It seemed out of place, but there it was.

A smile of anticipation actually crept across the face of Scooter McFadgon.

Tennessee basketball's leading scorer was thinking about the Vols' impending visit to Vanderbilt on Wednesday - and grinning.

• Forget about the three-game losing streak.

• Forget about Tennessee giving Auburn its first SEC victory after a 62-59 disappointment on Saturday.

• Forget Vanderbilt beating Tennessee by 25 points three weeks ago at Thompson-Boling Arena.

McFadgon's mood was upbeat after practice Monday because the Vols' have a new plan. The time for patience is past. UT players are ready to run.

"We're trying some different things," McFadgon said. "We see now with (Brandon) Crump out, we've got to get it and push it.

"It's time for us to use our quickness and just get out there and play ball."

The approach is opposite to the one seen in the weekend loss to the Tigers.

Offensive possessions against Auburn often milked the clock. More often than not, the result was a shaky jumper taken with the shot clock winding down.

"Let's get it and go, and get some points on the board," McFadgon said. "We've got a lot of guards and that style suits a lot of us."

UT found out against Auburn size is sometimes overrated. The Tigers used a lineup of basically four guards and one small forward.

Tennessee (10-10, 3-4 SEC) could do something similar against Vandy (12-8, 3-4).

"Offensively," UT coach Buzz Peterson said, "we have to look to a quicker lineup and go with a little smaller group out there with the absence of Brandon (sprained ankle)."

Hear that? It was music to the ears of UT's players.

Junior guard/forward Stanley Asumnu is one of the Vols who smiled at the thought of increased minutes and a faster-paced game.

"I love the up-tempo game," he said. "It's going to be fun getting in transition and beating people down the floor.

"It was a fun practice today. Coach let us get out and run. We want to pressure the ball, press some, and it'll be interesting to see how it works."

Up-tempo or not, the Vols also know they have to remember defense against Vanderbilt which torched them for a school-record 18 3-pointers on Jan. 8.

"We can score, but we just have to stop other teams from getting uncontested shots and layups," Asumnu said. "You try to get some steals, get in transition, and try to set the tone on defense."

Hear that? It was music to the ears of Peterson.

"I just want us to be very aggressive on the basketball, zone or man," he said. "That's my challenge to the guys.

Return of Crump?: Peterson said the 2-to-4-week absence of Crump still holds. That means the 6-foot-10 senior could be back as early as Saturday at home against LSU.

"That'll be two weeks (since his injury against Louisville on Jan. 22), but we just don't know," Peterson said. "It seems like it has been two months.

"We've just got to wait it out and see if he gets better."

Good work Commodore: Vanderbilt senior guard Jason Holwerda will be featured this week as the SEC Good Works Team Player of the Week on Jefferson-Pilot's telecasts of SEC games.