In the movie "Field of Dreams,'' it was said, "If you build it, they will come.''

But Tennessee fans aren't waiting for first-year coach Bruce Pearl to finish his reconstruction of the men's basketball program.

The Vols have sold out Saturday's game against No. 2 Florida. A capacity crowd at or exceeding 24,535 at Thompson-Boling Arena is expected to be on hand for the tipoff at 7 p.m. (TV: Fox Sport Net).

The largest men's crowd at UT in 15 years hopes the Vols (11-3, 2-1 SEC) can build on their early success with an upset over the undefeated Gators (17-0, 3-0).

"I can't tell you how much all the support means to me and our program,'' said Pearl. "Florida is a very talented and very deep team. We'll need to get the Rocky Top Rowdies going.''

The Rowdies is the nickname which has been given to UT's student section.

The Vols figure to need all the support they can get in this pivotal SEC East Division showdown after dropping their past two contests on the road at LSU last Saturday and Wednesday at Memphis.

Pearl is so concerned about his short-handed team getting enough rest that they didn't touch a basketball Thursday, instead meeting for a short time to watch film before a quick weight workout.

"That's not how you'd normally prepare for a game like this,'' Pearl said. "But Florida's going to come in here, nine or 10 (players) deep, and try to wear us out.''

UT is likely just as exhausted mentally as physically after the 88-79 loss to No. 4 Memphis in FedExForum.

The Vols held a 45-41 halftime lead and were even with Memphis at 69-69 with 6:41 left.

Pearl declined to accept the result as a moral victory.

"Moral victory? I hope we're beyond that,'' Pearl said. "It depends on your expectations, I suppose.''

Few outside Knoxville expect UT to beat Florida, but Pearl's not deterred.

"We've played two top-five teams so far, and we've split,'' Pearl said. "This is the rubber game.''

Pearl said playing this type of competition is one reason he chose to leave Wisconsin-Milwaukee to take UT's head coaching job.

"This is what (football coach) Phillip Fulmer and (women's basketball coach) Pat Summitt live with every season,'' Pearl said. "It's a challenge, but it's where I want to be.''

Big Crowd: The last larger-than-capacity crowd at Thompson-Boling Arena was Jan. 12, 1991, when 25,125 came to see UT play Kentucky. The largest men's crowd was Jan. 21, 1989, when an SEC regular season record crowd of 25,610 saw the Vols and Wildcats. UT ranked 10th in the nation in home attendance in a recent survey.

Lofton's Take: Sharpshooter Chris Lofton regained some of his touch with 16 points against Memphis following his career-low two-point effort at LSU.

Lofton, however, wasn't satisfied, even if his 5-of-13 shooting night included seven rebounds and three steals.

"I'm not happy at all right now,'' Lofton said. "I could have played better. I hate to lose so much.''