Lofton unfazed by Louisville, Freedom Hall

Kentucky's Mr. Basketball of 2004 can expect a chilly reception at Louisville, but the UT freshman is ready as always.

His week consisted of hitting up teammates for tickets to today's 4 p.m. game against the 14th-ranked Cardinals.

"There will be a lot of people to watch me up there, but it depends on how many tickets I can get," Lofton said. "It's going to be special for me and a fun night."

Lately, every night is special for the Mason County, Ky., product.

Lofton calmly hit six of 10 3-point shots, including two in overtime, on his way to 22 points during UT's victory at Florida on Wednesday.

UT coach Buzz Peterson expects Louisville to be ready for Lofton, and Lofton to be ready for anything thrown at him.

"I haven't really said much to him," Peterson said. "I did ask him the other day if he had played in Freedom Hall.

"He said he had a year or two ago. I asked him how he did and he said, 'I missed 40 by a couple of points.' That's just his attitude."

Lofton is Tennessee's third-leading scorer (11.9) and is hitting 51.7 percent (45-of-87) of his 3-point attempts.

"I'm sure (Louisville is) going to try and limit his touches," Peterson said. "But nothing seems to faze this kid.

"It just shows you recruiting is overrated sometimes. I know U of L offered him early, but here's a kid who probably has a chance to break some records at Tennessee and we got him over Arkansas State and Valpo."

Notebook: Louisville also has a 3-point ace in Taquan Dean. He has hit 53 of 104 threes this season. The Cardinals are 21-2 in January the past three years under coach Rick Pitino. Mark Jones and Mike Jarvis will handle ESPN's coverage.