University of Tennessee Athletics
TENNESSEE VS. EASTERN KENTUCKY -- GAME PREVIEW
November 23, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 23, 2005
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Tennessee Trends
- Tennessee's opponents are averaging 26.5 turnovers per game against the Vols. East Tennessee State (11/18/05) turned the ball over 33 times. ETSU's 33 turnovers are the most by a Vols opponent since American-Puerto Rico (11/21/99) turned the ball over 40 times.
- Six Vols are averaging double-figure scoring after two games this season.
- Five Vols have either tied or established new career scoring marks already this season. Two of them are seniors and there is one each from the freshman, sophomore and junior classes.
- The Vols have scored 189 points in their first two games this season. That is the most points the Vols have scored in their first two games since they opened the 2000-01 season by scoring 190 points.
- Tennessee won both of its exhibition games this season, taking an 86-78 win over Division II power Southern Indiana and a 106-73 win over Carson-Newman.
- The Vols are playing with just 10 scholarship players this season. UT's roster sports 11 scholarship players but Tony Passley will sit out the season under NCAA transfer guidelines.
- Not only is UT's roster short on scholarship players but it is also short on size. Tennessee's roster lists just four scholarship players -- Andre Patterson (6-7), Ryan Childress (6-9), Damion Harris (6-10) and Major Wingate (6-10) -- taller than 6-foot-5.
- Tennessee returns 64.6 percent of its scoring, 66.2 percent of its rebounding, 80.4 percent of its assists and 69.5 percent of its minutes played from the 2004-05 season.
- Six walk-ons are listed on the Vols' roster. Eddie DeBro is the only returning walk-on while Ben Bosse, Jonah Cox, Justin Jackson, Jordan Smith and Tanner Wild are each in their rookie season with the squad.
- The Vols play 18 of their 27 regular-season games within the state of Tennessee. UT will play games in Knoxville (14), Nashville (2) and Memphis (1). The SEC Tournament will also be in Nashville.
- Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,347-884-2 in its 97th season of basketball.
- UT's 598 regular season Southeastern Conference victories rank third all-time in the SEC. Only Kentucky and Alabama have won more league games.
- Tennessee is 202-84 in its 19th season in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Volunteers have posted winning home records in 16 of their 18 previous seasons in the facility.
- The Vols return their 2004-05 statistical leader in 11 of 12 categories. Andre Patterson was UT's leading rebounder with 6.2 boards per game and C.J. Watson led the Vols with 155 assists last season. The only category the Vols don't return their leader from last year is scoring. Chris Lofton is Tennessee's top returning scorer after averaging 13.2 points as a freshman.
- UT returns a total of eight letterwinners, including three starters from last season's squad.
- The basketball court at Thompson-Boling Arena has been named "The Summitt" in honor of Pat Summitt, who recorded her 882nd career win in 2005.
| Team Statistical Comparisons | ||
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Eastern Kentucky |
| 94.5 | Points | 74.7 |
| 79.5 | Opponent Points | 77.0 |
| +15.0 | Scoring Margin | -2.3 |
| .504 | Field Goal % | .467 |
| .475 | Opponent Field Goal % | .462 |
| .444 | Three-Point % | .404 |
| .356 | Opponent Three-Point % | .439 |
| .645 | Free Throw % | .642 |
| 35.0 | Rebounds | 31.0 |
| 42.0 | Opponent Rebounds | 36.7 |
| -7.0 | Rebounding Margin | -5.7 |
| 20.0 | Assists | 12.7 |
| 17.5 | Turnovers | 14.7 |
| 12.0 | Steals | 9.0 |
| 5.0 | Blocks | 2.0 |
| 2-0 | Record | 1-2 |
| Individual Statistical Leaders | ||
| Tennessee | Stat Category | Eastern Kentucky |
| Watson, 19.5 | Points | Witt, 17.0 |
| Bradshaw, 9.0 | Rebounds | Hird, 7.0 |
| Watson, 5.0 | Assists | Witt, 4.7 |
| Asumnu, .684 | Field Goal % | Hird, .727 |
| Watson, .625 | Three-Point % | Rose, .467 |
| Bradshaw, .900 | Free Throw % | McLeish, .722 |
Showing Their Appreciation
Immediately following their season-opening win over East Tennessee State, Bruce Pearl and the Vols went out on the concourse of Thompson-Boling Arena to thank the fans for their support ... The 21,680 fans in attendance for the Vols' season-opening win over East Tennessee State (11/18/05) was the fourth-largest crowd to see a season-opener in school history ... It was the largest crowd to watch a basketball game that night (including both NCAA and NBA attendance figures).
