No. 5/No. 5 Tennessee (8-1) at No. 23/No. 24 Texas (7-2)
Sunday, Dec. 17, 2006; 12:30 p.m. CT
Frank Erwin Center (16,755); Austin, Texas
TV: FSN (Kevin Eschenfelder, play-by-play; Debbie Antonelli, color analyst)
Radio: KVET 1300 AM The Zone
Game Promotions
Postgame concert with recording artist Sara Hickman
Team Day: $3 general admission ticket for all players and coaches in team jerseys or t-shirts.
Chamber Night: All chamber employees will receive a discounted reserved seat.
Regal Cinemas Special: Bring one Regal Cinemas movie stub from Nov. or Dec. 2006 and receive one $7 ticket.
UT Student Ticket Section O-Zone Giveaway: 27" TV courtesy of Aaron's
*Group packages are also available at an additional discount. For more information, call 512-232-3865 or email .
Tickets
Tickets to all Texas Basketball home games may be purchased online at TexasBoxOffice.com; by calling 800-982-BEVO or 512-471-3333; in person at any Texas Box Office outlet, including Austin-area H-E-B stores and the UT Athletics Ticket Office in Bellmont Hall (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. CT); and in person one hour prior to game.
Teams at A Glance:
National Rankings: Texas: #23 in the Associated Press Poll, No. 24 in USA Today/ESPN Poll;
Tennessee - #5 in both AP and USA Today/ESPN polls
Texas Head Coach Jody Conradt (Baylor '63): 38th year overall: 1,184 games: 889-295 (.751);
31st year at Texas: 1,005 games: 772-233 (.768)
Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt (UT-Martin '74): 33rd year overall (all at Tennessee): 1,099 games: 921-78 (.838)
All-Time Series Record: 27th meeting; Tennessee leads, 16-11 (Texas is 5-7 at home, 5-7 at Tennessee, 1-2 neutral site)
Win Streak: +1, Tennessee
Last Meeting: No. 2/1 Tennessee 102, No. 16/18 Texas 61 (Dec. 1, 2005 at Knoxville)
Conradt vs. Tennessee: 11-16
Today's Teams
Texas stands 7-2, with all seven wins coming at home ... Texas is ranked No. 23 (AP) and No. 24 (USA Today/ESPN) this week, while 8-1 Tennessee is ranked No. 5 in both polls ...The Lady Vols' lone loss was to No. 2 North Carolina, 70-57 (Dec. 3)... Tennessee and Texas are meeting for the 28th time, with Tennessee leading the series, 16-11 ... Texas is 4-1 against the Lady Vols in the last five meetings.
Texas Stat Leaders
Senior F Tiffany Jackson continues to lead the UT effort, averaging 18.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 3.4 blocks per game... Sophomore G Erika Arriaran chips in with 11.1 ppg, 3.0 apg and a team-high 14 3-pointers, while redshirt freshman F Earnesia Williams (8.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg), freshman G Niqky Hughes (6.6 ppg), junior G Erneisha Bailey (6.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and redshirt freshman PG Carla Cortijo (6.4 ppg, team-best 3.7 apg) round out the stat leaders... Williams is coming off a team-high and season-high 13 points against Duke last Sunday... That game saw Jackson's 16-game streak of double-figure scoring ended, as the 6-3 senior had eight points.
A Look at Tennessee
The 8-1 Lady Volunteers were 31-5 as a NCAA "Elite Eight" team a year ago... Tennessee is paced by All-America 6-4 sophomore F Candace Parker (19.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg), 6-3 senior F Sidney Spencer (13.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg), 5-11 junior G Alexis Hornbuckle (9.6 ppg, 3.3 apg), 6-4 junior F Nicky Anosike (9.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and 6-3 sophomore F Alex Fuller (7.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg)... Spencer ranks No. 1 nationally in 3-point shooting, hitting an impressive 62.2 percent (23-37).
