Tennessee men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl knows his team doesn't seem to have as much to play for as Vanderbilt.

The No. 11 Vols have clinched the top seed in the SEC East, while the Commodores find themselves battling to keep slim NCAA tournament hopes alive entering today's game in Nashville (TVL WVLT, 2 p.m.).

Yet Pearl said he has no doubt Tennessee (20-6, 11-4 SEC) will put its best effort on the floor against Vanderbilt (16-10, 7-8) in both teams' regular-season finale.

"I understand our challenge; there's not a championship to play for,'' Pearl said. "But we pride ourselves on the fact that we prepare the same for every game, and we've brought it every night.''

Problem is, so have the Vols' opponents of late.

Arkansas brought it and erased a 14-point second-half deficit last Saturday. Kentucky brought it Wednesday night and wiped out a 14-point deficit.

Now, it's Vanderbilt's turn to try to avenge its 69-62 loss to UT on Feb. 1 in Knoxville.

Shooting guard Chris Lofton said he'll need to be on his game to send UT into the postseason with a victory.

"I'll have to hit more of my shots and be more aggressive,'' said Lofton, who was held to just seven points on 2-of-7 shooting against the Commodores. "We've put more plays in for me. Hopefully, I'll be shooting more off the handoffs.''

Pearl said most teams' defense involves sticking a defender on Lofton throughout the entire game, whether he has the ball or not.

The Vols' first option to offset that is to create turnovers and score in transition, before the defense has a chance to set up.

"But we haven't been getting enough offense out of our defense, and we're not getting enough points in transition,'' Pearl said. "In the half court, defenses aren't leaving (Lofton) alone at any time. You've not seen us force the ball to him.''

And Lofton hasn't forced many shots.

That could change, with Lofton setting his sights on driving to the basket.

"I need to get to the free throw line,'' said Lofton, who's 36-of-36 from the free-throw line in SEC games, "so I can get some easy baskets.''

Pearl said forcing turnovers is also the best way to protect his under-sized front line from getting exploited in the paint.

"Ours is a system of runs because of the nature of transition and uptempo,'' Pearl said. "We're not a good defensive team, so the runs (against UT) will last longer because we don't get the stops.''

Pearl said the Vols benefited more from their running, pressing style earlier in the season.

"We'd been able to finish games because at the pace we play, teams hadn't been able to finish with us,'' Pearl said. "But at this time of year, it's been harder for us to do that.

"We talked about the fact that every game will be a close game from here on out.''

And that means UT needs to respond to Pearl's demand for all-out effort.

"It's hard to go through the whole season and do that every game,'' he said. "I haven't had many teams that I've coached in my career that were able to do that.

"My approach is the same as it was at the start of the season: we've got to bring it every night.''

No Hoosier: Pearl dismissed rumors that appeared in a St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press column that he might interview for Indiana's coaching vacancy.

"It's not accurate -- I'm not interviewing at Indiana,'' Pearl said. "I was in Southern Indiana nine years, and I love Indiana basketball, and I appreciate how much basketball is cherished there.

"If you'd have given me that opportunity a year ago, I'd have taken it. But I'm Tennessee's basketball coach, and I'm also in a place where they love their basketball.''

Worth Noting: Vanderbilt is a 2-point favorite over the Vols. ... Today's game is the fifth consecutive road sellout UT has played in (Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Florida). ... If Lofton, who has hit 38 free throws in a row, will tie the school mark for consecutive free throws set by Danny Schultz (1963) and Michael Brooks (1985) if he hits his next one. ... UT is 14-0 when scoring 80 points or more.