University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee vs. LSU - Game Preview
February 03, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 3, 2005
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| LSU Tigers vs. Tennessee Volunteers
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TV LIVE STATS RANKINGS: THE COACHES: LSU Tigers
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Tennessee Trends
- Brandon Crump, who suffered a sprained ankle early in UT's game at Louisville (1/22/05), has missed Tennessee's last three games. Crump, who is expected to miss 2-4 weeks of action, is the first Vol to miss back-to-back games because of an injury since the 2001-02 season when Ron Slay missed the Vols' final 15 games with a knee injury.
- Major Wingate has picked up his game since Crump's injury, averaging 10.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in UT's last four games.
- C.J. Watson, Chris Lofton and Andre Patterson are the only UT players who have not missed a game this year. Watson and Lofton are the only ones to earn starts in all of Tennessee's games.
- The Vols have used nine or fewer players in each of their last seven games.
- Tennessee has scored 65 or more points just one time in conference action (83-76 overtime win at Florida).
- Shot selection and controlling the tempo have been a focus for Tennessee this season. The Vols are 5-2 when taking 50 or fewer shots this year.
- Tennessee just completed a stretch where the Vols played five of six games on the road. The Vols played at South Carolina (Jan. 15), at Florida (Jan. 19), at Louisville (Jan. 22), vs. Kentucky (Jan. 25), at Auburn (Jan. 29) and at Vanderbilt (Feb. 2) during the three week period.
- Tennessee is 7-1 when leading or tied at halftime.
- Four Vols are shooting better than 50 percent from the field. Brandon Crump (59.4), Andre Patterson (59.1), Major Wingate (51.3) and Chris Lofton (50.3) are all making at least half of their shots.
- Four different players have led the Vols in scoring this season. Scooter McFadgon (6 times), Chris Lofton (6), C.J. Watson (5) and Brandon Crump (4) have all led UT in scoring.
- Brandon Crump became the eighth Vol ever to have 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocked shots.
- C.J. Watson became the sixth Tennessee player to have 400 career assists when he dished out seven assists against Kentucky (1/25/05). He ranks sixth all-time at UT with 406 career assists.
- UT's starters have accounted for 81.3 percent (1,188 of 1,462 points) of the Vols' scoring this season.
- Ten different Vols have made a 3-pointer this season.
- More than 250 people from Maysville, Ky., made the trip to Knoxville to watch native son Chris Lofton play against Vanderbilt (1/8/05).
- 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, Alabama State and Louisville made NCAA appearances in 2004.
- Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,341-877-2 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.
- UT needs three home wins this season to reach the 200-win milestone in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols are 197-81 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 | LSU |
| 69.6 | Points | 76.7 |
| 69.5 | Opponent Points | 73.4 |
| +0.1 | Scoring Margin | +3.3 |
| .461 | Field Goal % | .461 |
| .452 | Opponent Field Goal % | .461 |
| .381 | Three-Point % | .368 |
| .370 | Opponent Three-Point % | .395 |
| .695 | Free Throw % | .761 |
| 33.0 | Rebounds | 35.9 |
| 33.1 | Opponent Rebounds | 31.6 |
| -0.1 | Rebounding Margin | +4.3 |
| 13.8 | Assists | 15.4 |
| 13.9 | Turnovers | 13.9 |
| 3.5 | Blocks | 4.3 |
| 7.2 | Steals | 7.1 |
| 10-11 | Record | 12-6 |
| Individual Statistical Leaders | ||
| Tennessee | Stat Category | LSU |
| McFadgon, 14.9 | Points | Bass, 17.4 |
| Patterson, 6.2 | Rebounds | Davis, 8.8 |
| Watson, 4.8 | Assists | Minor, 5.5 |
| Crump, .594 | Field Goal % | Bass, .579 |
| Lofton, .491 | Three-Point % | Hudson, .411 |
| Lofton, .862 | Free Throw % | Mitchell, .857 |
Looking At LSU
