UT Faces Tough Field at Old Spice Classic

• 2008-09 marks Tennessee's 100th season of varsity basketball. A season-long centennial celebration includes the selection of a Tennessee Basketball All-Century Team. Ballots are available in the Thompson-Boling Arena concourse for all home games.
• In its last game, Tennessee defeated Siena 78-64 in the opening game of the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla. The Vols had at least four players score in double figures for the fourth straight game.
• Nine different Vols had at least one assist in the first half against Siena Thursday.
• UT head coach Bruce Pearl is two wins shy of logging his 400th career victory. Pearl was the second fastest to reach 300 wins among active head coaches (382), trailing only current UNC head coach Roy Williams (370 games). See Page 3 for more on Pearl's march to win No. 400.
• Bruce Pearl now owns a 4-0 record as a collegiate head coach at The Milk House. He led Southern Indiana to a 3-0 record and the championship at the 1997 Disney Division II Tip-Off Classic.
• Tennessee owns a 34-41 (.453) all-time record against current members of the Big East Conference, including a 1-1 mark during the Bruce Pearl era (win over West Virginia and loss to Louisville).
• The Vols own a 3-1 record in the state of Florida during the Bruce Pearl era.
• The Vols return a total of six letterwinners, including two starters, from last year's squad that posted a 31-5 overall record and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
• UT newcomers include four true freshmen, one junior-college transfer and a redshirt freshman.
• A panel of SEC and national media tabbed the Vols as the preseason favorite to win the Southeastern Conference championship this season. Tyler Smith was named the preseason SEC Player of the Year by the panel and also was a first-team All-SEC selection by the league's coaches.

Tennessee Trends

• Tennessee has had two players record double-doubles in each of its first two games this season.
• Tennessee is 47-2 at Thompson-Boling Arena since the start of the 2005-06 season.
• UT has a 34-game homecourt winning streak. The Vols' last home loss was a 78-80 decision to Kentucky in the final home game of the 2005-06 season.
• The Vols are 25-0 in non-conference home games under Bruce Pearl.
• Bruce Pearl is 16-8 against ranked teams while at Tennessee.
• The Vols have made at least one 3-pointer in 359 consecutive games.
• Under Bruce Pearl, UT is 74-6 when leading or tied with five minutes left in the game.
• UT is 52-5 when scoring 80 or more points under the direction of Bruce Pearl.
• Tennessee has an all-time record of 1,426-908-2 in 100 seasons of basketball.
• UT's 634 regular-season SEC victories rank third all-time in the SEC. Only Kentucky and Alabama have won more league games.
• Tennessee is 247-86 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 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 fifth time in 2007-08.

The Georgetown Series

Tennessee's only previous clash with Georgetown came during the 2003 NIT, when the Hoyas handed the Vols a 70-60 loss on March 18 in Thompson-Boling Arena ... SEC Player of the Year Ron Slay led the Vols with 17 points and also grabbed eight rebounds ... Elgrace Wilborn tied a UT single-game record by blocking six shots, and he also pulled down a season-high 11 rebounds ... Georgetown used a 12-1 run early in the second half to pull away after Tennessee led 27-26 at the half ... Mike Sweetney led the Hoyas with 17 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks.

Noting Georgetown

The defending Big East regular-season champion Georgetown Hoyas (28-6, 15-3) are ranked 21st by the AP and 16th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll ... Fifth-year head coach John Thompson III returns three starters off last season's squad ... Junior forward DaJuan Summers highlights the Hoyas front line after averaging 11.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg and 1.5 apg in 2007-08 ... The highly touted freshman duo of Greg Monroe (6-11, 250) and Henry Sims (6-10, 225) will be called upon to contribute early this season ... A McDonald's All-America selection and Louisiana's Mr. Basketball each of the last two years, Monroe can play center or power forward for the Hoyas ... Sims is a very long-armed athlete who averaged a double-double at Mount St. Joseph HS in Baltimore, Md. ... 6-4 sophomore Austin Freeman started 23 games last season and adds experience to the Georgetown lineup ... 6-9 sophomore Julian Vaughn transferred from Florida State last season due to an illness in his family, and much like Tennessee's Tyler Smith, was granted an NCAA waiver so that he won't have to sit out this season ... The Hoyas backcourt features senior Jessie Sapp, who started every game the past two seasons, along with point guard Chris Wright ... Wright, a sophomore and former McDonald's All-America, only played in 16 games last season due to a severe ankle sprain ... Thompson is expected to have his Hoyas playing a much faster paced style of basketball this season ... Georgetown is off to a 3-0 start this season, with wins over Jacksonville, Drexel and Wichita State.

Vols Getting Boost Off Bench

Through UT's first four games, the Vols are getting an average of 34.0 points off the bench ... Tennessee's bench has outscored the opponents' bench in all four of UT's games thus far for a total of 109-46 ... The Vols' bench totaled 44 and 47 points in home wins over Chattanooga and UT Martin, respectively ... Backup center Brian Williams scored a game-high 21 points against UT Martin for UT's highest non-starter output of the season.

Double-Doubles the Norm Early This Season

Tennessee players have recorded five double-doubles in four games this season ... Two Vols posted double-doubles in each of UT's two home wins ... Junior center Wayne Chism is nearly averaging a double-double with 12.0 ppg and 8.8 rpg ... Chism's two double-doubles on the year lead the team ... Other Vols who have logged a double-double include Bobby Maze (12 pts, 11 rebs vs. Chattanooga), Tyler Smith (18 pts, 10 rebs at Middle Tennessee) and Brian Williams (21 pts, 12 rebs vs. UT Martin).

Vols Dish Out School-Record 32 Assists in Season-Opening Rout

The Vols made history Nov. 15 in their season-opening rout of Chattanooga by dishing out a school record 32 assists ... The previous record was 31 assists against Tennessee Tech on Nov. 25, 1988 ... Ironically, that game also was a season-opening rout, as UT pounded the Golden Eagles 118-86 to open coach Don DeVoe's 11th and final season on Rocky Top ... Junior point guard Bobby Maze led the way in this season's record-breaking performance with a game-high 11 assists (against only one turnover) in his official Tennessee debut ... Forward Tyler Smith added seven assists apiece, and guard J.P. Prince logged five ... Nine of the 11 Vols who played against the Mocs recorded at least one assist ... It tied for the 15th-highest single-game assist total in SEC history and was the most by an SEC team since 2006.

Hopson's Debut Nets Him SEC Freshman of the Week Honors

Scotty Hopson's 17-point performance in UT's season-opening win over Chattanooga (11/15/08) earned him SEC Freshman of the Week honors ... In his 19 minutes played, he also logged three rebounds, one block and one steal while going 7-of-11 from the floor (3-of-6 from 3-point range) ... One of his four dunks in the 114-75 rout was featured on ESPN SportsCenter's Top-10 Plays ... Hopson was one of two freshman starters for the Vols in the opener (guard Renaldo Woolridge was the other).