NASHVILLE -- If you wanted an appropriate soundtrack for Tennessee men's basketball in March, you would get elevator music.

March Madness? UT is March Musak. The Vols come and go so quickly and quietly from postseason tournaments, you hardly know they're there.

But that's about to change.

The Vols might go quickly from the SEC and NCAA tournaments, but they won't go quietly. That's not their style.

You can beat them, but you can't ignore them. They're too pesky and too relentless for that. They're everything their predecessors weren't.

Past UT teams rarely adjusted to the increased tempo and intensity of postseason basketball. Even coach Jerry Green's most talented teams didn't have a sense of urgency about tournament play, which places demands on every possession. Green's teams sent the message: "We'll get them next time."

This just in: There's no losers' bracket in postseason basketball.

But don't worry how the Vols will adjust to tournament play. There will be no adjustment. They have been playing at a tournament tempo most of the season.

That's why they're so much fun to watch. They extend their defense the length of the court, shoot 3s with no fear of failure and play with a fire that neither score nor time can put out.

Alabama outplayed UT decisively in a 92-79 victory last month in Tuscaloosa. Never mind how the deficit mounted and the time dwindled. The Vols played the last few minutes as though the game could be saved on a single turnover or shot.

The next day, I had lunch with a couple of Alabama fans. They weren't talking about how well the Tide had shot and rebounded. They were talking about UT's effort, Chris Lofton's 3-point shooting, and Bruce Pearl's coaching.

Alabama fans speaking glowingly about UT: Imagine that.

When UT played at Kentucky last month, Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay compared Pearl to former Kentucky coach Rick Pitino. Pearl had coached slightly more than half a season at UT; Pitino is one of the most successful coaches in SEC history. How's that for a first impression?

Pearl's first UT team, like Pitino's teams, plays full-court defense, shoots 3s at will and tries its hardest to make opponents play at its speed. And with Pearl, like Pitino, there's no question who's in charge. They're into almost every dribble.

But there's also a noticeable difference. One is Slick Rick. The other is Sweaty Bruce.

Pearl is plenty slick. He can play to a crowd as well as anyone. He's media and marketing savvy. But he lets you see him sweat -- and sweat, and sweat. Midway through the UT-Florida game in Gainesville, he looked as though he had swum to the arena.

Basketball fans are accustomed to seeing coaches as cool as George Clooney. They aren't accustomed to seeing a coach sweat more than his team. The sweating is refreshing.

You don't have to be a UT fan to appreciate this UT team and coach. Just watch: The Vols will attract neutral fans in postseason play.

An underdog is never more popular than in the midst of March Madness. And no matter how high you rank or seed the Vols, they're still underdogs in March. They have lost 13 of their last 18 SEC tournament games and 14 of 22 NCAA tournament games. They have been a postseason nobody that nobody noticed.

But win or lose, this March will be different.