Texas, Tennessee Among National Stat Leaders
Texas and Tennessee both enter today's game tied for sixth in blocked shots average (6.2 bpg average) .... Tennessee has burst out of the gates as one of the nation's premier shooting teams ... The Lady Vols are No. 2 nationally among all NCAA Division I teams in both overall field goal pct. (.508) and 3-point shooting pct. (.438) and are No. 9 in scoring with 81.2 points per game ... Tennessee also is No. 10 in steals (13.9 spg), No. 14 in scoring margin (+21.1 ppg, 81.2 ppg to opponents' 60.1 ppg) and 18th in assists (17.9 apg).
Texas has three other top-20 rankings - in steals (19th, 13.0 spg), scoring defense (20th, allowing 52.8 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (limiting opponents to 34.3 percent shooting accuracy).
For the Longhorns individually, senior Tiffany Jackson stands 19th in steals (3.4 spg)... As mentioned, Tennessee's Sidney Spencer ranks first in 3-point percentage nationally (.622)... Alexis Hornbuckle is 16th in steals (3.6) and Candace Parker is 17th in blocks (2.6 bpg).
Pregame: FSN College Hoops Tipoff Show LIVE from Erwin Center
For the first time this season, the FSN College Hoops Tip-Off Show will air from a women's basketball site... This weekly Sunday program special will take place at the Erwin Center, beginning at noon and ending at 12:30 p.m. prior to tipoff... Mike Goldberg and Debbie Antonelli (who also is the color commentator for the game) will be broadcast partners for this special LIVE half-hour show.
The show features live cutins to the Erwin Center, interviews with Texas head coach Jody Conradt and Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt, the two winningest coaches in men's or women's basketball history, along with special features... The Texas women's basketball band, cheer and dance groups also will be involved in the half-hour special ... along with all fans who come early!
FREE Concert With Sara Hickman Follows Game in Arena
All fans are invited to stay for a FREE post-game concert featuring recording artist Sara Hickman ... Hickman has released more than 15 albums, many on major record labels and had a #3 adult contemporary hit "I Couldn't Help Myself", has appeared on the "Tonight Show" and co-produced a PBS documentary titled "Take It Like A Man"... A native of Houston, she is an avid supporter of charities and organizations benefiting children, women, and health.
Back-to-Back Big Challenges
Head Coach Jody Conradt is no stranger to demanding scheduling, as the Longhorns annually have a "strength of schedule" ranked among the top eight in the nation ... Texas faces its stiffest back-to-back competition of the year back-to-back games in the last seven days - at No. 4 Duke last Sunday (Dec. 4- an 80-52 loss), followed by today's showdown with No. 5 Tennessee.
For the second year in a row, the Longhorns plays Duke and Tennessee in back-to-back games - and, for the second year, UT is the ONLY team in the nation to meet these two top five teams in back-to-back contests ... Last year, Texas lost at Tennessee (102-61) when the Lady Vols were ranked No. 1 (USA Today/ESPN poll) and No. 2 (AP poll) ... UT then dropped an 84-70 decision to No. 1/No. 2 Duke in Austin on Dec. 4 of last year, in a game which saw UT lose freshman F Earnesia Williams and freshman PG Carla Cortijo for the year with knee injuries.
There is only one other team (outside the SEC or ACC) which faces both Duke and Tennessee this year in non-conference games - Old Dominion.
The Texas-Tennessee Series
In one of the top traditional non-conference rivalries in women's basketball, Texas and Tennessee meet today for the 28th time ... ALL MEETINGS have been in the regular season, as ironically these two squads have never met in AIAW or NCAA tourney action ... Tennessee leads the series, 16-11, although Texas is 4-1 in the last five games of the yearly series ... The longest Texas win streak in the series is four games twice (from 1982-1985 and from 2002-2005) ... Prior to last year's 102-61 win by Tennessee, the five prior contests in the series (games of 2001-05) were decided by a TOTAL of 37 points - an average of 7.4 points per game.
Last year, Tennessee snapped Texas' four-game series win streak with the most lopsided result in series play - a 102-61 win (41-point win)... The prior biggest margin of victory was 34 points in a 94-60 Lady Vols win on Jan. 25, 1994.
