SEC Tournament
LSU (16-14) vs.
Tennessee (22-9)

MIKE HAMILTON/BRUCE PEARL RECEPTION IN ATLANTA - MARCH 7

Join us for a reception with Coach Bruce Pearl and Athletics Director Mike Hamilton before the Men's SEC Tournament The University of Tennessee National Alumni Association, UT Athletics Department and Atlanta UT Alumni Chapter invite alumni and friends to a pre-tournament reception with Coach Bruce Pearl and Athletics Director Mike Hamilton. When: Wednesday, March 7 Time: 5 - 7 p.m. Location: Marriott Marquis (Team Headquarters) Skyline South on 10th Floor 265 Peachtree Center Avenue Atlanta, GA 30303 Cost: $25/person in advance $18/children under 12 $30/person at the door (limited availability) Menu: Heavy hors d'oeuvres Click here for a registration form, call 865-974-3011 or email us at bott@utk.edu to reserve your spot! Next up is the BIG ORANGE TAILGATE TOUR! WHERE: TBA WHEN: Sunday, March 11 before the SEC Championship game (contingent on the Vols advancing) 10 a.m. - noon NO reservations are required. Bring your appetite and order from the menu. Cash bar available. Special commemorative buttons will also be for sale. Please visit the UT National Alumni Assoc. or call 865-974-3011

Tennessee Trends

• Tennessee is playing in the late game at the SEC Tournament for the eighth year since 1992 (16 tournaments).
• In the last four games Tennessee has recorded 46 steals on 89 opponent turnovers. Twenty-six of those turnovers have come on inbounds plays. Arkansas had 11 turnovers on inbounds plays alone.
• UT's home attendance of 19,661 this season is the second-largest average in school history. The record for average attendance is 20,823 in 1987-88 -- the first year Thompson-Boling Arena was open.
• JaJuan Smith ranks fourth on UT's single-season steals list with 65 pilfers on the year. One more steal will tie Clarence Swearengen (66 in 1988-90) for third and two ties Tyrone Beaman (67 in 1982-83) for second on the list. Dane Bradshaw is currently tied for sixth with 60 steals this season.
• Chris Lofton has moved into 14th place on Tennessee's career scoring charts with 1,482 points.
• UT has won each of its last four meetings with ranked teams, beating No. 23 Vanderbilt (84-57), No. 20 Kentucky (89-85), No. 25 Alabama (69-66 in ot) and No. 5 Florida (86-76). It is the first time in school history that UT has won four consecutive games against ranked teams.
• Dane Bradshaw ranks second in the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.60), fourth in steals (1.94) and seventh in assists (4.61).
• Bradshaw has moved into ninth on UT's career charts with 364 career assists.
• Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith are the highest scoring duo in the Southeastern Conference. Lofton averages 20.6 points while Smith adds 15.3 points.
• Wayne Chism and Duke Crews are two of the top freshmen rebounders in the SEC. Chism leads all SEC freshmen with 5.5 rebounds and Crews is third with 5.0 boards.
• In league games, Ramar Smith led all SEC freshmen in assists (3.13) and steals (1.50) and was second in scoring (13.0 ppg).
• The Vols are forcing 18.9 turnovers per game. Alabama's 26 turnovers on Feb. 21 are the most by an SEC school in league play this year.
• Tennessee is 29-2 at Thompson-Boling Arena over the last two seasons.
• The Vols are 15-0 in non-conference home games under Bruce Pearl.
• Bruce Pearl is 9-4 against ranked teams while at Tennessee. This year he is 6-3 with wins over No. 5 Florida, No. 15 Oklahoma State, No. 16 Memphis, No. 20 Kentucky, No. 23 Vanderbilt and No. 25 Alabama and losses to No. 2 North Carolina, at No. 5 Ohio State and at No. 1 Florida.
• 11 different Vols have hit a 3-pointer this season. Eight have made at least 10 3-pointers.
• The Vols have made at least one 3-pointer in 315 consecutive games.
• Under Bruce Pearl, UT is 37-2 when leading or tied with five minutes left in the game.
• UT is 28-3 when scoring 80 or more points under the direction of Bruce Pearl.
• UT is 29-14 (.674) when playing before crowds of 20,000 or larger at Thompson-Boling Arena. In 2005-06 the Vols were 4-2 playing in front of 20,000 fans at home.
• Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,389-901-2 in 98 seasons of basketball.
• UT's 620 regular season SEC victories rank third all-time in the SEC. Only Kentucky and Alabama have won more league games.
• Tennessee is 229-86 in its 20th season in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols have winning home records in 18 of their 20 seasons in the facility.
• Tennessee is the only Division I school ever to rank in the top five nationally in attendance for football, men's basketball and women's basketball in the same season. The Vols turned the trick for the third time in 2005-06.

