The term "double-session'' is not ordinarily used in conjunction with collegiate men's basketball practice.

But as Tennessee men's basketball fans have learned over the past 1A 1/2 years, Bruce Pearl is no ordinary coach when it comes to his approach to the game.

Fans saw that from the get-go when Pearl opened his tenure as UT's coach with a 106-83 victory over East Tennessee State last season, and they're seeing it again as Pearl prepares for his second meeting with the Bucs.

Pearl put the 21st-ranked Vols (11-2) through two practice sessions Friday in prepping for tonight's 8 p.m. tipoff against East Tennessee State (8-5) at Thompson-Boling Arena (TV: CSS).

"Having one day to prepare for a game is unusual, but we're not in school so we'll do the extra review,'' said Pearl, whose team has won seven in a row. "I take these games one game at a time, literally.''

And so no stone goes unturned under Pearl's watchful eye.

"At this point we've played enough where opponents can see our tendencies, so coach Pearl will try to add some wrinkles,'' senior Dane Bradshaw said. "For him, this is a chess match.''

None of the players is complaining about the extra work.

"It doesn't bother me, because it's something we can do to get better,'' UT junior guard Chris Lofton said. "We're still young, but we all have the mindset that to be a great team, we must work to get better.''

Sophomore Ryan Childress, who's getting work at both power forward and center, said he looks forward to extra repetitions.

"Practicing twice means (Lofton) will have a hard time getting in his extra shots with us in the gym practicing,'' Childress joked. "I guess he'll have to get in early.''

Lofton, who leads the SEC in scoring at 21.8 points-per-game, did just that, arriving at the arena around 11:30 a.m. for his routine voluntary shootaround. Lofton said he takes 25 3-pointers from seven different spots on the floor daily.

Junior JaJuan Smith, who scored a career-high 23 points in Thursday's win over Tennessee Tech, said UT players have come to expect a challenging schedule from Pearl.

"That's the one thing coach has always preached,'' Smith said, "that we're going to be one of the hardest working teams in the country.''

Freshman Duke Crews said Pearl's work ethic is one reason he chose Tennessee over numerous other schools.

"We didn't have class, so the extra practice kind of replaces that,'' Crews said. "You have to work hard, I've heard that all my life. Hard work pays off and translates into wins.''

Pearl said in addition to getting ready for the myriad of zone defenses the Bucs will throw at the Vols, he wants to get his young players more familiar with their new roles.

"We need to continue to focus on us,'' Pearl said. "You've got Dane, JaJuan, Wayne (Chism) and Ryan playing two positions.

"Some guys learn from watching film, some learn from walk-throughs and some need live work to get it.''

That's why the Vols will have met on four different occasions between Thursday night's game and tonight's tip-off.

Tough Schedule: Bradshaw pointed out that collegiate basketball players have a tough time utilizing scheduled time off from classes that other college students get.

"Playing basketball, you miss Thanksgiving, most of Christmas and if you're doing well at all, you'll miss spring break,'' Bradshaw said. "But I won't be complaining about missing spring break.''

Bradshaw is mad at himself for missing 3-point shots. He's made just 6-of-27 (.222) this season, which matches his season totals from his freshman year.

"I was excited to take some shots the other (Thursday) night because the night before was the first time I'd had some shooting volume in practice in a while,'' said Bradshaw, whose should tendinitis limited him the previous three weeks. "I need to start making more.''

Bench Mob II: Last year's reserve players tagged themselves the "Bench Mob'' and had T-shirts made. This year's crew might do the same, as they combine to average 25.5 points per game compared to last year's 21.0 average.

Tough Critic: Crews continued to lament his 10-point, 10-rebound performance against Tennessee Tech, even though it was his first career double-double.

"I know I played bad and it's something I have to live with,'' Crews said. "I can't make those mistakes twice. That's how you grow and mature as a player.

Did You Know: A win tonight would give the Vols their first undefeated December since 1997-98. ... UT has scored 100 more points in the past two games, and the only other Vols' team to accomplish that was the 1957-58 squad. ... UT is 14-0 in non-conference home games under Pearl. ... The Vols lead the SEC with 15.5 offensive rebounds per game.