They're unorthodox. They make you play out of your comfort zone.

They're talented and experienced. They shoot too well.

Monday's SEC basketball teleconference turned into a forum on why Tennessee is having such great success in its first year under Bruce Pearl.

This was, after all, a team that went 14-17 under Buzz Peterson, lost two of its leading scorers and didn't add an impact newcomer.

With Pearl at the helm, the Vols are 12-3, 3-1 SEC, and have knocked off two of the best teams in the nation, Texas and Florida.

UT is essentially playing four guards and one big man while pressing and forcing the tempo. Moving former point guard Dane Bradshaw to power forward has produced confounding results, to say the least.

Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings saw it coming. He was an assistant at Purdue when Pearl was an assistant under his mentor Tom Davis at Iowa.

"They force you to do things that go against some of the principles you teach and commonly taught principles,'' Stallings said. "It makes them different and it makes them effective.

"That's one of the big challenges of playing against Tennessee, or when he was at Milwaukee or at Iowa. ... It's a lot different than how a lot of people coach and it's very effective.''

Stallings hasn't faced UT yet. Georgia's Dennis Felton has.

"One of their biggest strengths is their unique, non-traditional lineup,'' said Felton. "They spread the floor and ... when they have (Andre) Patterson in the game, that's certainly five 17-foot shooters and good drivers.''

The 6-foot-4 Bradshaw, who leads the SEC in assist/turnover ratio (66 to 22), has been surprisingly effective as a rebounder. He ranks 14th in the league at 6.4 per game.

"He is not allowing himself to be taken advantage of because he plays so hard,'' said Felton. "He's doing whatever he has to do to compete guarding bigger men, whether it's hitting 'em, holding 'em, being really rugged, just being very active.''

Which is nothing new to South Carolina's Dave Odom.

"He's been a thorn in the opponents' side ever since he arrived,'' said Odom. "He's a pain. He's a pain to play against.

"Because he understands as well as anybody in the league what his strengths are and what his team needs. And he knows how to put those qualities together and make the best of it.

"(Chris) Lofton shoots it, (C.J.) Watson controls it, but Bradshaw makes it go. He really does.''

Lofton shoots it so well and so deep, Odom said he's about to change his mind and favor moving back the 3-point line.

"I watched the (Florida-UT) game on tape,'' Odom said. "Lee Humphrey could not have done a better job.

"He's smelling the guy's breath and (Lofton) still makes a shot.''

Florida's Billy Donovan doesn't buy the theory that Pearl is working miracles with a bunch of rejects.

He said Peterson didn't leave a bare cupboard and notes UT starts two seniors, two juniors and a sophomore.

"So many teams have had departures and have had to rely on youth,'' Donovan said. "They're the one team that has a very good level of talent and a good level of experience.

"Those two things combined make them a very good team.''

Brewer Gimpy: Corey Brewer is questionable at best for Florida's visit to South Carolina on Wednesday. Brewer returned to the game at UT on Saturday after a first-half ankle sprain but didn't practice Monday and wasn't going to today.

"I'll be very surprised if he played on Wednesday,'' said Donovan.

Teed Off: Working the terrific UT-Memphis game on Wednesday wasn't the highlight of official John Hampton's week. During Houston's game at UAB on Saturday, Hampton called a technical foul, believing that Houston coach Tom Penders was overreacting to a whistle against the Cougars.

Hampton didn't understand that Penders was sprawled on the court because he had passed out, the result of a long-time heart issue. Even though Penders was carted off on a stretcher, the technical stood.

UAB hit both technical free throws and eventually won 82-79. Penders returned in the second half.

Open Records: The NCAA is making its RPI rankings public on its Web site, starting Feb. 2. The index is one factor the selection committee uses to pick at-large teams for the tournament. Several RPI rankings are available on other Web sites, but this is new ground for the NCAA's official formula.