Bruce Pearl is honored, Chris Lofton is focused, and Tennessee basketball fans are rabid.

There will be plenty of storylines when the Vols (16-3 overall, 7-1 SEC) tip off against their nemesis to the north, Kentucky (15-7, 5-3).

Tennessee, which moved up from 13th to 11th in the Associated Press poll Monday, has dropped eight in a row against the Wildcats entering tonight's 7 o'clock game at Rupp Arena in the 200th meeting of the two teams.

Not one player on the Vols' team has beaten Kentucky during his career.

The drought, combined with UT's unexpected success this season, will lead many in the Big Orange Nation to follow the action via ESPN as the Vols are making their final regular-season national television appearance.

"It will be emotional, and I'll feel honored to take the court as Tennessee's head coach,'' said Pearl, whose only previous trip to Rupp Arena was as a spectator at the 1985 Final Four. "In this business, you have to win, but you've also got to beat your rivals.''

That said, Pearl has taken care not to place too much emphasis on tonight's game.

"Yes, it's (playing Kentucky) the measuring stick for every program in the SEC,'' said Pearl, who will be wearing the same bright orange blazer he wore Wednesday against Vanderbilt. "I'm not going to put pressure on the team or myself by saying it's a must-win game, because it's not.

"But if you want to win a conference championship, you need to do special things, and beating Kentucky at Rupp Arena would be special.''

Lofton, a Maysville, Ky., native, didn't get so much as a sniff from the Wildcats during the recruiting process.

Still, the Vols' sophomore shooting guard insists he doesn't take it personal.

"It worked out perfect for me,'' said Lofton, Kentucky's high school Mr. Basketball recipient his senior season. "They had their recruiting class set, so really there was no room for me.

"They (Kentucky) had three McDonald's All-Americans coming in, and I wasn't ranked as high.''

Simple as that?

UT senior forward Andre Patterson doesn't think so.

"I know it (not being recruited by Kentucky) hurt Chris a little bit,'' Patterson said. "It's a big game for Chris.''

Unlike Lofton, Patterson said he had the opportunity to play for the Wildcats coming out of high school.

"Kentucky was my second choice after UCLA,'' said Patterson, who transferred to UT following his sophomore season. "If I had to do it over again, I'd have gone to Kentucky out of high school.''

Patterson said he felt a twinge of envy while soaking in the environment when playing at Rupp Arena for the first time last season.

But like his head coach, Patterson isn't putting too much pressure on himself or his teammates.

"The fans and the rivalry make for big hoopla and Kentucky would be a good win, but we have other goals, like making the NCAA tournament,'' Patterson said. "I'm not comfortable yet. We have a tough stretch coming up. Anything is still possible, and we're fighting every day.''

Pearl expects a battle from the Wildcats, winners of five in a row prior to their second-half meltdown in a 95-80 loss at Florida on Wednesday.

"They'll handle our pressure well,'' Pearl said. "There is no margin for error. We're not very big, we're not very deep and some people would question how athletic we are.

"In games like this, you need to be special. We can't just have a nice, balanced attack. You need special.''

Matchup: Pearl said the Vols are facing one of the best backcourts in the SEC, and that UT needs guards Lofton and C.J. Watson to have strong performances.

Pearl's second point of emphasis is the post, where UT junior Major Wingate matches up against Randolph Morris, a 6-foot-10, 266-pound sophomore averaging 12.8 points and five rebounds per game.

In attempting to shut down Morris, Pearl said the Vols can't overlook guard Patrick Sparks, who dished out a season-high nine assists against Florida and leads Kentucky with 37 3-pointers.