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Pearl goes for win No. 100 at Tennessee

Knoxville, TN (Sports Network) - Bruce Pearl can notch his 100th win at Tennessee if his Volunteers can take care of business against the Bulldogs of UNC Asheville tonight at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.

UNCA opened its season at Charlotte last Friday, and fell to the 49ers by a score of 86-70. The Bulldogs, who play their basketball out of the Big South Conference, are facing their first of three foes from the SEC tonight, as they will also tangle with Georgia and Kentucky in the coming weeks.

Tennessee had little trouble in its opener against Austin Peay on Friday, blasting the Governors in an 83-54 final. Following this clash, the Vols will head to the U.S. Virgin Islands to take part in the Paradise Jam starting with Friday's bout against East Carolina. Pearl has coached 136 games at Tennessee, and interestingly enough, his 400th career coaching victory came in last year's clash with UNC Asheville.

Tennessee has won all six previous meetings with UNCA, with all six taking place in Knoxville. The Vols have won every meeting except one by double digits.

After finishing fourth in the Big South last season, UNC Asheville was picked to finish second in the conference this year, thanks in large part to the expected production from guys like sophomore guards Matt Dickey and J.P. Primm. Dickey had off-season ankle surgery and was a bit rusty in the opener against Charlotte, scoring just two points in 24 minutes of action. Chris Stephenson came off the bench to net a career-high 22 points and grab six rebounds in the setback, while Primm tallied 15 points and four boards. Redshirt junior John Williams could be an All-Big South performer at the power forward spot, but he did not play in UNCA's opener due to an illness. The Bulldogs shot 43.3 percent from the field compared to just a 36.1 effort by Charlotte, but a ridiculous 33-5 edge for the 49ers in points from the foul line and a 53-35 rebounding advantage proved to be the difference.

Tennessee seniors Wayne Chism and Tyler Smith each logged double-doubles in the team's season-opening win over Austin Peay on Friday night. Smith poured in 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Chism contributed 11 points and 10 boards, helping the Volunteers batter the helpless Govs into submission. Scotty Hopson led all UT scorers with 16 points, dropping four three-pointers in the game, the team as a whole hitting 10-of-23 from long range. The Vols also dialed up the defense, forcing 19 turnovers and holding Austin Peay to 34.5 percent shooting from the field, which included a dismal 5-of-17 showing from beyond the arc. The one area coach Pearl would obviously like to see improve is at the foul line, where his club converted just 5-of-11 tries on the night. Despite Chism's solid stat line, his 5-of-13 effort from the floor isn't going to cut it on most nights. In addition, Tennessee will also need to get production from the starting backcourt duo of Bobby Maze and J.P. Prince, who combined to hit just two of their eight FG attempts in the game.


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