The Vols are No. 9 Seed in the East Region

• Tennessee is playing in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season and the eighth time in 12 years. In 17 seasons as a head coach, this is coach Bruce Pearl's 15th NCAA Tournament appearance.
• In its last outing, Tennessee lost to Mississippi State 64-61 in the SEC Tournament Championship Game. It was UT's first championship game appearance since 1991.
• With its SEC Tournament quarterfinal victory over Alabama on March 13, Tennessee posted its fourth straight 20-win campaign and its 22nd all-time 20-win season. Coach Bruce Pearl has now led his teams to seven straight 20-win seasons.
• Tennessee under coach Bruce Pearl owns a 5-3 (.625) record in the NCAA Tournament.
• Bruce Pearl enters the NCAA Tournament two victories shy of logging his 100th win at Tennessee.
• This is the third time in Bruce Pearl's four seasons at Tennessee that the Vols will face Oklahoma State. The Vols lost to the Cowboys 89-73 in Oklahoma City on Dec. 22, 2005, and later beat OSU 79-77 in Nashville, on Dec. 18, 2006. Those are the only two meetings between the programs.
• For the third straight season, Tennessee ranked fourth nationally in average attendance (20,483). The Vols drew 10 crowds of at least 20,000 this season and have drawn 30 such crowds since 2005-06.
• The Vols swept four of five divisional opponents for the third time since the SEC went to divisional play (1999, 2006). Tennessee swept Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Vanderbilt this season.
• Tennessee is the only team in the storied, 76-year history of the Southeastern Conference to finish the regular season with a better SEC record than Kentucky for four straight years.

Tennessee Trends

• 2008-09 marks Tennessee's 100th season of varsity basketball. The season-long centennial celebration included the selection of a Tennessee Basketball All- Century Team, which was honored Feb. 14.
• Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,442-920-2 in 100 seasons of basketball.
• Tennessee's 46 regular-season SEC wins over the past four seasons are the most among all league teams.
• In all eight of his seasons as a Division I head coach, Bruce Pearl's teams have won at least 10 games in conference play.
• Tennessee's 78.5 points per game rank second the SEC this year (19th nationally). Bruce Pearl's teams have led their respective league in scoring in 15 of Pearl's 16 full seasons as a head coach. South Carolina's 78.7 ppg currently lead the conference.
• Tennessee is the top offensive rebounding team in the SEC, averaging 14.4 per game.
• UT's 16.3 assists per game rank 17th nationally among Division I teams and second in the SEC.
• Bobby Maze (1.9), Tyler Smith (1.6) and J.P. Prince (1.5) each rank among the top eight in the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Tyler Smith (3.4), Bobby Maze (3.2) and J.P. Prince (3.2) each rank among the top 11 in the SEC in assists per game.
• Junior wing J.P. Prince had a team-high 59 assists in SEC play. He averaged 3.7 apg in SEC play to rank sixth in the league.
• Prince also shot a stellar .629 (61-of-97) from the floor in SEC play this season.
• The Vols are 20-1 this season when they shoot a higher percentage than their opponent.
• Tennessee is 20-6 this season when it holds its opponent under 80 points. The Vols are 1-6 when the opposition scores 80 or more.
• The Vols are 28-2 in non-conference home games under Bruce Pearl.
• Under Bruce Pearl, UT is 91-9 when leading or tied with five minutes left in the game.
• UT is 62-6 when scoring 80 or more points under the direction of Bruce Pearl.
• Bruce Pearl is 18-10 against ranked teams at UT.
• Tennessee is 55-7 at Thompson-Boling Arena since the start of the 2005-06 season.
• UT's 644 regular-season SEC victories rank third all-time in the SEC. Only Kentucky and Alabama have won more league games.
• Tennessee is 255-91 in 22 seasons in Thompson- Boling Arena. The Vols have posted winning home records in 18 of their 21 full seasons in the facility.

Tennessee In The NCAA Tournament

The Vols are making their 17th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament ... It is their fourth straight appearance and their eighth in the last 12 years ... Tennessee has a 13-17 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament.

The Vols are 9-6 all-time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and have won each of their last three first-round games.

Volunteers Boast The SEC's Longest Active Streak Of NCAA Tournament Bids

The Vols now have the longest active NCAA Tournament streak in the Southeastern Conference, earning its fourth consecutive bid under coach Bruce Pearl ... Kentucky's streak of 16 consecutive appearances was snapped this season ... Tennessee's longest NCAA Tournament streak is five seasons from 1979- 83 ... UT previously went to the tournament four consecutive times from 1998-2001.

Bruce Pearl In The NCAA Tournament

Bruce Pearl has now led his team to the NCAA Tournament for the 15th time in 17 years as a head coach ... Pearl owns a 23-13 career record in the NCAA Tournament ... He led Southern Indiana to a 16-8 NCAA Tournament record that included an NCAA Division II national championship in 1995 and a runner-up finish in 1994 ... He has a 7-5 record in NCAA Division I Tournaments ... Pearl has led his team to the round of 16 in three of the last the last four years ... In 2005, he directed UW-Milwaukee to the Sweet 16 and repeated the feat each of the last two years with Tennessee.

Tennessee In The 8/9 Game

Friday marks the sixth time in its NCAA Tournament history that Tennessee has played in the 8/9 game ... The Vols are 3-2 all-time in that first-round game ... In 1982, UT's only other tournament as a No. 9 seed, the Vols defeated No. 8 seed Southwestern Louisiana, 61-57 ... The Big Orange have been the No. 8 seed four times, winning the first-round game against the No. 9 seed twice ... The Vols defeated Eastern Kentucky 97-81 in 1979 and Marquette, 57-56 in 1983 as a No. 8 seed ... UT lost to Illinois State 82- 81 in overtime in 1998 and also lost to Charlotte 70- 63 in a game played at University of Dayton Arena in 2001.

