Tennessee held a voluntary shootaround Tuesday in the wake of its 79-77 victory over 15th-ranked and previously unbeaten No. 15 Oklahoma State Monday night in Nashville.

Senior forward Dane Bradshaw, having undergone an MRI on his two injured shoulders Tuesday morning, was predictably not tossing up shots.

UT junior guard Chris Lofton, having made 5-of-15 shots from the floor and 7-of-11 from the free throw line --including four misses in a row -- predictably put up hundreds of shots.

Tuesday's results were good for both Bradshaw and Lofton.

A source close to the program said Bradshaw's MRIs revealed tendinitis and a strained muscle -- no structural damage -- meaning Bradshaw will likely continue to play through the pain when the Vols (9-2) play Texas on Saturday (TV: ESPN, noon) at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Bradshaw, who suffered the shoulder injuries in the NIT Season Tip-Off games Nov. 22 and Nov. 24, was the hero against Oklahoma State, triggering a turnover in the final 30 seconds and tipping in the game-winner with 1.9 seconds remaining.

Lofton struggled through one of his worst shooting nights of the season. So the junior sharpshooter not only went to the voluntary workout Tuesday afternoon, he was also there shooting in the morning

"If we hadn't won, it would have been real bad,'' said Lofton, who missed all four of his free throw attempts over the final 7:22, including a pair with UT holding a 75-74 lead and 2:48 left. "I told myself (after missing the pair), 'You just did something very bad.'

"I definitely looked at the other side of it and thought about if we had lost, you could have put the blame on me.''

UT assistant coaches Steve Forbes and Jason Shay said Lofton's free throw misses had more to do with the season-high 35 minutes he played than lack of focus or touch.

As for Lofton's 5-of-15 shooting from the floor -- his worst performance since a 3-of-9 night in a loss to Butler in the NIT -- that could be attributed to Oklahoma State's 6-foot-9 Marcus Dove.

Dove did a number on Lofton last year, too, limiting him to two points in the first half of the Cowboys' 89-73 win in Oklahoma City before suffering a broken hip just before halftime.

"He's a 6-foot-9 athlete; it doesn't get much worse than that,'' Lofton said. "You drive by him, he's so long, you really don't have a chance to score.''

Oklahoma State coach Sean Sutton said he wouldn't have played anyone but his best defender on Lofton.

"Lofton may be the best shooter in college basketball and one of the best offensive players, so to hold him to 5 of 15...'' Sutton said. "Two of the threes he made, he got switched off Marcus and he shot over (Byron) Eaton.''

Lofton isn't the only great player Dove has affected.

"(Gonzaga coach) Mark Few told me over the summer that (Dove) was by far the most difficult guy for Adam Morrison to play against,'' Sutton said.

The Duke: Sutton wasn't surprised by freshman center Duke Crews' 17-point, nine-rebound performance.

"Crews, we tried to recruit him and just loved how hard he plays,'' Sutton said. "He plays with a warrior's mindset and he did a great job for them tonight.

"Last year, they had (Major) Wingate and (Andre) Patterson, and both those guys were good,'' Sutton said. "I think these two guys have a lot of talent. Potentially, Crews and (freshman center Wayne) Chism both can be big-time players.''

Crews said the next step is consistency.

"Coach (Pearl) told me I'm playing the level of competition,'' Crews said. "I can't just do that.''

Crews averages 21.1 minutes, 9.9 points and 5.6 rebounds. Chism averages 17.1 minutes, 7.8 points and 5.8 rebounds.

Hidden Hero: Seemingly lost in the shuffle of Bradshaw's heroics, the inspired play of the freshmen centers and freshman guard Ramar Smith's continued improvement is JaJuan Smith's contributions.

JaJuan Smith scored 14 points in the win over Oklahoma State, but more importantly had four assists with two turnovers while recording six steals on a defense that limited Oklahoma State to 15 shots in the second half.

Inside Source: UT coach Bruce Pearl said the Vols are benefiting from new assistant coach Forbes, who picked up some defensive tricks while at Texas A&M.

Forbes helped Shay, UT's primary scout, with inside information on Oklahoma State.

"A couple of their plays we knew from when I was at (Texas) A&M,'' Forbes said

Forbes said his contributions to offense are minimal.

"I only have two suggestions,'' he said. "Put Lofton back in the game and have him shoot.''

Nashville Future: John Currie, UT's senior associate athletic director, said the Vols will play Western Kentucky in Nashville on Dec. 16, 2007.

"Building a fan base is a long-term proposition, and I thought the crowd was a big factor in us winning the game,'' Currie said. "The people who were there (Monday night) saw a great show. That was a positive step forward.''