This time McFadgon leaves no doubt

And, yes, Nebraska crossed his mind as the Tennessee senior walked to the free-throw line at the O'Connell Center with a chance to ice a win over Florida.

"I told myself I'd never put this team in that situation again,'' McFadgon said. "I took my time and knocked 'em down.''

And thus the Vols, 12-point underdogs, finished off a stunning 83-76 upset.

It was against Nebraska, back home on Dec. 30, that UT's best free-throw shooter inexplicably missed three attempts - the front end of a one-and-one and then a two-shot foul - in the final 19 seconds, setting the stage for the Cornhuskers to rally for a 62-61 win.

McFadgon went 5-for-6 at the stripe Wednesday in the final 45 seconds of overtime.

He hit the front end of a one-and-one to expand UT's lead to 79-76. Then he hit both tries with 13.2 seconds to play and two more with 3.9 seconds left.

"I was proud of Scooter at the end knocking down those free throws,'' said UT coach Buzz Peterson.

The free throws were the finishing touch on a season-high 23-point performance by McFadgon. He was 7-of-15 from the field, 7-of-8 at the line and had only one turnover in 35 minutes.

"We played our tempo,'' said McFadgon. "We took the shots they gave us and played how we wanted to play.''

Whistle Fallout: Peterson making a public issue of the foul discrepancy in the loss at South Carolina may have had an effect.

At South Carolina, the whistles were 11-1 against the Vols down the stretch. At Florida, it was six fouls for Florida and four for UT in the final 10 minutes of regulation. In overtime, each team had one whistle until the Gators were forced to foul in the final seconds.

The "flop" was no factor. The Vols were called for zero offensive fouls.

Stroke Returns: Chris Lofton's 3-point shooting touch had been going downhill in his first four SEC games. He got it back Wednesday, going 6-of-10 against the Gators.

"I laid off the weights a little bit this week,'' he said, adding that he felt more spring in his legs.

Myles Hurt: Fourteenth-ranked Louisville (15-3) expects to be without top rebounder Ellis Myles against UT (10-7) on Saturday. The 6-foot-8 Myles fractured his left thumb in Wednesday's rout of East Carolina and is listed as doubtful. Myles averages 10.1 points and 9.4 rebounds.

Forward Otis George could replace Myles in the lineup or the Cards could go small and add guard Brandon Jenkins.

Kentucky at 7: ESPN has moved the tip-off of Tuesday's Kentucky-UT game at Thompson-Boling Arena to 7 p.m. It was originally scheduled for 9. The Vols' visit to Louisville also is on ESPN at 4 p.m.

Notebook: The Vols chose to stick to their shirts-and-skins practice mode Thursday. Peterson said there was no particular reason Jemere Hendrix played a season-low four minutes at Florida other than Major Wingate was playing well. Hendrix played six minutes at South Carolina. Florida fans were surprised to see guard Matt Walsh return from a sprained ankle and play 13 minutes against the Vols. In its first 16 games, UT averaged 16.6 turnovers. In the past four, the Vols are averaging 8.7.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276.