The Big Orange In The "Gem City"

Tennessee has played three previous games in Dayton, Ohio, including two at the University of Dayton Arena ... The Vols have a 1-2 all-time record in the "Gem City" ... UT first played in Dayton on Dec. 21, 1950, losing to the Dayton Flyers 76-61 in the University of Dayton Fieldhouse ... The Vols returned in 1992 and played the Flyers in Dayton Arena, winning 77-61 ... UT's last trip to Dayton came during the 2001 NCAA Tournament where, coincidently, the Vols played in the 8/9 game, dropping a 70-63 decision to No. 9 seed Charlotte.

Schedule Builds Tournament Preparedness

One third of Tennessee's games entering the NCAA Tournament (11 of 33) were played against teams who earned bids to the Big Dance ... Thos teams are Chattanooga, Gonzaga (twice), Kansas, LSU, Marquette, Memphis, Mississippi State (twice), Siena and Temple ... The Vols went 4-7 in those games, and those nine NCAA Tournament teams boast an average seed of No. 8 ... Entering March Madness, UT has faced six conference regular-season champions (Kansas, Big 12; Memphis, C-USA; Siena, MAAC; UT Martin, OVC; LSU, SEC; Gonzaga, WCC) and six conference tournament champions (Temple, A-10; Memphis, C-USA; Siena, MAAC; Chattanooga, Southern; Mississippi State, SEC; Gonzaga, WCC).

Tennessee-Oklahoma State Notes

Both schools are celebrating their 100th season of men's basketball ... Tennessee owns a 14-14 all-time record against current members of the Big 12 Conference, including a 3-2 mark under coach Bruce Pearl ... Third-year UT assistant coach Steve Forbes spent two seasons in the Big 12 at Texas A&M before coming to Tennessee ... Cowboys assistant coach Chris Ferguson served as an assistant coach at Tennessee for eight seasons from 1997-2005 under head coaches Jerry Green and Buzz Peterson (he held the title of associate head coach his final two seasons on Rocky Top) ... Ferguson was on the UT sideline the last time the Vols played in University of Dayton Arena (2001 NCAA Tournament) ... First-year OSU assistant Butch Pierre also is quite familiar with SEC hoops, having spent 11 seasons at LSU, including six as the associate head coach (and a portion of last season as interim head coach, going 5-5) ... Tennessee junior point guard Bobby Maze played at Oklahoma as a freshman in 2006-07 and helped lead the Sooners to a season split with the Cowboys ... UT and OSU each participated in the 2008 Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla., earlier this season, though the teams never squared off against one another ... The Cowboys went 1-2 at that tournament, while Tennessee went 2-1 and finished as runner-up ... Against common opponents this season (Gonzaga, Kansas and Siena), Tennessee went 1-3 and Oklahoma State went 1-2 ... Oklahoma State is No. 19 in the official NCAA RPI, and Tennessee is No. 25.

The Last Clash With Oklahoma State

Senior Dane Bradshaw's tip-in with 1.9 seconds gave Tennessee a 79-77 win over the 15th-ranked Cowboys on Dec. 18, 2006, and ended Oklahoma State's 11-game winning streak to open the 2005-06 season ... Bradshaw caused UT's final possession with a steal with less than 20 seconds remaining ... The Vols opened the game with a 16-6 run, but the Cowboys responded with an 11-0 rally to take a 17- 16 lead ... The two teams exchanged leads until OSU finished the half on a 6-1 run to take a 43-37 advantage into the locker room ... The Cowboys held their lead through most of the second half until a Bradshaw jumper with 6:29 left gave the Vols a 70- 69 edge ... There were six lead changes and three ties over the final six minutes, 30 seconds of the game ... Bradshaw gave the Vols a 75-74 lead on a free throw with 2:55 left, and point guard Ramar Smith extended UT's lead to three points with a basket with just less than two minutes remaining ... Mario Boggan was fouled while scoring at the other end of the court and made the free throw to tie the score, setting up Bradshaw's heroics ... In the second half, Oklahoma State was limited to just 15 field-goal attempts while committing 14 of its 23 turnovers ... Chris Lofton led the Vols with 20 points, while freshman Duke Crews had a career-high 17 points and nine rebounds ... JaJuan Smith added 14 points to go with six steals ... Bradshaw finished the game with seven points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals ... Boggan led OSU with 20 points despite sitting for nearly 10 minutes in the second half because of foul trouble ... Terrel Harris had 17 points and JamesOn Curry added 13 ... The Cowboys shot 54.5 percent from the field, while Tennessee shot just 41.8 percent from the floor and 17.4 percent (4-of-23) from 3-point range ... UT held a 37-35 advantage on the boards and gathered 21 offensive rebounds ... Oklahoma State entered the game as one of the final six unbeaten teams in the nation.

Ford A Familiar Foe For UT Fans

The Vols have never played against a Travis Fordcoached team but the Tennessee basketball program is certainly familiar with the Cowboys' head coach ... Ford played for SEC nemesis Kentucky for three seasons (1991-94), compiling a 5-2 record against the Vols during his playing career ... Ford has been a Division I head coach for nine seasons now ... He spent five seasons at Eastern Kentucky, three seasons at Massachusetts and is completing his first season at Oklahoma State ... The Vols did play Eastern Kentucky the season after Ford left there to coach at UMass (2005-06), defeating the Colonels 92-58 in Bruce Pearl's first year at UT.