Tennessee In The SEC Tournament
The Vols are 54-42 all-time in the SEC Tournament ... Since the tournament was renewed in 1979, the Vols are 19-27 ... Tennessee's four SEC Tournament titles are the third-most of any league member ... Only Kentucky (25) and Alabama (6) have won the tournament more times ... Only Kentucky (109 wins) and Alabama (55) have more SEC Tournament victories.

Tennessee As The East's No. 3 Seed
The Vols are the SEC East's No. 3 seed for the fourth time since league expansion in 1992 ... The Vols also earned the East's third seed in 1992, 1998 and 2003 ... UT is 2-3 as the third seed.

Tennessee Against The Seeds
Tennessee is 1-0 all-time against the SEC West's No. 6 seed in the SEC Tournament ... UT's only meeting with the West's sixth seed was in 1998 when the Vols defeated LSU 72-65 in Birmingham.

Vols In Atlanta
The Vols are 7-10 all-time in the SEC Tournament when it is played in Atlanta ... UT is 25-42 all-time when playing in Atlanta ... Since 1964-65 the Vols are 8-9 when playing in Atlanta.

Looking At LSU
LSU finished the season by winning two of its last three games, inlcuding a victory over a team ranked in the top five in the Associated Press poll ... The Tigers are 16-14 on the season and 5-11 in SEC play ... LSU upset No. 3 Florida 66-56 Feb. 24 in Baton Rouge ... After a loss at Auburn Feb. 28, the Tigers bounced back with a 61-52 victory over South Carolina to conclude the regular season ... Glen Davis, who had been sidelined for three games with a right quadriceps strain, returned to action with 11 points and seven rebounds against the Gamecocks ... Davis leads the Tigers with 17.8 points and and SEC-best 10.4 rebounds per game ... The 6-foot-9 Davis leads the SEC with 3.74 offensive rebounds per game ... Tasmin Mitchell is second on the squad with 14.7 points and 6.0 rebounds ... LSU ranks second in the SEC by allowing just 62.0 point per game ... The Tigers own a +5.7 rebounding margin ... John Brady is 183-125 in his 10th season in Baton Rouge and 272-202 in his 16th year as a head coach.

The LSU Series
Tennessee leads the all-time series 55-41 ... The Vols own a 27-15 advantage when playing in Knoxville ... Tennessee is 21-24 all-time when playing LSU in Baton Rouge ... Tennessee won this year's regular season meeting 70-67 in Knoxville ... Tennessee has won 10 of the last 13 games in the series but the Tigers have won three of the last five 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.