Looking At Eastern Kentucky
Eastern Kentucky will be facing their second consecutive Southeastern Conference foe when the Colonels travel to Knoxville ... Monday, Nov. 21, Eastern Kentucky fell to 1-2 on the season with a 68-76 loss to Georgia the consolation finals of the 2005 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam ... EKU opened the three-game tournament with an 89-95 double overtime loss to Wisconsin before bouncing back to defeat Norfolk State 67-60 in the second round ... Alonzo Hird was named to the Paradise Jam All-Tournament team after shooting 72.7 percent (16-of-22) from the field at the event ... The Colonels return eight players from last year's team that won a school record 22 games and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since playing Tennessee in the first round of the 1979 NCAA Tournament ... Matt Witt, who is EKU's top returning scorer after averaging 14.4 points last season, is leading the Colonels with 17.0 points per game three games into the 2005-06 campaign ... A Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference pick, Witt needs 396 points to become the school's all-time leading scorer ... Four Colonels are averaging in double-figure scoring ... Jason McLeish, a 6-foot senior guard, is second on the team with 15.3 points while Mike Rose, a 6-3 freshman guard is adding 14.7 points ... Hird, a 6-9 senior forward averages 13.3 points and a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game ... Eastern Kentucky is picked to finish second in the OVC in a preseason poll of the league's coaches ... Last year the Colonels won the OVC ... Jeff Neubauer, who was an assistant on West Virginia's Elite Eight team last year, is 1-2 in his first season at the helm of the EKU program and as a head coach.
The Eastern Kentucky Series
Tennessee leads the all-time series 3-0 ... This is the first meeting between the teams since a 98-74 Vols win on Dec. 20, 1984 ... This is just the second time the Colonels have traveled to Knoxville ... UT and EKU met in the first round of the 1979 NCAA Tournament, a 97-81 decision in favor of the Vols in Murfreesboro ... The series dates back to 1912 when Tennessee took a 44-13 win in Richmond, Ky., on Feb. 10, 1912 ... Tennessee is 39-1 all-time against current members of the Ohio Valley Conference ... EKU is 1-29 all-time against SEC opponents.
Last Game: Vols Hold On For Win Over Cajuns
Tennessee withstood a furious Louisiana-Lafayette rally to take an 83-76 victory Tuesday, Nov. 22, at Thompson-Boling Arena ... The Vols led by as many as 21 points in the second half but the Ragin' Cajuns rallied to take a one-point lead with less than five minutes to play ... C.J. Watson was fouled while making a 3-pointer and then hit the free throw to give the Vols the lead again at 69-66 ... Louisiana's J.T. Fields tied the game with a 3 at the other end but a Stanley Asumnu dunk and another Watson triple gave the Vols a five-point lead with just over three minutes left ... The Cajuns never got closer than three points the rest of the way ... Andre Patterson led the Vols with a career-high 21 points ... Watson, who scored his 1,000th career point when he made the free throw on his four-point play, scored 17 points while leading the Vols with five assists ... Major Wingate, who was not expected to play because of a foot injury, scored 12 points in 28 minutes ... Chris Lofton, who sank a one-handed 40-footer at the first half buzzer, added 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds ... Dwayne Mitchell, a transfer from Auburn, led Louisiana with 19 points and 20 rebounds ... The Cajuns outrebounded the Vols 50-32 ... Michael Southall, a 6-foot-11 force in the paint for the Cajuns, was limited to four points and four rebounds in just 16 minutes before fouling out.
Watson Reaches 1,000 Points In Unique Way
C.J. Watson became the 38th player in Tennessee history to reach the 1,000 career point milestone in a 17-point outing against Louisiana-Lafayette (11/22/05) ... Watson, who now has 1,005 career points, reached the milestone when he was fouled on a made 3-pointer and then scored his 1,000th point on the free throw ... Watson became just the third Tennessee player to have 1,000 points and 400 career assists (joining Allan Houston and Tony Harris) ... With 470 career assists, the Las Vegas native has more assists than any member of Tennessee's 1,000-point club.
Five Of UT's Non-Conference Opponents Picked To Win Their Leagues
Tennessee's non-conference schedule features the favorites to win the Big 12, Conference USA, Ohio Valley, Sun Belt and SWAC regular season titles in polls of each respective league's coaches ... Eight of the Vols' 11 non-conference games will be against teams picked to finish no worse than second in their respective divisions ... Additionally, the Vols will play against four players who earned preseason player of the year honors from the league's coaches.
