Smith shouldered his load against Kentucky

It would have been easy, given UT's struggles to score in the second half.

"When Chris gets back (from a right-ankle injury), it's going to be a totally different team again," junior guard JaJuan Smith said. "I think we've learned a lot from this. I'm not trying to use Chris as an excuse, because we have to step up and make plays while he's out."

Smith made sure Sunday afternoon no one could point a finger in his direction, even in a 76-57 loss at Kentucky.

For the second consecutive time in Lofton's absence, Smith elevated his game and led the Vols in scoring.

On Wednesday at Ole Miss, Smith scored a team-best 22 points.

Sunday, it just so happened to be a career-high 25 points in Rupp Arena.

In the first half, Smith hit on four of his six attempts, including 2-of-4 from behind the 3-point line. He finished 9-of-17, 5-of-11 from 3-point range.

More impressive was the fact that Smith stayed within his game to get those points.

"JaJuan did a really nice job," UT coach Bruce Pearl said. "He didn't force it too much. It didn't look like, 'There's JaJuan trying to overcompensate for not having Chris.' He stepped up and accepted responsibility."

In the second half, Smith seemed to be the only one scoring for the Vols.

His two 3-pointers to start the second half were UT's only points in the first 4 minutes.

His jumper with 8:31 left cut Kentucky's lead to 52-48.

That was the Vols' last basket for the next 4:15. Kentucky filled that space with 15 unanswered points.

A second-chance 3-pointer by Smith finally ended the scoreless streak.

But that Kentucky run, which eventually went to 20-2, was when the Vols missed Lofton the most.

"If we had Chris Lofton, there's no telling what would have happened," Smith said. "When the crowd got excited, Chris would have come down, made a shot and the crowd would have gotten quieter."

Instead, the 24,311 inside Rupp were allowed to go wild for more than 4 minutes.

Lofton, who scored 31 points here last season -- including seven points in the last two minutes -- to lead UT to victory, was on the bench in street clothes.

For the second consecutive game, Lofton could only watch as another Vols' opponent shifted into a higher gear and pulled away after halftime.

"They made big shots," Smith said of UK's run. "You've got to give Kentucky credit."

At least some credit should be reserved for Smith.

"He stepped up, made his shots, played big," said freshman Duke Crews, who finished with two points and three rebounds in 18 minutes. "He's filling in the role. He's already used to shooting the ball. You've just got to ask him to shoot more and take quality shots. If you can get him more quality shots, he can get off and that's what he did (Sunday)."

Today, Lofton will return to practice and test his ailing ankle. If the news is good, he could play Wednesday against Georgia, which defeated LSU on Sunday.

Getting Lofton back would only help.

"Chris is extremely valuable. We're a much better team with him," forward Dane Bradshaw said. "With or without him, we're having the same troubles. I think it's easy to blame on the fact that we don't have Chris."

Against Kentucky, though, you couldn't blame JaJuan Smith.