Last Meeting With LSU
Chris Lofton returned to the lineup after missing four games with an ankle injury and the Vols returned to the win column with a 70-67 victory over LSU Feb. 6, at Thompson-Boling Arena ... Tennessee never trailed after Lofton opened the game by making three free throws after he was fouled shooting a 3-pointer on the Vols' first possession ... UT led by as many as 10 points in the first half but the Tigers went on a 10-2 run to cut it to 36-34 with less than 30 seconds left ... JaJuan Smith ended the half with a conventional three-point play to give the Vols a 39-34 lead at the break ... In the second half, LSU cut the lead to 43-41 but the Vols responded with a 13-2 run to regain control ... LSU cut the lead to six but Jordan Howell ended the Tiger hopes with a 3-pointer with just over four minutes remaining ... JaJuan Smith led the Vols with 15 points and five steals ... Ramar Smith added 14 points and three assists ... UT freshmen Wayne Chism and Duke Crews limited reigning SEC Player of the Year Glen Davis to his lowest scoring total in 72 games with just five points ... Tasmin Mitchell led the Tigers with 23 points ... The Vols recorded a season-high 15 steals on 20 LSU turnovers.

Last Game: Vols Complete Sweep Of Georgia
Tennessee completed the season sweep of the Georgia Bulldogs with a 71-65 victory on Saturday, March 3, at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga. ... The win was Tennessee's sixth in a row against the Bulldogs ... The Vols led by as many as 12 points in the first half but the 'Dogs cut the lead to 33-30 at the half ... In the second half, UGA built a six-point lead and was holding a one-point advantage with four minutes remaining ... Chris Lofton drilled a 25-foot 3-pointer to give the Vols the lead and then stole the ball and took it in for a layup ... Wayne Chism followed with a 3-pointer that gave the Vols a 58-65 lead with less than a minute to go ... UT made eight of 10 free throws in the final minute to secure the win ... JaJuan Smith led all scorers with 19 points to go with five rebounds ... Lofton had 14 points, four rebounds and three assists ... Ramar Smith added 13 points, four rebounds and three assists ... Dane Bradshaw had five steals ... Sundiata Gaines led the Bulldogs with 18 points ... The win gave the Vols a 10-6 SEC record, a mark that was tied for second-best in the conference.

Allan Houston Named SEC Legend
Allan Houston will be one of 12 former SEC greats who will be honored at the 2007 SEC Tournament in Atlanta as a Chick-fil-A SEC Basketball Legend ... Houston will be recognized at halftime of Tennessee's game on Thursday, March 8 ... A two-time second team All-America selection, Houston finished his career as UT's all-time leading scorer with 2,801 points, a figure that ranked 13th in NCAA history at the time ... A four-time first team All-SEC pick, he was named the MVP of the 1991 SEC Tournament ... He was the 11th overall selection in the 1993 NBA Draft and earned NBA All-Star honors as a member of the New York Knicks ... He was a member of the U.S. gold medal winning team at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

Vols Have Won 7 Of 8 Since Lofton's Return
Tennessee has won seven of its eight games since Chris Lofton has returned to the lineup from an ankle injury that forced him to miss four games ... Four of UT's seven wins since his return have come against ranked teams ... The Vols were 1-3 in the three games without Lofton in the lineup ... The junior All-America candidate suffered an ankle injury against South Carolina (1/20/07) and was not able to return to the lineup until the LSU game (2/6/07).

UT 2nd In SEC Wins Last Two Seasons
Tennessee's 22 Southeastern Conference wins over the last two seasons are the second-most in the conference over that period (Florida 23) ... The Vols have finished with the second-best record in the entire SEC in both of Bruce Pearl's two years at Tennessee ... In 2005-06 the Vols won the SEC East with a 12-4 conference mark and then posted a 10-6 league mark that tied for second in the East and in the overall league standings.

Pearls Endow Scholarship In Bradshaw's Name
Bruce and Kim Pearl announced Feb. 27 a $100,000 donation to endow a scholarship in the name of senior basketball player Dane Bradshaw ... The Dane Bradshaw Athletic Scholarship Endowment will be awarded to the male or female student-athlete at the University of Tennessee who best epitomizes the characteristics of the Memphis native ... Bradshaw has inspired the Pearl family as well as the entire Tennessee basketball program with his commitment to academic achievement, athletic excellence, hard work, team leadership and his personal faith.