Winners of three in a row, LSU enters Saturday's contest with a 12-6 overall record and a 5-2 mark in SEC action ... The Tigers are fresh off a 95-79 win at Georgia on Wednesday ... It was the Tigers' first road win of the season after dropping their first four road contests ... All five LSU starters scored in double figures against the Bulldogs while Antonio Hudson had a game-high 26 points ... The Tigers own one of the biggest front line's in the SEC with 6-foot-8, 252-pound sophomore forward Brandon Bass and 6-foot-9, 310-pound freshman forward Glen Davis ... All five of LSU's starters are averaging double figure scoring on the season ... Bass, who leads the Tigers with 17.4 points while ranking second with 8.7 rebounds per game, was named the SEC Player of the Week on Jan. 31 after averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds in wins over Mississippi State and Mississippi ... Bass is leading the SEC with his 57.9 field goal percentage and ranks fourth with 1.78 blocks per game ... Darrel Mitchell, a 5-foot-11 junior guard, is second on the team with 13.9 points per game ... Davis ranks second in the SEC with 8.8 rebounds per game while contributing 13.0 rebounds in his rookie campaign ... Tack Minor leads the SEC with 5.50 assists per game while also averaging 11.0 points ... LSU is the top free throw shooting team in the league, making 76.1 percent of its charity tosses ... The Tigers bring one of the highest scoring offenses in the SEC (76.7 ppg ranks third in the league) but have also been giving up their share of points (73.4 points allowed rank 11th in the SEC) ... LSU is coached by John Brady who is 132-98 in his eighth year in Baton Rouge and 221-175 in his 14th year as a head coach.
The LSU Series
Tennessee leads the all-time series 53-40 ... The Vols own a 25-15 advantage when playing in Knoxville ... Tennessee is 21-23 all-time when playing LSU in Baton Rouge ... LSU won last year's meeting in Baton Rouge 84-67 ... Tennessee has won eight of the last 10 games in the series but the Tigers have won the last two meetings... The series dates back to the 1933 season when the two teams met in the second round of the SEC Tournament in Atlanta ... UT and LSU have played each other eight times in the SEC Tournament with the Vols winning six of those meetings.
Kentucky Connections
Saturday's game will feature a pair of "Mr. Basketball" winners from the state of Kentucky ... Tennessee freshman Chris Lofton was named Kentucky's Mr. Basketball in 2004 while LSU's Ross Neltner earned the honor in 2003 ... In all, there are four Kentucky Mr. Basketball's currently playing in the SEC with UK listing the others (Josh Carrier in 2001 and Brandon Stockton in 2002).
Last Meeting With LSU
LSU's hot shooting spelled doom for the Vols in 84-67 Tiger win in Baton Rouge Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2004 ... The Tigers shot a blistering 60.4 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from 3-point range in earning their fifth SEC win of the season ... Darrel Mitchell scored a career-high 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range to lead the Tigers ... Tennessee trailed by just two points after Brandon Crump hit a 3-pointer early in the second half ... LSU fought back to take a 47-40 lead two minutes later ... Scooter McFadgon's 3-pointer with 13:44 left cut the lead to 49-45 but the Vols could get no closer as the Tigers outscored them 35-22 the rest of the way ... McFadgon led the Vols with 21 points while Jemere Hendrix tied a career-high with 12 points to go with seven rebounds ... Mitchell led five Tigers in double figure scoring ... Jaime Lloreda had 18 points and 12 rebounds despite battling foul trouble all night ... Tennessee was held to season lows with seven free throws made on 11 attempts.
Last Game: Vols Fall At Vandy
Vanderbilt withstood a late Tennessee run to sweep the season series with a 67-62 victory Wednesday, Feb. 2, at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville ... Vanderbilt freshman Alex Gordon, who was making just his second career start, led all scorers with 30 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 5-of-7 from 3-point range ... The Vols jumped out to a 15-6 lead early in the game but Gordon shot the Commodores back into the game, drilling a 3-pointer to tie the score 21-21 with 4:10 left in the half ... Vanderbilt closed the half on an 11-3 run to take a 32-27 advantage at the break ... The Commodores led by as many as nine points (42-33) in the second half but the Vols cut the lead to 58-57 on a three-point play by C.J. Watson with 2:31 remaining in the game ... That was all the closer UT could get as Corey Smith drilled a 3-pointer with just under two minutes left to give the Commodores a two-possession lead ... Chris Lofton led the Vols with 16 points while Watson added 14 and Scooter McFadgon had an even dozen ... Smith was the only other 'Dore in double figures with 19 points.
