With ESPN’s College Gameday coming to Lexington for Saturday’s clash between the #12 Tennessee Volunteers and the #3 Kentucky Wildcats, the atmosphere will be electric in and around Rupp Arena. And there will definitely be electricity between the teams’ two head coaches, John Calipari and Bruce Pearl. From 2006 to 2009, Calipari’s Memphis squad and Pearl’s Volunteers were involved in 4 highly competitive, fierce battles, with the results coming out even, a 2-2 record between the two with both winning one on each other’s home court. I will give a statistical breakdown of the 4 games followed by a summary of each contest:
Cumulative Statistics
Points: Memphis – 262 (65.5) Tennessee – 273 (68.3)
Scoring Margin: Memphis -2.8 Tennessee +2.8
Margin Of Victory: Memphis +5.5 Tennessee +11
Margin Of Defeat: Memphis -11 Tennessee -5.5
Field Goals Made: Memphis – 93 (23.3) Tennessee – 94 (23.5)
Field Goals Attempted: Memphis – 258 (64.5) Tennessee – 258 (64.5)
Field Goal Percentage: Memphis – 36% Tennessee – 36.4%
3 Point Field Goals Made: Memphis – 26 (6.5) Tennessee – 24 (6)
3 Point Field Goals Attempted: Memphis – 97 (24.3) Tennessee – 80 (20)
3 Point Field Goal Percentage: Memphis – 26.8% Tennessee – 30%
Free Throws Made: Memphis – 50 (12.5) Tennessee – 61 (15.3)
Free Throws Attempted: Memphis – 78 (19.5) Tennessee – 97 (24.3)
Free Throw Percentage: Memphis – 64.1% Tennessee – 62.9%
Offensive Rebounds: Memphis – 58 (14.5) Tennessee – 63 (15.8)
Defensive Rebounds: Memphis – 115 (28.8) Tennessee – 122 (30.5)
Total Rebounds: Memphis – 173 (43.3) Tennessee – 185 (46.3)
Rebound Margin: Memphis -3 Tennessee +3
Personal Fouls: Memphis – 75 (18.8) Tennessee – 71 (17.8)
Assists: Memphis – 52 (13) Tennessee – 48 (12)
Turnovers: Memphis – 53 (13.3) Tennessee – 53 (13.3)
Assist-To-Turnover Ratio: Memphis – .98:1 Tennessee – .91:1
Blocks: Memphis – 26 (6.5) Tennessee – 15 (3.8)
Steals: Memphis – 28 (7) Tennessee – 28 (7)
Individual Game Highs
Points: Memphis – 23, Derrick Rose (2/23/08) Tennessee – 34, Chris Lofton (12/6/06)
Rebounds: Memphis – 14, Shawne Williams (1/18/06) Tennessee – 10, Dane Bradshaw (1/18/06) Duke Crews (12/6/06) JaJuan Smith (2/23/08) Tyler Smith (1/24/09)
Assists: Memphis – 5, Darius Washington (1/18/06) Derrick Rose (2/23/08) Tennessee – 4, Dane Bradshaw (1/18/06)
Steals: Memphis – 4, Joey Dorsey (1/18/06) Derrick Rose (2/23/08) Tennessee – 5, Dane Bradshaw (1/18/06)
Blocks: Memphis – 4, Shawne Williams (1/18/06) Joey Dorsey (1/18/06) Robert Dozier (2/23/08) Tennessee – 3, Duke Crews (12/6/06)
Free Throws Made: Memphis – 12, Darius Washington (1/18/06) Tennessee – 8, C.J. Watson (1/18/06)
Field Goals Made: Memphis – 9, Derrick Rose (2/23/08) Tennessee – 12, Chris Lofton (12/6/06)
3 Point Field Goals Made: Memphis – 6, Rodney Carney (1/18/06) Tennessee – 6, Chris Lofton (12/6/06)
Game Summaries
January 18th, 2006
FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee (Attendance: 18,144)
Tennessee (11-2) – 79
#4 Memphis (15-2) – 88
Tennessee had come into the game on a loss to the LSU Tigers down in Baton Rouge. Memphis came into the game riding a 4 game winning streak and a top 5 AP ranking. This game was back and forth, with 5 ties and 12 lead changes. Tennessee tied the score at 69 with 6:45 left, but the Tigers responded with a 10-0 run over the next 2 and a half minutes to seal the win for Memphis. Both teams relied heavily on their starters to score as Memphis had 9 bench points and the Volunteers only had 6 points scored from their bench players. Tennessee had all 5 starters score in double figures, with Dane Bradshaw leading the team with a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds. Memphis had 4 of their starters score in double figures, with Rodney Carney leading the Tigers with 22 points. Shawne Williams contributed with a double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds.