Lofton Named NABC All-District
Junior guard Chris Lofton was selected to the NABC All-District 7 first team on Feb. 28 ... Lofton is now eligible for the NABC Division I All-America team that will be announced at the conclusion of the regular season ... Other first team All-District 7 selections were: Courtney Lee (Western Kentucky), Derrick Byars (Vanderbilt), Randolph Morris (Kentucky) and Chris Douglas Roberts (Memphis).

Vols Set 3-Point Record
Tennessee's 279 3-pointers this season are the most in school history, breaking the record of 266 set during the 1999-2000 season ... UT has made 279 of its 781 attempts from behind the 3-point arc.

UT About To Steal Another Record
Tennessee's 300 steals are the second-most in school history ... The Vols need one more steal to break the record of 301 set last year ... UT has averaged 9.85 steals per game over the last two years.

Vols' 22 Wins Are Second-Most In UT History
Tennessee's 22 wins this season are tied for the second-most single-season wins in school history ... It is the second consecutive year the Vols have won 20 or more games and the 20th time in school history ... It is the 14th time in 15 years as a head coach Bruce Pearl has won 20 games ... Pearl has averaged 24.1 wins in his 15 years as a head coach and 22.0 in two years at Tennessee.

Pearl Doing Well Against The SEC
No team in the Southeastern Conference has a winning record against Tennessee since Bruce Pearl was named the head coach prior to the 2005-06 season ... Pearl has beaten every SEC team at least one time in his two years in Knoxville.

Lofton Climbing SEC 3-Point Charts
Chris Lofton ranks third in Southeastern Conference history with 297 career 3-pointers ... Lofton, who has made 90 triples this season, ranks second on Tennessee's career charts behind Allan Houston's (1989-93) 346 3-pointers ... Arkansas' Pat Bradley (1995-99) holds the SEC record with 366 triples.

Lofton A Wooden Award Midseason Top 30 Pick
On Jan. 30 the John R. Wooden Award Committee announced the Wooden Award Midseason All-American Team which is composed of the top 30 players who will compete for this season's player of the year award ... The Southeastern Conference lists six candidates for the award ... The 10-player Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced March 27.

Bradshaw Named Captain Of All-Glue Team
Dane Bradshaw has been named the captain of SI.com's eighth annual All-Glue team, a squad picked by Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis to recognize the players who do the little things that make teams stick together ... It was the second time that he has been selected to the All-Glue team, having also earned the honor last year ... Joining Bradshaw on the 2007 All-Glue Team are Kyle Shiloh (Nevada), Dominique Kirk (Texas A&M), Othello Hunter (Ohio State) and Marcus Landry (Wisconsin).

UT Leads The SEC In Scoring
Tennessee is leads the SEC and ranks 11th nationally in scoring offense with 80.1 points per game ... Leading the league in scoring is nothing new for a Bruce Pearl coached team ... Pearl's teams have led their conference in scoring each of the last seven seasons ... The last time one of his squads did not lead the league in scoring was in 1998-99 when Southern Indiana finished second in the Great Lakes Valley Conference with 81.2 points per game.

Vols Post Undefeated Record At TBA
With an 86-76 victory over fifth-ranked Florida in their final home game, Tennessee posted a 16-0 record at Thompson-Boling Arena this season.

• It is the first time the Vols have been perfect at home since the 1975-76 team went 13-0 at Stokely Athletic Center.
• It is the 14th time in school history the Vols have been unbeaten at home.
• The 16 wins are the most single-season wins in Thompson-Boling Arena history.
• It is the first time the Vols have had an undefeated home record at Thompson-Boling Arena.
• The 16 wins tie the school record for most home wins in a season. The 1984-85 posted a 16-3 record at Stokley Athletic Center but two of those wins came in the National Invitation Tournament.

Tough Schedule
Tennessee's schedule ranked as the fourth toughest in the nation according to CollegeRPI.com on March 5 ... The Vols' schedule has featured six teams currently ranked and another two receiving votes in the Associated Press poll ... According to the current poll, UT has played No. 1 Ohio State, No. 5 Memphis, No. 6 Florida (two times), No. 8 North Carolina, No. 15 Texas and No. 19 Butler.

