Pearl says Colonels command respect

"We went hard this morning in practice, but we practiced like it was Thanksgiving,'' UT coach Bruce Pearl said Thursday. "We did not practice well. Our defense and rebounding remain areas of concern.''

And thus, so does the outcome of today's game against Eastern Kentucky at 7:30 p.m. at Thompson-Boling Arena.

"We have got to get the players to understand,'' Pearl said, "that we've got to get better every day.''

The Colonels (1-2) are capable of teaching Tennessee (2-0) that lesson.

Eastern Kentucky, which went to the NCAA tournament last season and is picked to finish second in the Ohio Valley Conference, has held second-half leads in its three games.

The Colonels took Wisconsin to double overtime before losing 95-89 and held a 7-point lead over Georgia before falling 76-68. Both games, along with a 67-60 win over Norfolk State, were played in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam tournament.

Pearl has seen enough film to be concerned with the challenge the Colonels present.

"They're going to run an offense that's an offshoot of the Princeton offense,'' Pearl said. "John Beilein, the coach at West Virginia, has taken that Princeton offense and come up with a nice spread offense off of it. Eastern Kentucky runs that same system.''

West Virginia reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament last season running the offense.

Pearl said the Vols have two options on how to defend the Colonels: Extend and disrupt, which opens up the back-cuts, or play soft, which opens up the 3-point line.

Eastern Kentucky senior guard Matt Witt, a first-team preseason OVC selection, has led the Colonels in scoring each of the last two years.

Pearl said UT will also be challenged on the offensive end.

"We prepared for zone against East Tennessee State and Louisiana-Lafayette and really didn't see that much of it,'' Pearl said. "But we will see a lot of zone from Eastern Kentucky. They run a 1-3-1, which can bother you because it's different.''

The 1-3-1 zone enables the Colonels to be disruptive and create turnovers. Pearl said Eastern Kentucky will trap out of the unorthodox setup, using the sideline and half-court line as an extra defender.

"They'll trap it out of C.J.'s (Watson's) hands, and make other people make plays,'' Pearl said. "It puts pressure on the very thing we're challenged with, our half-court game.

"This is a very difficult team to prepare for on only two days of practice.''

One would think that's especially true if the practices haven't been up to par.

Major Change: Pearl let Major Wingate know he's disappointed the Vols' 6-foot-10 center is averaging only 2.5 rebounds per game.

"As far as Major's rebounds, I've told him that has got to change, and he's got to be more selfish there,'' Pearl said. "That's one area the next level will look at. He needs to be pulling down 10 a game. I want Major to worry about his rebounding numbers.''

Monday Night Basketball: Pearl and his assistant coaches will travel to Cookeville on Monday night to watch Wisconsin-Milwaukee play Tennessee Tech.