Misstep will drop Vols to cellar

It's new turf for UT men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl. Prior to Wednesday night's loss at Auburn, Pearl had coached 60 consecutive regular-season games with his team in first place or no more than one game out of first place in his respective conference division.

Pearl will be trying to avoid another ominous first today: In 13 1/2 years as a head coach, Pearl has never lost four in a row.

The 22nd-ranked Vols (13-5, 1-2 SEC) have lost three in a row while the Gamecocks (10-6, 0-3) have dropped four consecutive games heading into tonight's game at Thompson-Boling Arena (TV: Fox Sports Net, 6 p.m.).

Tennessee's three losses have been of the white-knuckle, last-minute variety.

South Carolina's four-game slide has been one of double-digit defeats, each more convincing than the previous.

The Gamecocks lost by 16 points to No. 9 Kansas (70-54), 24 points at Georgia (80-56), 34 points against Florida (84-50) and 38 points against Kentucky (87-59).

No wonder UT senior Dane Bradshaw said neither he nor his teammates are battling confidence issues.

"None of us are questioning ourselves right now,'' said Bradshaw, who's coming off two strong outings against Ohio State and Auburn. "I'm not worried about our confidence, but we're all frustrated.

"The bottom line is, we've lost three games by six points and we have to find a way to make some plays at the end of games.''

UT sharpshooter Chris Lofton, who leads the SEC with a 22.5 points-per-game average, is the obvious first option.

Tennessee's second option isn't so clear.

Junior JaJuan Smith is the Vols second-leading scorer over the season with a 14.2 points-per-game average, but freshman Ramar Smith is off to a scalding start in SEC play.

Ramar Smith is an early favorite for the conference's freshman of the year, averaging 16.3 points and 4.33 assists in three SEC games. Smith is also tied for the SEC lead with 2.33 steals per game and seventh in field goal percentage .543.

"Remember what I said before the season and again right after Christmas?'' JaJuan Smith said. "Ramar's the deal. He just had to get comfortable.''

The Vols will have a better deal at point guard with Jordan Howell returning from the broken bone in his hand that has sidelined him since Dec. 21.

Pearl said Howell, who was 5-0 as a starter before suffering the injury, could play 10 to 15 minutes against South Carolina, depending on the pain in his hand.

UT's biggest concern entering tonight's game is its undersized front line. Freshmen Duke Crews and Wayne Chism have struggled.

Following the loss at Auburn, a distraught Crews told coaches the losing streak was his fault, because he hasn't played well in the past three games.

"This will be a big game for Duke and our other bigs,'' Pearl said. "We need them to play better and score under the basket. They need to go to their strengths and stay away from their weaknesses.''

South Carolina, despite its recent struggles, could make that a difficult chore.

Brandon Wallace, a 6-foot-9 senior, is on pace to set the Gamecocks' school record for blocked shots. Wallace is averaging 2.8 blocks per game, second in the SEC, and pulling down 8.8 rebounds.

Bradshaw said the Vols' youth is no longer an excuse.

"We haven't been able to focus for 40 minutes straight; We've had too many lapses and teams have been able to take advantage of that,'' Bradshaw said. "We knew coming into the season there would be some inconsistencies, but that doesn't mean we have to sit back and accept that.

"We have to put together a good stretch here.''

The Vols play Wednesday at Ole Miss, and at Kentucky on Jan. 28. They'll return home Jan. 31 to host Georgia before traveling to Florida for a Feb. 3 showdown.

Pearl Show: Today's edition of The Bruce Pearl Show (TV: WBIR, 1 p.m.) includes a segment on walk-on player Tanner Wild.

Wild's grandparents were killed in the plane crash with the Marshall University football team in 1970, the subject of the recently produced movie "We Are Marshall''. Wild grew up in Huntington, W.Va., in the house where his grandparents, Emmett and Elaine Heath, lived prior to the crash.