Tennessee junior point guard Jordan Howell underwent X-rays on his right hand after injuring it during Thursday's practice.

"We'll just have to see what happens,'' UT coach Bruce Pearl said. "He might be able to play Saturday, he might not.''

Tennessee (9-2) plays host to Texas (8-2) at noon Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena in a game that will be televised by ESPN.

Howell, who missed most of UT's October practices after suffering a fracture in his right hand on Oct. 7, got his hand caught in another player's jersey during scrimmage action Thursday.

Howell attempted to continue to practice, but when it became evident he couldn't dribble with the injured hand, Pearl pulled him off the floor.

"He did pretty much the same thing as he did the first time he got it injured,'' Pearl said. "You saw it, we had to ice his hand and he's going for X-rays later.''

Howell has started the past five games, moving into the starting lineup at Louisiana-Lafayette Nov. 27 in place of freshman Ramar Smith.

The Vols are 5-0 with Howell starting at the point and have decreased their turnovers by nearly five per contest.

Ramar Smith would likely start in Howell's place if the injury is significant, with fellow freshman Marques Johnson moving into the rotation.

Johnson hasn't played since the fourth game of the season, a 99-65 win over Coppin State Nov. 19, and has been a candidate for a redshirt season.

Pearl has said throughout the season Johnson is "staying ready'' in case he is called upon, and Johnson got repetitions with the first team after Howell's injury.

Pearl said he wished he would have trusted his intuition earlier in the day: Prior to practice, Pearl told assistant coach Jason Shay he "had a feeling'' that maybe the team should avoid "live'' work.

Tight Rims: The Vols made only 27-percent of their 3-point shot attempts in the three games they played at Gaylord Entertainment Center this season compared to the 37-percent they have made during the season and 44-percent they have made in Thompson-Boling Arena.

"It's tight rims, and I don't mind talking about it,'' Pearl said. "It's the same for both teams. It's something we'll look at before next year.

"In arenas where you don't normally play basketball, they use portable rims like we do here,'' Pearl said. "But these rims get practiced on and dunked on a lot more.''

Bradshaw Goes: Senior forward Dane Bradshaw took part in all parts of Thursday's practice except the live work.

"I did all the conditioning and shooting,'' said Bradshaw. "It doesn't bother me as much because I know it (shoulder injuries) isn't something torn.''

Pearl said he wants to start an award in honor of Bradshaw, who the head coach believes to be the model for student-athletes.

"It's going to be for a guy that does it the right way and achieves at a high level,'' Pearl said. "Dane is a talented athlete who comes as close to maximizing his potential as anyone I've coached.''

Time Change: The Feb. 10 game against Vanderbilt in Thompson-Boling Arena has been changed to 1 p.m. to accommodate television. Lincoln-Financial Sports will televise the game and will be seen locally on WVLT.

Texas Two-Step: The Longhorns are 2-0 against the SEC this season, having defeated LSU 76-75 in overtime and Arkansas 80-76 Wednesday night in Austin, Texas.

Big Crowd: Approximately 20,000 tickets have already been sold for Saturday's game with Texas.

"I encourage fans to get there early,'' UT senior associate athletic director John Currie said. "For an early start like that, people have a tendency to get their right before tip. But if everyone tries to get there at 11:45 (a.m.) there will be some traffic back-ups.

"We also want folks there early to help us have a great looking crowd on national television.''