The new year and the start of SEC play mean a new men's basketball season as far as the Tennessee players are concerned.

"We finished the month of December undefeated, and that was our goal after playing in New York,'' said UT junior JaJuan Smith, who has scored a career-high 23 points in each of the Vols' past two wins. "Now 2006 is over, and we're 0-0 in the new year. I think that (East Tennessee State) game will be a learning experience for all of us.''

Tennessee, 12-2 and ranked 21st, escaped Saturday night's game against the upset-minded Bucs with a 93-88 victory.

The lesson was simple: To win, the Vols must play well, regardless of the opponent.

And now that the SEC season is upon UT -- with a Jan. 13 game at nationally ranked Ohio State slipped in -- Tennessee must step up and play even better.

"It's a war now,'' said Vols' sharpshooter Chris Lofton, who leads the SEC with a 22.3 points-per-game scoring average. "There will be no easy nights. No matter who your opponent, you have to play with energy and passion.''

UT senior Dane Bradshaw said even with the close win over ETSU, he's confident the team can handle the challenge that bigger, more athletic SEC teams bring.

"I think we're as ready as any other SEC team,'' Bradshaw said. "If you bring anything out of it (the win over the Bucs), it was a good, close win for us.''

Bradshaw said he's eager for the Vols' Jan. 7 SEC opener against Mississippi State at Thompson-Boling Arena.

"Starting the SEC is like going into a second season,'' Bradshaw said. "It's a fresh start.''

UT coach Bruce Pearl couldn't have been happy that he needed to discipline freshmen Ramar Smith and Duke Crews for being late to Saturday's team breakfast.

"It won't happen again,'' said Pearl, who removed Smith and Crews from the starting lineup because of their tardiness.

Pearl, however, remained upbeat when asked about the progress of his team.

"I think we've handled some adversity,'' Pearl said. "Really, who outside of this basketball team thought we'd be 12-2 right now?''

The Vols return to practice at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Stat Watch: The Vols lead the SEC in offensive rebounds (15.14 per game) and 3-point shots made per game (9.50), but they're last in scoring defense (73.9 points per game), field goal percentage defense (.440) and rebounds allowed (36.7).

Fourth In Attendance: UT ranks fourth in the nation in home attendance. Kentucky leads the nation with a 22,836 average home crowd, North Carolina is second at 19,997, Syracuse is third at 19,077 and then it's the Vols at 18,980.

UT ranked fifth in the nation in home attendance last year. Kentucky was first (22,763), then Syracuse (21,587) followed by North Carolina (20,239) and Louisville (18,316). The Vols drew an average of 17,954 last season.

Dane's Shot: Bradshaw's not ready to start taking shots in place of Lofton, but he admits he's relieved to be back in a shooting rhythm after making three of four3-point attempts against ETSU.

"It felt good the past couple of days to get some rhythm shooting in practice,'' said Bradshaw, who was limited most of December by shoulder tendinitis. "When you're on a cold streak, it can get mental.''

Bradshaw wasn't just cold -- he was freezing. Entering Saturday night's game, Bradshaw had missed 10 consecutive 3-point attempts over the past five games. Bradshaw's most recent converted 3-point shot had been on Dec. 1 against Murray State.

Ramar Surge: Freshman point guard Ramar Smith is averaging 13.3 points, five assists and 1.67 turnovers per game since regaining the starting job three games ago.

"If anyone has benefited from our tough preseason schedule, it's Ramar,'' Bradshaw said. "That's given him confidence heading into conference play.''