In 2000-01, Tennessee won by eight, 67-59, in Austin (Dec. 22); in 2001-02, Texas snapped a 13-game series losing streak with a dramatic 69-66 victory in Knoxville (Feb. 12); Dec. 21, 2003 a three-pointer from the top of the key by then-rookie Nina Norman who was starting in the absence of guard Jamie Carey (out with mononucleosis) gave No. 22/21 Texas an upset 63-62 win over the No. 4 Lady Vols in Austin; in 2004 in Knoxville, the No. 5 Horns posted a 70-60 upset win over No. 2 Tennessee on Dec. 28, 2003 behind a game-high 18 points from Norman, 14 from junior guard Jamie Carey and a double-double of 13 points and game-high 12 boards from then-rookie Tiffany Jackson ... That Longhorn win snapped Tennessee's 25-game home court win streak, which ironically was started after the Longhorns last had beaten Tennessee on Feb. 12, 2002.
In 2004, behind another underclassman again - sophomore Jackson - Texas responded with a 74-59 win on Thanksgiving night in Austin (Nov. 25) ... Jackson had 19 points and had a career-high eight blocks ... It also ended Texas' seven-game losing skid to top-ranked teams.
In all-time play, Texas is 5-7 in games at home, 5-7 against the Lady Vols in Knoxville, and 1-2 at neutral sites (all regular season meetings).
Texas vs. the SEC
Tennessee is the only Southeastern Conference opponents on the UT schedule this year ... In all-time games against the SEC, Texas stands 49-37 (57.0%) ... UT against the SEC is as follows: 2-0 vs. Alabama; 21-3 vs. Arkansas (former Southwest Conference opponent); 0-1 vs. Auburn; 1-3 vs. Florida; 2-5 vs. Georgia; 1-0 vs. Kentucky; 4-4 vs. LSU; 4-1 vs. Mississippi; 2-0 vs. South Carolina; 11-16 vs. Tennessee; and 1-4 vs. Vanderbilt.
Texas Versus Top 25 All-Time
Texas is 0-2 against the Top 25 to date, losing at No. 23 New Mexico (63-60, Nov. 17) and at No. 4 Duke ... In all-time games against Top 25 opponents, the Longhorns have played 296 times... Texas stands 139-157 against Top 25 opponents, for a 47.0 winning percentage ... Against Top 10 opponents, the Longhorns are 61-92 (.400) in 153 games... Last year, UT went 1-10 against the Top 25 (0-7 against top 10 ranked squads)... The win? 63-54 against No. 24 Missouri on Jan. 14 in Austin.
Home Sweet Home: Longhorns are NOT Road Warriors ... YET
Standing 7-2 overall, UT's only two losses have come on the road (at No. 23 New Mexico, at No. 4 Duke) as UT is a perfect 7-0 at the Frank Erwin Center to start the year ... Nine of Texas' first 11 games are at home this year - the most lop-sided home/away schedule in UT history.
Reasons for the schedule imbalance is this: 1) Texas was chosen to host the four-team, three-day round-robin Basketball Travelers Classic (Nov. 12-14) to start the year; 2) for TV commitments, the annual game with Tennessee was scheduled for mid-December; 3) traditionally, UT faces 3-5 in-state opponents each November and December as well; and 4) coming off just the third losing season in Texas' 32-year basketball history, a home-game buffer was built in to start the year with a team featuring three upper- and 11 underclassmen.
Following the Dec. 21 game with Texas-A&M Corpus Christi in Austin, the Longhorns break for Christmas before going to San Diego for their third and fourth road games of the year at the Surf `N Slam Hoop Classic (Dec. 28 and 30).
Coaches' All-Time Ranking Appearances
(523 Possible Weeks of Rankings)
(through the AP Poll of Monday, Dec. 11, 2006)
1. Pat Summitt, Tennessee - 509 (missed just 14 polls in entire AP history)
2. Andy Landers, Georgia - 401
3. Jody Conradt, Texas - 392
4. C. Vivian Stringer (3 schools - Cheyney, Iowa, Rutgers) - 349
5. Rene Portland (2 schools -St. Joseph's, Penn St.) - 336
