It's not all bad without Scooter

That said, Peterson hasn't been disappointed with the way the Vols have played in three games since UT's leading scorer bruised his knee.

"I like what we're doing right now, I really do,'' Peterson said after a 70-68 loss to Arkansas on Saturday.

Peterson wasn't saying he liked losing close games. Rather, he likes the way Dane Bradshaw, Stanley Asumnu and JaJuan Smith have stepped up and hustled in McFadgon's absence.

UT (12-15, 5-9 SEC) goes to Kentucky on Wednesday. Tip-off is 8 p.m.

The Vols then close the regular season at home Saturday against Georgia. A 7 p.m. tip-off has been announced.

McFadgon is listed day-to-day and might not play at Kentucky.

While UT doesn't miss McFadgon defensively, Peterson does miss his offense.

"Dane's not much of a scorer, Stanley's not much of a scorer and JaJuan's not much of a scorer,'' Peterson said.

"It's hard for those guys to make up those points from Scooter. They haven't shot the ball well since he's been gone.''

Bradshaw, Asumnu and Smith combine to average about six points a game.

Tennessee missed McFadgon's 14.1-point average in a 60-58 loss at Ole Miss, but the Vols have scored 80 and 68 points in the other games without him.

How? Chris Lofton has taken up the slack.

The freshman scored a career-high 25 against South Carolina, doubling his season average.

Then he raised the bar to 30 against Arkansas.

In the three games without McFadgon, Lofton has averaged 34 minutes and admits he got winded at Arkansas, missing his final four shots.

"We need one more guard out there,'' said Peterson, "that extra body.''

Fab Freshmen: Competition for the SEC All-Freshman team will be fierce this year, but UT's Lofton has surely cemented his niche with two big scoring games last week.

Lofton's 30-point game at Arkansas ties for the fourth-best total in league games this season.

The leaders are: Anthony Roberson (34) against Auburn; Earnest Shelton (34) against Mississippi State; Toney Douglas (32) against Vanderbilt: Lofton; Alex Gordon (30) against Tennessee; Roberson (30) against Vanderbilt; Kelenna Azubuike (30) against Auburn.

Douglas, the Auburn freshman, also scored 38 against Nicholls State and 33 against Virginia.

Hogs Left Out: Arkansas could finish with 20 regular-season wins and still get left out of the NCAA tournament. The Razorbacks are 18-9 and have a home game against Mississippi State and a visit to Auburn.

Even an Arkansas sweep probably wouldn't be enough to merit an NCAA bid without a deep run in the SEC tournament. The Razorbacks' non-conference schedule was weak, and, thus, so is their RPI.

Arkansas and UT share the longest NCAA tournament drought in the SEC. Each last went in 2001.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strange2@knews.com