Tough Schedule Part 2: The Rankings

• Tennessee has played nine games against ranked teams this season. UT has won six of those games.
• Each of the Vols' three losses to ranked teams came away from home and to teams ranked in the top five of the Associated Press poll. UT lost to No. 2 North Carolina (87-101) in New York, at No. 5 Ohio State (66-68) and at No. 1 Florida (78-94).
• UT has won each of its last four games against ranked teams, beating No. 23 Vanderbilt (84-57), No. 20 Kentucky (89-85), No. 25 Alabama (69-66 in ot) and No. 5 Florida (86-76).

Freshmen Playing Key Roles For The Vols
Tennessee's four freshmen have been an important part of Tennessee's success this year ... Three of UT's top five scorers are freshmen ... Each of UT's four freshmen is averaging at least 17 minutes of action per game .... Four times this season UT has had three freshmen in the starting lineup ... It is the first time since the 1996-97 season the Vols have had three freshmen in the starting lineup for a game.

Vols Have Started Three Freshmen
UT has had three freshmen in the starting lineup for four games this season ... It is the most freshmen in the starting lineup for the Vols since the 1996-97 season when four Vols started an SEC Tournament game ... Ramar Smith, Wayne Chism and Duke Crews started UT's game against Ole Miss (1/24/07) and then Josh Tabb joined Smith and Chism in the starting lineup for the Kentucky (1/28/07), Georgia (1/31/07) and Florida (2/3/07) games ... South Carolina is the only other SEC school to have three freshmen in the starting lineup for a game this season (one player was a redshirt freshman) ... The four freshmen who drew starting assignments for Tennessee's 1997 SEC Tournament game were Cornelius Jackson, C.J. Black, Charles Hathaway and Vegas Davis.

Chism Is Third Vol To Earn SEC Frosh Honor
Wayne Chism was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Feb. 12 after he recorded his third career double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds in UT's win over 23rd-ranked Vanderbilt (2/10/07) ... Chism became the third UT player to earn SEC Freshman of the Week honors this year ... Ramar Smith has earned the honor two times (Jan. 8 and Feb. 5) and Duke Crews has won it one time (Dec. 24) ... UT is the only team in the conference to have three different freshmen win the weekly award this season.

Vols Bring The Pressure
Tennessee's pressure defense has made the simple act of inbounding the ball a headache for its opponents ... The Vols have forced 167 turnovers off inbounds plays, most of which are coming off their press ... Four times their opponents have had 10 or more turnovers just from trying to inbound the ball ... UT is forcing an average of 18.9 turnovers per game.

• 28 times the pressure has caused a timeout.
• 19 5-second counts have been called on UT's foes.
• Coppin State (11/19/06) committed a season-high 13 turnovers on inbounds plays alone.
• No. 25 Alabama (2/21/07) had 26 turnovers, including nine on inbounds plays.
• Arkansas (2/24/07) turned the ball over 24 times, 11 were on inbounds plays.

Vols In The NCAA Stats
UT is prominently listed among the national leaders according to the February 25 NCAA statistics.

• Steals per game: 9.8 spg / 9th
• Scoring offense: 80.2 ppg / 11th
• 3-pointers per game: 9.0 3pg / 18th
• Assists per game: 15.6 apg / 47th
• Points per game: Chris Lofton - 20.8 ppg / 14th
• 3-pointers per game: Chris Lofton - 3.4 3pg / 11th
• 3-point percentage: Chris Lofton - 41.9% / 36th
• Steals per game: JaJuan Smith - 2.2 spg / 32nd
• Steals per game: Dane Bradshaw - 1.8 spg / 88th
• Assists per game: Dane Bradshaw - 4.6 apg / 82nd

Scholarly Vols
Nine of the 17 players on Tennessee's roster have earned the right to wear the VOLScholar patch on their jersey following the fall semester ... The VOLScholar program, an initiative of UT's Thornton Athletics Student Life Center in cooperation with the men's and women's athletics departments, is a comprehensive academic and citizenship-building program that has gained enthusiastic support from several of UT's athletic teams ... Student-athletes earn the right to wear the VOLScholar patch by achieving a 3.0 grade-point average in the previous fall and/or spring semester.

