There's more to Tennessee's men's basketball game with Tennessee Tech than meets the eye, according to coach Bruce Pearl.

On the surface, the Golden Eagles are a 5-6 Ohio Valley Conference team looking to score an upset over the 21st-ranked Vols at 7 tonight in Thompson-Boling Arena.

Pearl, however, sees Tennessee Tech as a serious threat in what he's calling one of two "trap'' games between heavyweight Texas and the Jan. 7 SEC opener with Mississippi State.

"I think we're ready to play, and we had better be,'' Pearl said. "I've showed our guys tape and told them what can happen. I just hope they don't have to learn the hard way.''

Tennessee (10-2) has shown it can handle adversity in winning the past six games.

But can the Vols handle success?

"We have no choice,'' Pearl said. "Tennessee Tech has beaten Northwestern, they had a great win over Bradley and they played Auburn and Vanderbilt tough.

"They're multiple on defense with a variety of defenses, and we got to standing around when Texas changed defenses on us.''

The Golden Eagles are catching the Vols at a good time. Pearl sees his team as one in a transition of sorts. UT has needed to adjust players' roles after point guard Jordan Howell suffered a broken bone in his hand last Thursday and is lost for at least another five weeks.

"We're tweaking a lot of things right now,'' Pearl said. "We've got to replace Jordan Howell's 20 minutes per game. That means Duke (Crews) plays more minutes, Ryan (Childress) plays more minutes, Dane Bradshaw is playing the point and Wayne (Chism) is playing more at the four.''

It worked to the tune of a 111-105 overtime win over Texas, but few would accuse the Longhorns of being a great defensive team. Further, Texas starts four freshmen while the Golden Eagles start two seniors and three juniors.

Guards Belton Rivers and Anthony Fisher, who average 18.6 and 17.9 points per game, respectively, have caught UT guard Chris Lofton's eye.

"Their guards look to score a lot, and they shoot in transition as well as shooting in your face,'' Lofton said. "We have to approach every game as if it's our last.''

Tonight's meeting marks the Vols' first with Tennessee Tech since UT beat the Golden Eagles 79-61 on Dec. 22, 2003.

"They are a team that's capable of beating us,'' Pearl said. "We're a game they've had circled on the schedule.''