Watson Named Finalist For Cousy Award
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced Jan. 14 that Tennessee junior guard C.J. Watson is one of 19 finalists for the 2005 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award ... This is the second year that the Cousy Award, which considers outstanding point guards from all three NCAA divisions, has been given ... Watson is the only other player from the Southeastern Conference listed among the finalists ... The award will be presented at a press conference at the Final Four in St. Louis. Mo., on April 4.
Tennessee Ranked Among Greatest Basketball Programs Of All Time
Tennessee was ranked as the 77th "Greatest Basketball Program of All Time" by Street & Smith's ... The Vols were one of six teams from the Southeastern Conference that were ranked in the publication that took into account factors such as postseason appearances and wins, conference championships, all-time wins and NBA Draft picks ... Kentucky (1), Arkansas (8), LSU (50), Alabama (54), Florida (96) and Mississippi State (99) were all ranked among the top 100 programs by the magazine.
Time Focusing On Shot Selection Paying 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 15 games since then the Vols have converted 46.8 percent (368-of-786) of their field goals ... UT has shot 50 percent or better from the field in seven of its last 15 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).
Shirts vs. Skins
On the Monday (1/10/05) following Tennessee's loss to Vanderbilt, head coach Buzz Peterson told the team that they would have to bring their own clothes to practice in, that they had to earn the right to wear their Tennessee gear again ... The result of the motivational tactic was a 64-63 upset of 11th-ranked Mississippi State on Wednesday, Jan. 12 ... When Peterson arrived at practice on Thursday, the team's captains told him that they wouldn't earn the right to wear their normal practice gear until they won a road game and the team continued to practice against each other as shirts against skins ... After earning an 83-76 overtime at Florida (1/19/05) the team voted to continue wearing their own clothes for practice.
Buzz's Bombers
Tennessee's starting backcourt of C.J. Watson, Scooter McFadgon have combined to make 124 3-pointers this season ... As a unit, they are shooting 39.4 percent (124-of-315) from beyond the 3-point arc ... Lofton, a freshman, is leading the Southeastern Conference with his 49.1 percent (57-of-116) 3-point shooting ... Watson is shooting 34.8 percent (32-of-92) from 3-point range while McFadgon is converting 32.7 percent (35-of-107) of his triples.
Lofton Among Nation's Top 3-Point Shooters
Freshman Chris Lofton arrived on the UT campus with a reputation as an extraordinary 3-point shooter ... In just the second game of his career he scored 22 points on 6-of-10 3-point shooting against nationally-ranked North Carolina at the Maui Invitational ... Since then, he has established himself as one of the best 3-point shooters in the nation.
- Lofton ranks fifth in the Feb. 1 NCAA statistics with a 49.5 percent (53-of-107) success rate behind the arc ... He currently leads the Southeastern Conference with his 49.1 percent (57-of-116) from 3-point range ... He is averaging 2.71 3-pointers per game.
- His 49.1 percent (57-of-116) 3-point shooting qualifies him for UT's single season record books ... A minimum of 100 attempts is needed to qualify ... Jon Higgins has held the school record since making 48.6 percent (53-of-109) of his 3-pointers as a sophomore in 2000-01.
- Against New Mexico (12/18/04) he tied a school record by going 5-for-5 from 3-point range.
- Two times this season he has made six 3-pointers in a game (against North Carolina and at Florida).
- 65.5 percent (57-of-87) of Lofton's field goals this season have come behind the 3-point line.
- His 12.2 points per game ranks second on the UT roster this season. In conference game he is averaging 12.5 points per game ... He has led Tennessee in scoring six times.
- His 50.3 percent shooting from the field is fourth 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 Running The Point
Entering his junior season C.J. Watson had accumulated more assists over the previous two seasons (305) than any other player in the Southeastern Conference during that period ... This year the Las Vegas, Nev., native ranks fifth in the SEC with 4.81 assists per game ... He currently ranks third on the team with 12.0 points per game.