December 6th, 2006
Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee (Attendance: 19,714)
Tennessee (6-2) – 76
#16 Memphis (6-1) – 58
Memphis came into the game riding a 4 game winning streak and a top 20 AP ranking. The Volunteers were on a 3 game winning streak going into the game. Out from the gate this game was a complete blowout and a mismatch for the Volunteers, leading by as much as 23 points in the first half. Kentucky native Chris Lofton put on an offensive show, scoring a career-high 34 points, making six 3 point field goals. Memphis had a horrible shooting night, shooting 28.6% from the field, 17.9% from 3 point range, and 50% from the charity stripe. Only one other Volunteer scored in double figures, Dane Bradshaw with 11 points. The Tigers only had one player score in double figures, Chris Douglas-Roberts with 19 points.
February 23rd, 2008
FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee (Attendance: 18,389)
#2 Tennessee (24-2) – 66
#1 Memphis (26-0) – 62
This game was a heavyweight title bout of epic proportions. College Gameday came to Memphis for the game. It was #1 vs. #2. Memphis came into the game undefeated on the season. The Volunteers were riding an 8 game winning streak headed into the game, their last defeat against the Kentucky Wildcats 72-66 on January 22nd at Rupp Arena. The contest lived up to the pre-game hype with the game going down to the final seconds. Tyler Smith took a Chris Lofton pass for a turnaround jumper and made it to give the Volunteers a 62-61 lead with 28 seconds, and J.P. Prince and Chris Lofton combine to make 4 free throws down the stretch to give the Volunteers their 1st victory over a team ranked #1 in the AP Poll. This was only the 5th game ever to matchup two teams from the same state ranked #1 and #2 in the AP Poll. Chris Lofton had a bad shooting night, only 2 of 11 from the field, but J.P. Prince came off the bench to help pick up the slack, scoring 13 points. There were 3 Volunteers that scored in double figures with Tyler Smith leading the team with 16 points. The Tigers only got 8 points from their bench, but their freshman sensation Derrick Rose didn’t disappoint, scoring 23 points, 5 assists, and 4 steals. Chris Douglas-Roberts was the only other Tiger to score in double figures with 14 points.
January 24th, 2009
Thompson-Boling Arena (Attendance: 21,906)
Tennessee (12-5) – 52
#22 Memphis (15-3) – 54
Memphis came into the game on a 9 game winning streak with their last defeat against #11 Syracuse 72-65 on December 20th. The Volunteers had a 2 game winning streak going into the game. Towards the end of the game it was a 2-man show, with Memphis’ freshman sensation Tyreke Evans scoring his team’s last 7 points, and Tennessee’s Wayne Chism scoring his team’s last 11 points. But it was Evans who proved to be the most clutch, hitting a free throw with 1 second remaining to secure victory for the Tigers. Both teams once again struggled to get any production from their bench, with Tennessee getting 9 bench points and Memphis only 5. The Tigers had 3 players score in double figures with Tyreke Evans leading the team with 17 points, while Antonio Anderson and Doneal Mack both chipped in 10 points. Tennessee had also had 3 players score in double figures with Wayne Chism leading the team with 15 points. Tyler Smith had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds and J.P. Prince contributed
with 10 points.
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