Tennessee sophomore Chris Lofton has gone from proving he belongs among the elite to trying to live up to expectations.

At least, that's the psychoanalysis of UT coach Bruce Pearl, who's hoping Lofton can get his mind right -- and his shooting touch back -- before Thursday's game against Winthrop in the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament in Greensboro, N.C. (TV: WVLT, 2:40 p.m.).

Tennessee, 21-7 and the No. 2 seed in the Washington Region, is a 7-point favorite to top the Big South Conference champion Eagles (23-7).

"Human nature is what it is,'' Pearl said. "Chris Lofton, for years, was that kid nobody recruited, that Kentucky and Louisville didn't offer, that came to Tennessee and started making some noise.

"Now, through hard work, he's an All-American. He goes from trying to prove he belongs to trying to prove he's an All-American.''

Lofton leads UT with a 17.3 points-per-game average and leads the SEC with 3.78 3-pointers per game.

Earlier this season, he broke Allan Houston's 3-point school records by hitting nine 3-pointers in a game and sinking 106 this season.

Lofton, however, has stumbled of late, failing to score until there was 10:32 left in the Vols 79-71 loss to South Carolina in the SEC tournament last Friday and connecting on just 2-of-11 treys in a come-from-behind win against Vanderbilt.

Lofton was despondent after losing to the Gamecocks, placing most all of the blame on himself.

Pearl appreciated Lofton's competitive fire and reluctance to make excuses, but he's eager for his star shooter to get his confidence back.

"It's the difference between exceeding expectations and living up to them,'' Pearl said. "It's easier to exceed them than live up to them.

"I don't suspect Chris keeps up with the media a lot, but people are in his ear. It's part of growing up, and it's part of maturing.''

Lofton's quiet nature almost resembles a pout at times. Lofton, however, insists he's merely trying to get focused.

"I really am; I'm trying to take it to a whole 'nother level,'' said Lofton, who played in two high school state championship games in Kentucky -- winning one.

"This is my first NCAA tournament,'' he said. "You never know when you'll get there again, so you need to seize the moment.''

Defenses have been seizing Lofton -- quite literally -- chasing him around the court with specially designed defenses and holding his jersey when he tries to get loose.

Pearl said Lofton needs to get used to the defensive attention and learn to overcome it.

"The beauty of the spirit of competition and motivation is overcoming obstacles,'' Pearl said. "I'd say Chris Lofton was pretty comfortable being unnoticed.''

Lofton, for his part, said he hasn't played with enough energy against trick defenses.

"I need to move a lot more and use my screens and come off them better,'' Lofton said. "And if they're pressing me, I need to drive by them.''

Pearl said the Vols must take advantage of the special attention being paid to Lofton.

"We play our best when everyone contributes,'' Pearl said. "If defenses take Chris away, it opens things up for others.

"More than Chris forcing things, we need to take advantage of that with the others.''

UT center Major Wingate said he's one of those others, saying that he's just as confident as ever in Lofton.

"All that game against South Carolina showed was that Chris is human,'' Wingate said. "He's going to be fine.''