- East Tennessee State was picked to finish second in the Atlantic Sun Conference and was picked to win the league's postseason tournament. Tim Smith was named the league's preseason player of the year.
- Louisiana-Lafayette, a team that has been to the NCAA Tournament the last two years, is picked to win the Sun Belt Conference's West Division. Senior guard Dwayne Mitchell was a preseason first team all-conference pick.
- Murray State is tabbed to win the Ohio Valley Conference while Eastern Kentucky is picked second. Murray State junior Trey Pearson was named the league's preseason player of the year while EKU's Matt Witt earned preseason first team all-conference honors.
- Appalachian State was picked to tie for second in the Southern Conference North Division while D.J. Thompson earned a spot on the Preseason All-Southern Conference Men's Basketball Team.
- Texas is an overwhelming favorite to win the Big 12 Conference title while Oklahoma State is picked fourth. The Longhorns list two preseason first team all-conference selections (Daniel Gibson and P.J. Tucker) while the Cowboys had one (JamesOn Curry).
- Alabama A&M is predicted to win SWAC. Senior guard Obie Trotter was selected the league's preseason player of the year while Joseph Martin earned preseason first team all-conference honors.
- Memphis, led by preseason conference player of the year Rodney Carney, is the unanimous favorite to win the Conference USA title.
Vols' Recruiting Class Ranked Among Top 10 In The Nation
Bruce Pearl's first recruiting class at the University of Tennessee has drawn rave reviews and has been rated as one of the best classes in the Southeastern Conference and among the top 10 classes in the nation. The Vols signed four players during the early signing period in November: Wayne Chism, Duke Crews, Marques Johnson and Josh Tabb.
- Chism, a 6-foot-9 forward from Bolivar, Tenn., is a four-star prospect who is rated the No. 42 overall player in the country. As a junior he led Bolivar Central High School to the Class AA state title while averaging 13.6 points, 10 rebounds, seven blocks and 2.2 assists per game. At the Reebok ABCD Camp last summer he was rated the No. 2 center.
- One of the highest-rated players to sign with the Vols in recent years, Crews is a 6-7 forward from Hampton, Va. Rated the No. 14 player in the nation, he is considered a five-star prospect. As a junior he averaged 16 points per game while leading Bethel High School to a 22-4 record last year. Last summer Crews was rated as the No. 2 player at the 2005 Nike Camp in Indianapolis.
- Ranked among the top-50 players by several scouting services, Johnson is a 6-5 guard from Fort Wayne, Ind. A starter since his freshman season, the two-time all-conference selection has led Snider High School to a 50-15 record in his three years. As a junior he averaged 21 points, 6.2 rebounds and four assists.
- A four-star prospect, Tabb is a 6-4 guard from Harmony Christian Prep in Cincinnati. A two-time Class A All-State selection who is originally from Carbondale, Ill., Tabb averaged 21 points, five assists and six rebounds as a senior while leading Carbondale High School to the 2005 state championship game.
Watson And Lofton Receive Preseason Accolades From SEC Coaches
Tennessee's backcourt combination of C.J. Watson and Chris Lofton were named to the second annual men's basketball preseason All-SEC first and second teams as announced by the Southeastern Conference office October 21 ... Watson, a senior point guard, earned first team honors while Lofton, a sophomore shooting guard, was named to the season team ... The preseason All-SEC first and second teams consist of a minimum of eight players on each squad, voted on by the SEC men's basketball coaches.
Watson Leads SEC In Assists For Second Time In Three Years
C.J. Watson averaged 5.0 assists in 16 Southeastern Conference games in 2004-05 ... It marked the second time in three years the point guard has been the conference's assists leader in league games ... He also led the league with 5.44 assists against SEC foes as a freshman in 2002-03 ... His 470 career assists are fifth all-time at Tennessee ... Watson owns three of the top 13 single-season assist marks in Tennessee history.
Lofton Is A Triples Threat
Chris Lofton, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, took the SEC by storm as a freshman by leading the league in 3-point percentage (.465) and 3-pointers made per game (3.00 3pg) ... He ranked fourth nationally in 3-point accuracy on his way to earning a spot on the SEC All-Freshman team ... His 93 3-pointers were the most ever by an SEC freshman and rank ... With nine 3-pointers already this season, Lofton ranks 10th on Tennessee's career lists with 102.
Straight Shooter: Patterson LLeads Vols In Field Goal Percentage
When Andre Patterson led the Vols with his 56.8 percent field goal shooting in 2004-05, it marked the second school he had led in field goal percentage ... As a sophomore at UCLA in 2002-03 he led the Bruins and Pac-10 Conference with a 60.8 field goal percentage ... As a junior at Tennessee last season, Patterson averaged 7.4 points per game while leading the Vols and ranking 10th in the SEC with 6.2 rebounds per game.
