NEW YORK -- Start spreading the news, Tennessee's men's basketball team is leaving for New York City today.

Minutes after a 99-65 victory against Coppin State on Sunday afternoon, the Vols gushed with excitement over being a part of the NIT Season Tip-off's final four at Madison Square Garden.

"This is going to be great for the program and the university to be in New York and be recognized,'' senior forward Dane Bradshaw said. "When we're on television, people have no choice but to talk about the growth of this program.''

Tennessee, 4-0 and ranked No. 22, plays Butler (4-0) at 7 p.m. Wednesdayin a semifinal game that will be televised by ESPN2. North Carolina, 3-0 and ranked No. 2, meets Gonzaga (4-0) at 9 p.m. The winners meet in the championship at 7 p.m. Friday with the losers facing off in a consolation game at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

This marks UT's first appearance in Madison Square Garden since 1985, when the Vols fell to Indiana 74-67 in the semifinals of the NIT before bouncing back to beat Louisville 100-84 in the consolation game.

Vols' coach Bruce Pearl said the plan is to take care of business on the court while enjoying the pleasures of the Big Apple.

"This opportunity for our students, to travel to New York and represent the University of Tennessee, you can't understand how important that is to me,'' Pearl said. "It's why the players came to college, to grow and experience these things. We're going to tour a little bit. We're also going there for a cultural, academic experience.''

Belief In Ramar: Pearl said UT's point-guard play must improve, and he maintains confidence in freshman Ramar Smith.

"Sure, you worry about Ramar (losing confidence), because we know how much better he can play,'' Pearl said. "Ramar just needs to confidence up. He will play better.''

Better Inside: Duke Crews and Wayne Chism have combined at center to average 19.3 points per game, 12.1 rebounds per outing in 37.1 minutes per game with 2.25 turnovers.Last season, center Major Wingate averaged 10.6 points per game 4.0 rebounds in 24.9 minutes per game with an average of 2.33 turnovers.

Drop off Outside: Vols point guards Ramar Smith, Jordan Howell and Marques Johnson have combined to average 8.8 points, 4.75 assists and 5.5 turnovers per game. Last season, C.J. Watson averaged 17.2 points, 3.9 assists and 2.1 turnovers..

More Punch: This year's Vols are averaging 86.8 points scored on .498 shooting (.385 from 3-point range) while allowing 65.8 points per game and .433 shooting (.352 from 3-point range).

Last year's UT team averaged 79.8 points scored on .463 shooting (.391 from 3-point range) while allowing 73.9 points per game and .480 shooting (.340 from 3-point range).

Less Efficient: This year's Vols are shooting .653 from the free-throw line with a 0.8 assist-to-turnover ratio and are out-rebounding opponents by 10 per game.

Last year's UT team shot .695 from the free-throw line with a 1.31 assist-to-turnover ratio and were out-rebounded by 2.9 per game.

More Depth: This year's team has 10 players averaging 10 minutes or more per game, while last year's Vols had seven players to average 10 minutes or more..

Lofton Honors: Chris Lofton was named the SEC Player of the Week for the fourth time in his career. Dyron Nix holds UT's record for most player of the week honors, earning the award five times. Lofton is tied with former Vol great Allan Houston with four.

Lofton has 999 career points and is on the verge of becoming the 39th player in UT history to reach 1,000 points.

Hot Shots: Freshman reserve Josh Tabb leads the Vols in field-goal percentage (10-of-12, .833) and 3-point shooting (5-of-5, 1.000) through the first four games.

Among the starters, Crews has the highest field-goal percentage (15-of-29, .517) while Lofton has the highest 3-point efficiency (12-of-30, .400).

Cold Turkeys: Bradshaw has the worst free-throw percentage among Vols, making 6 of 15 (.400) shots.

Ramar Smith has the lowest field-goal percentage among starters (7-of-17, .412) and has 14 turnovers and 10 assists.