Wingate hurt, will miss game

UT coach Bruce Pearl said center Major Wingate probably won't play against Louisiana-Lafayette after suffering a foot injury in Sunday night's practice.

"We're probably playing the biggest team we'll see on our schedule,'' Pearl said, "and here, it doesn't look like we'll have Major (Wingate).''

Senior Andre Patterson, a 6-foot-7 converted forward, will start in place of Wingate when UT tips off against the Ragin' Cajuns at 7:30 at Thompson-Boling Arena.

"It will be their size against our quickness,'' Pearl said. "We knew before this Louisiana-Lafayette would be one of our most-challenging opponents.

"I really wanted Major to play against (Michael) Southall for the challenge it would present in order to help get him ready for SEC play.''

Instead, the Vols' lack of size and depth will be challenged against the Sun Belt Conference favorites.

Southall, a former Kentucky and Georgia Tech signee, is Louisiana-Lafayette's bell cow.

Listed at 6-10, 236, Southall sat out last year because of a team violation. The year before, he was academically ineligible. But Pearl noted that three years ago, Southall was the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year.

Southall had 15 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots against in a 65-47 loss at Southern Illinois on Friday.

In addition to Southall, the Ragin' Cajuns start a lineup that's 6-11, 6-7, 6-7 and 6-5.

"Obviously, we'll try to speed them up,'' Pearl said. "The closer the ball gets to the basket, the more size has an advantage.''

That means Pearl's "Controlled Chaos'' defense will be working overtime.

And that means depth will be a factor, putting players like Ryan Childress, JaJuan Smith and Jordan Howell in position to see more minutes in relief.

With Wingate out and Patterson starting, Childress will see more time at center.

That, in turn, means more minutes for 6-4 Dane Bradshaw at power forward, which in turn means fewer minutes for Bradshaw backing up the point. That translates into more time for JaJuan Smith and Jordan Howell.

Pearl didn't put a timetable on Wingate's return.

The 6-10 Wingate suffered the injury when he took a charge and redshirt sophomore Tony Passley landed on him. Wingate is in a protective boot, but X-rays showed no fracture.

"Major wants to try to play,'' Pearl said. "But I'm not putting a guy out there until he can get up and down the court.''

Harris Future: Freshman Damion Harris, a 6-10, 275-pounder, practiced Monday but isn't 100 percent.

Harris missed the past two weeks of practice with a quadricep injury. Pearl listed his status for tonight's game as "questionable.''

Plus-Minus: Chris Lofton led the way in Pearl's favorite stat, which shows how the team fared with each player in the game.

Lofton's 19 points was the highest "plus-minus,'' meaning the Vols out-scored East Tennessee State by 19 when Lofton was in the game.

Other plus-minuses: Bradshaw 18, Stanley Asumnu 17, C.J. Watson 17.