Bomb Squad Is Back
Tennessee returned 80.3 percent of its SEC-leading 8.80 3-point field goals per game from 2005-06 ... Leading the way is junior guard Chris Lofton who set a single-season school record with 114 triples in 2005-06 ... JaJuan Smith was second on the team with 61 treys while Dane Bradshaw contributed 20 3-pointers and Jordan Howell had 15 ... Tennessee's 264 3-pointers in 2005-06 fell two shy of tying the school record set in 1999-2000.

• UT is second in the SEC with 9.00 3-pointers per game.
• Lofton leads the SEC with 3.33 triples per game.
• JaJuan Smith is fourth in the SEC with 2.52 3-pointers per game.
• Tennessee's 15 3-pointers against second-ranked North Carolina (11/24/06) came just one short of tying the school record of 16.

Attendance Continues To Grow
Just one year after having the largest increase in average attendance in the nation, Tennessee continued to see its attendance grow ... In 2005-06 the crowds at UT's home games increased by 5,504 fans per game to an average of 17,954 ... This year the crowds increased by an additional 1,707 fans per game for an average of 19,661 ... In the two years that Bruce Pearl has been coach at Tennessee, attendance has grown by 7,211 per game.

• Tennessee's home attendance of 19,661 is the second-largest in school history. The record for average attendance is 20,823 in 1987-88 -- the first year Thompson-Boling Arena was open.

Bench Contributing
Tennessee's bench has played a key role in the Vols' success early this season ... UT's bench is averaging 21.4 points per game ... Two times this season the bench has contributed at least 40 points in a game ... Last year UT got 21.0 points per game from its bench ... Part of the reason for the production off the bench is that no one averages 30 minutes per game.

Bernard King's Number 53 Retired
Tennessee retired Bernard King's No. 53 at halftime of the Vols' Feb. 13 game against Kentucky ... King became the first men's basketball player at UT to have his number retired ... Considered one of the best players in SEC history, King played at UT from 1974-77, earning first team All-America honors in each of his three seasons ... A three-time SEC Player of the Year, he led the Vols to the 1977 SEC championship with a 22-6 overall record and a 16-2 mark in the league ... The Brooklyn, N.Y., native finished his career ranking second all-time at UT with 1,962 career points and 1,004 rebounds ... Following his junior season he was drafted in the first round (seventh overall selection) by the New Jersey Nets ... During his 14-year career in the NBA he was a two-time first team All-NBA selection, four-time NBA All-Star and finished his career with a scoring average of 22.5 points per game.

UT To Make Summer European Trip
The Tennessee basketball team will travel to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria on a five-game summer tour from August 8-19, 2007 ... The Vols will play three games in Prague and one in both Bratislava and Vienna ... Vacation packages must be booked by May 1 and are available through Basketball Travelers Inc. ... Fans interested in joining the Vols can get more information about the trip at www.basketballtravelers.com.

Prince Joins Vols
Bruce Pearl announced Jan. 16 that J.P. Prince has enrolled at Tennessee and will join the Vols' basketball team ... A 6-foot-6 guard, Prince will be allowed to practice with the team immediately and will be eligible to play as a sophomore beginning in January 2008 ... Prince transferred to Tennessee from the University of Arizona where he made three appearances for the nationally-ranked Wildcats this season ... As a freshman last year he averaged 2.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 28 games ... At White Station High School in Memphis he led the Spartans to a 142-12 record and three state championships (2002-04) ... He was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Tennessee as a senior in 2005 after averaging 27.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game.