Watson quietly holds Vols together

Like his "Quiet Storm" nickname, Tennessee's junior point guard produces results without drawing attention to himself.

Watson's leadership at the point is being called on more than ever to hold the Vols together.

The Vols (10-9, 3-3 SEC) take a two-game losing streak into their visit at Auburn tonight. Tip-off is 6 p.m.

Traveling with UT is a sense of urgency.

Senior co-captain Brandon Crump is out two to four weeks with an ankle sprain. Senior co-captain Scooter McFadgon has been in a shooting slump.

Watson, the other co-captain, is steady as ever.

"I know a lot of our season rides on my shoulders, with or without Crump," Watson said. "I've just got to step it up another notch and try to get my team to the next level.

"Our goal is still to get to the (NCAA) tournament. We want to win out the rest of the way in the conference and we still have it in our minds that we can do it."

That stretch run to a seemingly improbable NCAA bid begins tonight against Auburn (9-9, 0-5).

"We just have to stay positive and keep our confidence real high because we did face two tough teams," Watson said of losses to Louisville and Kentucky. "One we were right there with (Louisville), and the other one we kind of played ourselves out of the game giving up offensive rebounds."

Watson has to be the glue, according to UT coach Buzz Peterson.

"He has always been solid," Peterson said. "I'm always concerned about his minutes, but all of us feel comfortable when he's in there handling the ball.

"He has been real consistent all season."

Watson averages a team-high 35 minutes a game. He's averaging 11.6 points, 5.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds.

Like everything else Watson does, he has quietly climbed some UT career-leader charts.

He moved to No. 6 in career assists with 402, trailing only Allan Houston, Tyrone Beaman, Tony Harris, Rodney Woods and Johnny Darden.

With three more steals, he'll tie UT administrative aide Clarence Swearengen and Ian Lockhart for No. 14 with 121. He and McFadgon are tied with 96 career 3-pointers, good for ninth all-time.

All this proves Watson's consistency and means little to the Las Vegas native. He's focused on Auburn.

"They've got a lot of guys who can shoot the ball," he said. "They basically play five guards and run and gun.

"But as long as we get back in transition and help each other out we should be OK."

It's the kind of game Watson relishes.

"That's a fun kind of game because I love to run-and-gun, too," he said. "Hopefully, we can just stop them on the defensive end.

"That's what we're concentrating on more than anything, because if you can stop people, you can win the game."

Tar Heel Reunion: Peterson gets a chance to coach against Jeff Lebo, a fellow North Carolina graduate who Peterson helped lure to Chapel Hill.

A rift developed last fall between the two when Lebo stayed in contact with two UT commitments (Jarvis Hill and Joey Cameron) and eventually lured them to Auburn.

Peterson said all of that is in the past.

"We've talked," he said. "He called after the Mississippi State game to congratulate us.

"I don't hold anything bad (against Lebo). Sometimes I just wish things had been handled a little differently."

Scouting Report: Auburn might be small, and still looking for its first conference victory, but the Tigers have some offensive weapons.

Freshman Toney Douglas is second in the league with 18.6 points per game.

He scored an SEC-high 38 points against Nicholls State this season.

Seniors Ian Young and Quinnel Brown average 15.5 and 13.3, respectively.

Peterson said UT could use more "small" lineups, meaning more playing time for Dane Bradshaw and Stanley Asumnu, to keep pace with Auburn's smaller lineup. The Tigers don't have a starter taller than 6-foot-6.

This is the 100th all-time meeting between the schools with UT holding a 65-34 series advantage.

Auburn has lost five in a row and has been outscored by an average of 18.2 points in SEC games.