There are no Alabama A&Ms left on the schedule. Heck, there aren't even any Auburns.

From here on out for Tennessee, getting a win is a man's job every night.

Bruce Pearl says he wouldn't have it any other way.

"This run of teams we're playing down the stretch it's good for us,'' UT's coach said Monday.

Exactly why is going to Alabama and Florida back-to-back good for the Vols? And what's good about coming home to play two dangerous and desperate NCAA bubble teams, Arkansas and Kentucky?

Because that which doesn't kill you will only make you stronger.

"All these games,'' reasoned Pearl, "are going to help us step up towards playing our best basketball down the stretch.

"That's what you want to get every team to do.''

Basketball is a postseason game. Come March, you want to be hitting a peak, not on the wane.

That said ...

Tennessee (19-4, 10-2 SEC) was so spectacularly efficient in an eight-game SEC winning streak, it's a fair question to ask if the Vols could possibly play any better than they already have?

A streak-ending 92-79 loss at Alabama on Saturday was a step back.

And now comes another potential one -- a visit to Florida on Wednesday (8 p.m. TV: WVLT).

"We can play a lot better,'' said center Major Wingate. "I don't think anybody's seen us play the best we can play.''

Specifically, Wingate is pointing a finger at himself. He has to play better than he did at Alabama.

Florida's big men, Joakim Noah and Al Horford, can be as lethal as the Tide's Richard Hendrix and Jermareo Davidson were if UT can't muster more of a presence around the boards.

"Major needs to be challenged,'' said Pearl. "If he gets outplayed as he did against Alabama, we'll have a hard time winning and he knows that.''

On the whole, Wingate's 10.7 scoring average hasn't fluctuated that much between the 19 games UT won and the four it lost. Scoring isn't even high on his to-do list.

But Pearl wants to see intangibles that aren't quantified in a box score.

"He knows how I feel about his capabilities,'' said Pearl. "The one thing is regardless of the effectiveness of his play, he needs to play with passion the entire time.

"There's been some times where his play wasn't very effective and it also affected his intensity. That won't happen to my team.''

After 23 games, the Vols have figured out they're a much better team when Wingate makes his presence felt at both ends of the court.

"There's no bigger game,'' said Dane Bradshaw, "than on the road at Florida with the big guys they have.

"Major will be fine. It's not just on him. It's on everybody.''

And if it doesn't kill them, they'll be stronger in March.

Still Top 10: The Vols dropped two spots to No. 10 in the Associated Press poll. They're 11th in the coaches' poll.

Florida is No. 12 in the AP poll and No. 9 according to the coaches.

The Season: The first showing of "The Season" on ESPN2 is Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The 30-minute episode offers a behind-the-scenes look at a week in the life of the Vols.

Throwback Jerseys: You won't find Tennessee's "Throwback Week" jerseys for sale at the SEC's online store -- or anywhere else. Chris Fuller, UT's marketing man, said there was a gap at adidas (UT's official supplier) between the manufacturing and retail decision-makers, thus no retro jerseys were produced. Same for Arkansas and Mississippi State, the other adidas teams in the SEC.

UT is trying to scramble up retro jerseys from another supplier and Fuller is "cautiously optimistic" some might be available by Saturday's home game.

"This has been very disappointing considering the way our season is going,'' Fuller said.

The seven schools with "throwback" jerseys available for purchase at the SEC Web site are all Nike affiliates.

Checkerboard Effect: Even if you can't get a retro jersey, everybody in the lower bowl of the arena will get a free T-shirt for the Kentucky game. The Vol Network and the Natural Gas and Pipeline Company of East Tennessee are printing 10,400 shirts (half orange, half white) to produce a human checkerboard design.

Despite UT's best efforts, there will probably be a little blue in the mix as well. Just for accent

Arkansas Docked: The SEC on Monday fined Arkansas $5,000 because Razorback fans stormed the court Saturday after an overtime win over Florida. UT drew the same penalty after a win over the Gators on Jan. 21.

LSU swept weekly honors with Glen Davis the SEC player of the week and Tyrus Thomas the freshman.