Tennessee 2007 NCAA Tournament Capsule

Tennessee Volunteers - SEC (22-10, 10-6)

Seed: #5 - South Region

Big Wins: 12/6 Memphis (76-58), 2/13 Kentucky (89-85), 2/27 Florida (86-76)

Bad Losses: 1/17 at Auburn (80-83), 2/17 at South Carolina (64-81), 3/8 vs LSU (67-76)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2006, Second Round loss to Wichita State

Coach: Bruce Pearl (3-3 in 3 NCAA appearances)

Probable Tennessee Starters:

• Jordan Howell, Junior, Guard, 4.2 ppg, 1.5 apg

• Chris Lofton, Junior, Guard, 20.6 ppg, 1.8 apg, 3.0 rpg

• JaJuan Smith, Junior, Guard, 15.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.2 spg

• Dane Bradshaw, Senior, Guard, 5.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.5 apg

• Wayne Chism, Freshman, Forward, 9.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg

Key Roleplayers for Tennessee:

• Ramar Smith, Freshman, Guard, 10.4 ppg, 3.0 apg, 3.3 rpg

• Josh Tabb, Freshman, Guard, 3.5 ppg, 1.1 apg

• Duke Crews, Freshman, Forward, 8.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.0 bpg

• Ryan Childress, Sophomore, Forward, 5.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg

Why They Can Surprise:
The Volunteers have an explosive offense led by a talented group of guards. Chris Lofton, one of the best shooters in the nation, can easily put up 30 points in a game. Lost in the shadow of Lofton are JaJuan Smith and Ramar Smith. JaJuan is no slouch of a shooter himself and can keep pace with Lofton in the scoring column. Ramar will not hit the outside shot as much, but he will get to the basket and has done a decent job running the point during his freshman campaign.

What makes Tennessee an even more intriguing team is Dane Bradshaw. The do-everything 6-4 senior leads the team in assists and will get on the glass. His versatility has allowed Coach Bruce Pearl to use him where the team needs him the most, the power forward spot.

Why Tennessee Can Disappoint:
While Bradshaw can be a good rebounder, the lack of height on the guard orientated team does cause a problem in the rebounding department. The Volunteers have a rebounding margin in the negatives and those occasional second chance point opportunities usually turn into easy buckets for the opposition under the basket. Oddly for a perimeter team, the free-throw percentage at Tennessee is pretty bad. Lofton and JaJuan Smith can knock down their freebies, but the rest of the squad has some trouble.

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Who To Watch:
The frontcourt is handled by the young trio of Duke Crews, Wayne Chism and Ryan Childress. Crews and Chism have developed into capable scorers during their freshmen seasons and also lead the team in rebounding. Crews is more of a true post player and that is exactly what this team needs. Tennessee has not lost a game when Crews has scored over ten points and that means the perimeter guys better not forget about the 6-7 forward under the basket.

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 79.7 (11th in nation, 1st in conference)

Scoring Defense: 74.4 (286, 12)

Field-Goal Percentage: 44.3 (165, 10)

Field-Goal Defense: 45.6 (243, 12)

Free-Throw Percentage: 65.4 (271, 11)

Rebound Margin: -2.1 (248, 10)

Assists Per Game: 15.5 (49, 5)

Turnovers Per Game: 14.6 (166, 8)

Joel’s Bracket Says: First Round loss to Long Beach State

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