Tennessee senior forward Andre Patterson is back to making noise on the basketball court.

Patterson, suspended for five weeks prior to the start of the season, made his first start Wednesday night. He could be pivotal in today's game against South Carolina (TV: Fox Sports Net, 5 p.m.). UT is a 6 1/2 -point favorite.

The 19th-ranked Vols (13-3, 4-1 SEC) lead the SEC East and have won two consecutive games, including an upset of then-No. 2 Florida last Saturday. The Gamecocks (11-8, 2-4) upset Florida 68-62 on Wednesday.

Patterson was a non-factor in UT's 76-69 win at South Carolina on Jan. 8, scoring two points and pulling down one rebound.

UT coach Bruce Pearl believes Patterson will have more of an impact today.

"Andre could be our X-factor,'' said Pearl. "With him being out there more and starting, he's playing with more confidence and he's been more productive.''

Patterson's 10 rebounds and 12 points against Florida last Saturday was enough for Pearl to start the 6-foot-7 Los Angeles product in a win at Mississippi State on Wednesday, and Patterson responded with 11 rebounds.

"I've been on a bit of a roll,'' Patterson said. "I had a good second half against Florida and a good first half against Mississippi State, but I haven't put two halves together yet.''

Patterson considers himself fortunate to be playing at all. A preseason altercation involving former teammate Jamere Hendrix and former football player Daniel Brooks led to Hendrix and Brooks being kicked out of UT's athletics program and Patterson drawing a suspension.

"I was almost gone, and that made me get serious about a lot of things,'' said Patterson, who worked out on his own while his teammates learned the new system under Pearl. "It made me serious about school and ball. But coach Pearl believed in me and stood by my side.''

Still, Pearl said the suspension put Patterson behind and he's just now hitting stride.

"It was the first time in my life I didn't start,'' said Patterson, who transferred from UCLA to UT three years ago after former Bruins coach Steve Lavin was fired. "At first, I lost confidence. I had to adjust to coming off the bench.''

Patterson made the most of it, coming up with the Vols' "Bench Mob'' theme.

"It's just something Andre came up with to keep us going,'' said UT guard JaJuan Smith, who along with Patterson has come off the bench this season to spark crucial victories. "We do a little chant before the game and it gets us going.''

It led to Bench Mob T-shirts.

"We gave them to the five guys who came off the bench last Saturday, because they've all been important,'' Pearl said. "(Starting guard Chris) Lofton asked, 'Can I get one?' I said, 'Not unless you want to come off the bench.' ''

UT center Major Wingate laughed when asked what separates Patterson from other teammates.

"Dre's cocky, he feels he can beat anybody on a given day, and he's the loudest guy in the locker room,'' Wingate said. "I think he talks in his sleep.''

Wingate said Patterson's chatty ways help hold the team together.

"He's always joking around, and if someone is having a bad day, he goes out of his way to cheer them up,'' Wingate said. "When I was having family issues this summer, he'd call to check on me.''

C.J. Watson, the quietest player on the team, agreed with Wingate's assessment.

"Yeah, he talks and most of the time I put up with it,'' Watson said coyly. "Then sometimes I tell him to just play basketball.

"Seriously, Andre is funny and gets everyone going and makes us all feel comfortable.''

More importantly, Patterson keeps the basketball team going on the floor.

"It makes a big difference when he's playing well,'' Watson said. "He can get rebounds, score, play defense and he runs the floor well.''

And when it's all said and done, Patterson is more than happy to talk about it.

After the win over Florida, Patterson shrugged.

"Done it before,'' he said. "When I was at UCLA, we beat the No. 1 team in the nation twice, Arizona and at Stanford. It was time to play big.''

That time has arrived once more.

Vol Walk II: Pearl wouldn't say if the Vols will enter through the crowd prior to today's game like they did before the Florida game.

"There's got to be some suspense, right?'' he said. "In looking at the video clips of Saturday's win nothing hit me harder than watching our players go through the crowd and watching their faces.''

UT athletic director Mike Hamilton is still beaming over the win over the Gators.

"It was one of the best scenes I've been a part of since I've been here,'' Hamilton said.

Different Plan: Pearl's not counting on another 10-of-13 3-point shooting effort against South Carolina, as the Vols had in the second half of the first meeting in erasing a 15-point deficit.

"I'd say we won't beat them the same way again,'' he said.