point range ... His 11.9 points per game ranks fourth on the UT roster so far this season ... 66.0 percent (35-of-53) of Lofton's field goals this season have come behind the 3-point line ... His 58.2 percent shooting from the field is third on the team ... A guard has not led the Vols in field goal percentage since Bobby Carter's 46.1 percentage (142-of-310) in 1960-61.
Watson Breaks Out Of Shooting Slump With School Record Game
C.J. Watson broke out of a six-game shooting slump with a school record effort from behind the 3-point line against Campbell (12/23/04) ... Watson tied the school record for 3-point percentage by going 5-of-5 from 3-point range and finished the game with a career-high 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field ... Over his last four games, the Las Vegas native has made 48.3 percent (14-of-29) of his field goals and 55.6 percent (10-of-18) of his 3-pointers ... Watson shot 32.6 percent (15-of-46) from the field and averaged 8.8 points per game in UT's previous six games.
Crump Bounces Back
Brandon Crump's senior season didn't start the way he wanted it to when 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 eight games he is averaging 14.1 points on 69.8 percent (44-of-63 shooting).
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 1,118 points in 101 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 is the eighth player in Tennessee history to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks.
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 ranks among the SEC leaders with his 82.5 percent (52-of-63) shooting from the free throw line this season.
Pilfering Point Guard
C.J. Watson's 25 steals through 12 games leads the Vols ... 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 ... In the season opener he recorded a career-high five steals against Stanford in the Maui Invitational.
Patterson's Up To His Old Tricks
Andre Patterson's 5.8 rebounds per game ranks second on the Tennessee team and his 59.7 percent shooting from the field is also second on the squad ... Over his last five game Patterson is averaging 9.2 points on 67.7 percent (21-of-31) shooting and 6.6 rebounds per game ... The transfer from UCLA, who is in his first season playing for the Vols, led the Bruins and the Pac-10 Conference win a 60.8 field goal percentage in 2002-03 and his 5.5 rebounds also led the team ... The Los Angeles native recorded a career-high 16 points against Belmont (12/20/04).
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.
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 196-80 (.710) in its 18th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 97-21 (.822) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Tennessee is 83-19 (.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 60 of its last 67 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) |
