Wheels are falling off Scooter

The timing isn't exactly perfect for Tennessee basketball's senior co-captain to find himself in a shooting slump.

"We're going to have to have him," UT coach Buzz Peterson said. "He has struggled outside. He finally hit that 3 (against Kentucky on Tuesday) and I told him it's going to come."

The question is when. McFadgon had scored in double figures every game this season prior to last Saturday's trip to Louisville. He had a UT career-low four points in that 85-62 loss.

Against the Wildcats, a team he had a lot of success against last season, McFadgon tied his second-lowest UT career output with seven points.

"You have good games, you have bad games," McFadgon said. "My confidence isn't hurting.

"I've just got to go out and play and get through this. It's up to me to get my shots."

Tennessee (10-9, 3-3 SEC) had the day off Wednesday. Up next are road games at Auburn on Saturday and at Vanderbilt next Wednesday.

Brandon Crump, UT's other senior co-captain, is still nursing a badly sprained left ankle and the question remains as to when he'll return.

Which brings us back to McFadgon. He's the Vols' leading scorer (15.1) and had a season-high 23 points in an overtime upset at Florida on Jan. 19.

Since then, against Louisville and Kentucky, he's a combined 4-for-16 shooting, 1-of-8 from 3-point range.

"You can tell right now he's not playing with much confidence," Peterson said.

"When he touches the ball he's not sure what to do with it, and we've got to get him back."

Freshman Chris Lofton appears to have the confidence right now. He had a game-high 15 points at Louisville and a game-high 17 against Kentucky.

McFadgon thinks the loss of Crump is the obvious root of much of his woes.

"With Brandon in there, he gets double-teamed a lot, and we run a lot of inside-out," he said. "Lately, it seems like we're just taking a lot of jumpers and quick shots."

Peterson promised to focus on getting McFadgon back in the right frame of mind in the next couple of days.

"I'll ask him to get in the gym and spend more time in there shooting," he said. "I've got to spend a little more time talking with him so we can get him back out there to help us out."

Crump's ankle was encased in a protective walking boot on Tuesday as therapy continues. Peterson said it likely would "be a while" before Crump returns.

"We've just got to go on and get ready to play without him," Peterson said. "We have to make sure our guys know their roles on offense and move to the right spots."

Smith update: Tennessee signee Tyler Smith of Giles County had a game-high 22 points in a showdown against Brentwood Academy star Brandan Wright on Tuesday in Nashville.

The game was played at Vanderbilt's Memorial Gym to accommodate a crowd estimated at 6,000.

Wright, a 6-foot-10 junior, led Brentwood Academy to a 67-62 victory with 18 points.