GREENSBORO, N.C. — Tennessee players enjoy talking about their favorite game.

It wasn't against Kentucky or Florida or Texas. It wasn't against anybody.

The Vols' favorite game has yet to be played. Or, as they so often put it, "We haven't played our best basketball yet."

They could have fooled me.

Didn't they win at Rupp Arena? Didn't they beat Florida twice? Didn't they embarrass Texas?

How could they improve on that?

"You see it in practice," guard JaJuan Smith said.

Sorry, but I've only been to a couple of practices. Tell me about it.

"We can't be stopped," he said. "You get nine different guys on a roll.

"You have two or three guys scoring (3s). The inside guys are scoring and rebounding. Guys are coming off the bench on a roll."

Ask center Major Wingate about the same mythical game and you get a more specific answer.

"When we're at our best, our guys will go 25-for-25 from the 3-point line," he said. "It's just amazing what they can do.

"Everybody knows about Chris (Lofton). Dane (Bradshaw), C.J. (Watson) and JaJuan are just as good as he is (on 3s). We have some great shooters on this team."

If the perimeter players make 25 of 25 3s, UT obviously wouldn't need much help inside from Wingate and Andre Patterson.

"Between me and Dre, if we score 25 points, we'll win no matter what," Wingate said. "Our guards will take care of their business."

And to think, I wondered about this team's confidence in preseason.

Never mind that until Thursday, UT hadn't won an NCAA tournament game in six years. Or that the Vols were 14-17 last season. Or that they needed a last-second basket by Lofton to beat 15th-seed Winthrop in the first round of the NCAA tournament. This team might have shortcomings, but confidence isn't one of them.

Wingate was asked about the challenge of facing Wichita State center Paul Miller, the player of the year in the Missouri Valley Conference. His answer was predictable.

"He's not that impressive," Wingate said. "But he's got a big body and knows how to use it."

Of course, Wingate would be the first to tell you, "I'm not that impressed with anybody.

"My biggest challenge was with Baby (Glen Davis of LSU). I'd rather play Wichita State any day than LSU."

UT coach Bruce Pearl also spoke confidently when asked about the Miller-Wingate matchup at Friday's press conference.

Reporter: "Talk about Major Wingate and Paul Miller, how important it is for him to stay out of foul trouble?"

Pearl: "Yeah, it's gonna be important for Paul to stay out of foul trouble. I say that in jest, but we've got a good player in Major Wingate.

"A lot of talk will be how Major is gonna stop Paul. There's got to be some talk about how Paul is going to stop Major.

"Major stepped up (Thursday with a game-high 15 points) and played very well against (Craig) Bradshaw, who can score inside and out. Bradshaw did not have one of his better games, and Major Wingate had a lot to do with that."

Pearl admits his team's confidence dipped when it struggled down the stretch of the regular season and was beaten decisively by South Carolina in the SEC tournament.

"But you have to admire the way they guarded in the second half (against Winthrop)," he said. "It's something we've been challenged to do."

The challenges will increase as the Vols advance in the tournament. And at some point, they will need to play the game they have only talked about — the one where the 3s fall, the inside guys are dominant, and the reserves come off the bench on the same roll as the starters.

"We just hope it comes real soon," Smith said.