- His 34.8 percent (32-of-92) 3-point shooting ranks second on the team ... He ranks eighth all-time at Tennessee with 100 career 3-pointers made ... Against Campbell (12/23/04) he tied a school record for 3-point percentage in a game by going 5-of-5 from behind the 3-point arc.
- His 406 career assists are sixth all-time at Tennessee ... He became just the sixth Vol to record 400 career assists ... Recorded a career-high 10 assists against Nebraska (12/30/04) and had his best effort against a conference opponent with nine assists against Mississippi State (1/12/05).
- Watson's 40 steals through 21 games leads the Vols ... His 1.90 steals per game rank fifth in the SEC ... Watson 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 at the Maui Invitational.
McFadgon Leading Vols In Scoring
Scooter McFadgon has led the Vols in scoring in each of his two seasons in Knoxville ... After leading Tennessee and ranking fourth in the SEC with 17.6 last season, McFadgon is leading the Vols with 14.9 points per game in his senior season ... Six times this season he has led the Vols in scoring, including a season-high 23 point effort in Tennessee's overtime victory at Florida (1/19/05) ... He has scored in double figures in 18 of his 20 games this season.
- McFadgon ranks eighth all-time at Tennessee with 100 career 3-pointers made and ninth with 278 career 3-point attempts.
- After missing two free throws in the season-opener against Stanford (11/22/04), 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 ... It was the second-longest streak for him as he had a streak of 32 consecutive free throws made last year.
Crump Reaching Milestones This Season
Brandon Crump's senior season has been a year full of milestones ... The Houston, Texas, native has reached the 1,000 point mark, 600 rebounds and 100 blocked shot marks this year ... The 6-foot-10 senior forward has scored 1,170 points in 106 career games ... He currently ranks third on the team with 11.6 points and is second with 5.4 rebounds this year.
- He 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 ... He is the first Vol to reach 1,000 career points since Ron Slay accomplished the milestone in the 2002-03 season.
- He is the eighth player in Tennessee history to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks ... Crump needs eight rebounds to become the 23rd Vol to record 600 in a career.
- He ranks 31st all-time at Tennessee with 1,170 career points and 11th with 104 career rejections.
- Crump has overcome a slow start to his senior season ... 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) ... He 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 13 games he is averaging 12.7 points on 64.1 percent (66-of-103 shooting).
- Crump suffered a sprained left ankle just two minutes into the Louisville game (1/22/05) and did not return ... He is expected to miss 2-4 weeks due to the injury.
Patterson's Up To His Old Tricks
Andre Patterson's 6.2 rebounds per game leads Tennessee and his 59.1 percent shooting from the field is second on the squad ... The transfer from UCLA, who is in his first season playing for UT, 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) ... Three times this season he has recorded double figure rebounding marks, including two times against SEC opponents.
Bradshaw Stepping Up
After averaging just 12.4 minutes in UT's first 12 games, Dane Bradshaw has seen his role increase with the start of conference play ... In eight SEC games the sophomore guard is averaging 18.0 minutes per game ... In non-conference games he averaged 1.7 assists but has improved that to 2.3 in league games.
Wingate Moves Into Starting Lineup
Looking for a bigger lineup, Buzz Peterson inserted Major Wingate in the Vols' starting lineup at Florida (1/19/05) ... In his five games this year as a starter, Wingate is averaging 9.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 29.2 minutes per game ... Wingate had earned 15 starting assignments as a freshman last season.
- When Brandon Crump went down with an ankle injury early in the game at Louisville (1/22/05), Wingate responded with his best game as a Volunteer ... The Florence, S.C., native scored 13 points and had eight rebounds against the Cardinals.
- Since Crump's injury, Wingate ranks third on the team with 10.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in the four games.
- Since moving into the starting lineup he has responded with career marks ... Against Louisville (1/22/05) he had career marks in six categories including scoring (13 points) and rebounding (8 boards) ... He improved his scoring mark in his next game against Kentucky (1/25/05) with 14 points against the seventh-ranked Wildcats.
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.
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.
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 197-82 (.706) in its 18th season in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Since the 1998 season, the Vols are 98-23 (.810) in Thompson-Boling Arena.
- Tennessee is 84-21 (.800) 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 44-16 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.