Bradshaw Is Tennessee's Power/Point
With only four scholarship players taller than 6-foot-5 on the roster, junior guard Dane Bradshaw has been called upon to play big, quite literally ... The 6-4 backup point guard has earned starting assignments at power forward for each of the Vols' games this year ... He recorded a career game against East Tennessee State (11/18/05) with 13 points and 12 rebounds to go with six assists ... His 9.0 rebounds per game lead the team this season while his 10.0 points are sixth ... Playing in the paint isn't anything new for the Memphis native ... In 2005 he drew difficult defensive assignments by guarding 6-foot-8, 252-pound Brandon Bass against LSU (2/5/05) and 6-foot-10 Jermareo Davidson of Alabama (2/9/05).
Asumnu Hopes To Build On Strong Finish To 2005
Senior guard/forward Stanley Asumnu started his senior season like he ended his junior year ... The Houston native scored a career-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting in the Vols' season-opening win over East Tennessee State (11/18/05) ... In two games he is averaging 14.5 points per game ... The ultra-athletic Asumnu scored 24 points in 27 minutes of playing time over Tennessee's final four games of the 2005 season ... Against Georgia (3/5/05), the 6-foot-5 Asumnu scored a career-high 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field in just 10 minutes of action.
Wingate Plays Through Pain
Major Wingate wasn't going to let anything stop him from playing against Louisiana-Lafayette Tuesday, Nov. 22 ... After suffering a foot injury in practice two days earlier that left him on crutches, Wingate spent the next two nights in the training room rehabbing the injury so he could play ... When it came time to play, Wingate was there standing in the center circle ready for the jump ball ... The junior center from Florence, S.C., scored 12 points and blocked three shots in 28 minutes of action against the Ragin' Cajuns ... Defensively he held Louisiana's star center Michael Southall in check, allowing jut four points and four rebounds ... On the season he is averaging 11.5 points per game.
JaJuan Smith Already Setting Career Marks
JaJuan Smith, a 6-foot-2 guard from Decatur, Tenn., has seen his role grow from 8.0 minutes per game as a freshman last year to 25.0 minutes per game this season ... Already this year he has tied or established new career marks for scoring (6), rebounds (4), assists (6), steals (3), blocks (1) and minutes played (25) ... Smith, who has been the first player off the bench in each of Tennessee's games this season, is averaging 4.5 points per game ... His five steals is tied for the team lead and eight assists is third on the team.
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 202-84 (.706) in its 19th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 103-25 (.805) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- The Vols are 47-16 against SEC teams at home over the last six seasons.
- UT has won 62 of its last 69 home games against non-conference opponents.
SEC Throwback Week
Each Southeastern Conference school has designated a previous year's uniform to be worn as a part of "SEC Throwback Week" ... The week of February 18-26 (Saturday through Sunday) has been designated as "SEC Throwback Week" ... Additionally, the uniforms will be worn during the SEC Tournament in Nashville ... Tennessee took a poll of fans on UTsports.com to determine which era to choose their uniforms ... The fans selected the Ernie & Bernie era so UT's uniforms will resemble those worn in the 1970s.
Parking
Limited individual game parking for the 2005-06 men's basketball season will be sold for $5 for the following parking lots on a first come, first served basis:
- Lot 23 Corner of Volunteer Blvd and Pat Head Summitt Street
- Lot 23B (next to Music Building) - Corner of Pat Head Summitt Street and Volunteer Blvd.
- Lot 4 and Lot 5 - Phillip Fulmer Way between Thompson-Boling Arena and Neyland Stadium
- Lot 30A - Peyton Manning Pass, off of Volunteer Blvd.
- Lot C15 - Chamique Holdsclaw Drive
- Lot 9A - Volunteer Blvd. between the Humanities Plaza & the Architecture Bldg.
- Lot C18/Staff 7 - accessed from Cumberland Avenue at 11th Street, or from Neyland Drive across from the Tennessee Grill
- Lot G10 on Phillip Fulmer Way between Thompson-Boling Arena and Neyland Stadium
Special parking arrangements for disabled persons may be requested by calling Parking Services at (865) 974-6031. The UT Athletic Department also provides FREE parking at the Ag Campus with a free shuttle service to and from Thompson-Boling Arena. The KAT shuttle begins 1 1/2 hours prior to game time, and runs for one hour postgame.
