Tennessee men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl said the Vols' approach to today's game is simple.

"Road game, opportunity, chance to sweep,'' said Pearl.

The 11th-ranked Vols play at Georgia today in a sold-out (10,523) Stegeman Coliseum. Game time is 4 p.m. The game will not be televised.

The Vols scored an 89-76 victory over the Bulldogs on Jan. 11. At the time, some billed the game as a battle to stay out of the SEC East cellar.

Since, UT has soared to unforeseen heights with an 8-1 SEC mark and 17-3 overall record. The Vols have won six consecutive SEC games, their longest conference win streak since the 1998-99 season.

Georgia (14-8, 4-5), winners of its past two games against Alabama and Vanderbilt, is fourth in the SEC East.

"They're talking about being on the bubble or an NCAA team,'' Pearl said. "A win over us or a ranked team would really catapult them.''

It took a special effort from senior point guard C.J. Watson to lift the Vols over the Bulldogs in the first meeting.

Watson had 20 points, nine rebounds, six assists and five steals in UT's 89-76.

Despite Watson's success, the Bulldogs' guards remain the top concern. Georgia's top six scorers are guards. Junior Levi Stukes has been red-hot, making 12 of 20 3-point attempts the past three games and pacing the Bulldogs with a 12.2 points-per-game average.

Georgia's guard-heavy rotation might force Pearl to go deep into his bench, and that could lead to sophomore Jordan Howell getting a chance to show Bulldogs' fans what they missed out on.

Howell, who had a career-high four assists in seven minutes in UT's win over Kentucky, signed with Georgia out of Bob Jones High School in Auburn, Ala.

When former Bulldogs' coach Jim Harrick was fired over NCAA violations, Howell was granted a release and chose UT over Alabama.

A bout with mononucleosis carried over from Howell's senior year of high school into his freshman season at UT and led to him red-shirting.

Howell might as well have red-shirted last year, too: the boyish-looking 6-foot-3 guard averaged 6.1 minutes in 19 games played.

"I definitely lost a lot of confidence coming off the bench,'' Howell said. "That was the worst part; just not seeing the floor.''

This season started the same way. Howell failed to play in the exhibition opener against Southern Indiana.

Howell met with Pearl after the game and was told to drive on. About a month later, Howell's perseverance paid off.

After hitting a go-ahead 3-pointer in a contested 89-81 win over Appalachian State, Pearl told Howell he'd won back-up point guard duties.

"That was huge for me,'' said Howell, who rewarded Pearl with a pivotal performance against Florida, hitting clutch free throws and playing the final three minutes after Watson fouled out. "I couldn't be happier with the way things are going now.''

Senior Andre Patterson said Howell's role is appreciated.

"We all have confidence in him because he's a great spot-up shooter and he gets the ball to everybody,'' Patterson said. "Coach (Buzz) Peterson was on him all the time; he took his confidence last year.

"Coach Pearl has given it back to him.''

The numbers suggest as much. Howell has connected on 44 percent of his 3-pointers (11-of-25) with 15 assists and five turnovers on the season.

Bus Mob: Four buses filled with UT fans and students are headed to Georgia, thanks to the efforts of the Big Orange Tipoff club.

UT director of public relations Tiffany Carpenter, who assisted the club's efforts, said there would be another bus if not for the sellout.

"I'd say there will be a good amount of Orange there,'' Carpenter said. "We did an e-mail blast Monday to alumni in the Georgia area with a link to the Georgia ticket office.''

Carpenter said UT usually gets a 100-ticket allotment for road games. The Vols have 285 for this trip.

The Big Orange Tipoff Club will meet next week to discuss another bus trip to Alabama (Feb. 18).

Select Company: Chris Lofton's 31 points tie UT's record for most scored in Rupp Arena. Dale Ellis (1983) and Allan Houston (1993) also hit the Wildcats with 31 points. Both, however, lost.