Tennessee hopes for early success in SEC

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee lost its first Southeastern Conference road game a year ago and never recovered.

The Volunteers open their conference slate at Georgia on Wednesday, hoping to avoid last year's 0-8 mark on the road in the SEC.

After a bumpy non-conference season that included a victory over Stanford and one-point losses to Chattanooga and Nebraska, the Vols (7-5) need to be successful early in conference play to avoid another mediocre or worse record.

Coach Buzz Peterson used the Buffalo Bills as an example Tennessee doesn't want to follow. The Bills had to overcome an 0-4 start by winning nine of 11 games only to end up missing the playoffs.

"They got off to a slow start, and they're paying for it now," Peterson said Monday.

"You've got to get off to a good start. It's very important so it doesn't hurt you coming down late February, early March."

The Vols are 23-25 in SEC play the last three seasons under Peterson and currently are at No. 119 on the Rating Percentage Index. The RPI is used to help the NCAA tournament selection committee pick at-large teams.

Tennessee's other three losses so far were not close. The Vols lost by 13 to then-No. 11 North Carolina and by 25 to then-No. 15 Texas in the Maui Invitational and by 19 at New Mexico.

The Vols followed a 62-61 loss to Nebraska last week with an 83-51 win Sunday against Coastal Carolina of the Big South Conference.

"I'd like to see this team go down to Athens and get a win and go on the road and win some and take care of home court advantage," Peterson said. "We feel pretty good about the way we're playing. We're two points away from being 9-3."

Peterson said the two practices following the loss were very intense with players nearly coming to blows.

"They were really upset with the way the game ended on Thursday. After the New Mexico game, I didn't see that. This last game I saw it. That's a sign that that toughness has come out a little bit. It's got to be like that for the next 2½ to 3 months," Peterson said.

After Georgia, the Vols host Vanderbilt and Mississippi State and then go back on the road at South Carolina, Florida and to Louisville for the remaining non-conference matchup. Kentucky visits on Jan. 25.

Three of those teams - Mississippi State, Louisville and Kentucky - are ranked in the top 25 this week.

Tennessee has struggled on offense and defense this season, and Peterson is counting on center Brandon Crump to maintain the Vols' inside-out game. Crump is averaging 12.3 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds. He's vacillated from a season-high 26 points against Xavier to a low of two points at New Mexico.

"He got off to a slow start, a bad start. He's really turned it around," Peterson said. "He's playing good solid basketball now."

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