Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl appreciates the moderately tough schedule the Vols have faced against top mid-major competition.

"People are seeing good games and good basketball at Thompson-Boling Arena,'' said Pearl, who spent Wednesday recruiting in Tennessee. "As long as you beat these teams, you appreciate them. If you lose, you don't appreciate them as much.''

Pearl was still breathing a sigh of relief from Tuesday night's tougher-than-expected 89-81 win over Appalachian State.

"These types of games are what make the NCAA tournament special,'' Pearl said. "It's why Bucknell beats Kansas, Indiana State beats Indiana or Northern Iowa beats Iowa.

"Our guys have won the games we're supposed to win, and I'm happy with them.''

And UT fans are decidedly happy with Pearl. The Vols' average home attendance of 13,335 is second in the SEC to Kentucky (15,834). Vanderbilt is a distant third at 9,874.

Pearl's 5-0 start puts him in select company with Ray Mears (1962-63), Emmett Lowery (1947-48), John Mauer (1938-39) and Jerry Green (1997-98) as the only UT coaches to win their first five games their first year with the Vols.

Green went on to guide UT to a 10-0 start, but Mears, Lowery and Mauer each lost his sixth game.

Pearl knows there's a good chance his team will do likewise when it plays Dec. 17 at No. 2-ranked Texas.

Pearl gave the team Wednesday off, but it's back to work this morning.

"We'll spend a day or two this week looking at Texas,'' Pearl said. "We'll lift (weights this) morning and practice in the afternoon, and come back and practice Friday morning.

"Even though there's no class, I want to get them up and get them in the gym or into the Thornton (academic) Center.''

Pearl said the areas of focus will be defense and rebounding, two areas the Vols have been exposed.

UT ranks last in the SEC in scoring defense (70.2 points per game) and field-goal percentage defense (.451). The Vols are 11th in blocked shots and rebounding margin.

"We need to drill our defense and rebounding,'' Pearl said. "I think that it will be a harder week of practice because of the layoff (between games). When we've had games, practice isn't as hard.''

Major Improvement: Pearl continues to stand behind junior center Major Wingate, who had just three rebounds -- and for the second consecutive game, one defensive rebound -- against Appalachian State.

"Major can play better, but I'm happy with him,'' Pearl said. "Major should try to be an All-SEC caliber player. I think he has the potential to be ... I think he does. His 12 points (Tuesday night) on 6-of-11 shooting is up from where he was a year ago.''

Chris Lofton, C.J. Watson and Wingate are the only Vols to score in double figures in each of the first five games.

Tops: The Vols lead the SEC in scoring offense (86.8 ppg), assists (19 per game), steals (11.4 per game), turnover margin (plus-8.2 per game) and 3-point field goals made per game (9.2).

Only Florida has been more accurate from 3-point range, while Vanderbilt is the only team that ranks ahead of UT in assist/turnover ratio.

Super C.J.: Vols' senior guard C.J. Watson is off to a roaring start, leading the SEC with a .619 shooting percentage from 3-point range.

Watson also ranks near the top of the SEC in steals (second, 2.6), assists (third, 5.6), free throw percentage (fifth, .828), assist/turnover ratio (fifth, 2.15), 3-pointers made (sixth, 2.6) and scoring (eight, 17.0).

Undefeated & RPI: The Vols are one of 25 teams (out of 332 Division I programs) who remain undefeated.

Of those undefeated teams, UT has the lowest RPI (111). In fact, eight SEC teams have higher RPIs. What's surprising is that Kentucky (117 RPI) isn't one of them. Florida and Vanderbilt, Nos. 4 and 5 in the RPI ratings, lead the way for the SEC.

Other future Vols' opponents worth noting: Memphis (No. 6), Alabama (No. 17), Texas (No. 53), South Carolina (No. 62) and Georgia (No. 84).