Pearl says SEC will pile up NCAA bids

"I'll tell you right now, we (SEC) will get more teams in the NCAA tournament than ever before,'' Pearl said Tuesday.

The SEC hasn't had more than six teams make the NCAA tournament, but Pearl believes the league will get seven and maybe eight this season.

Of the SEC teams scrapping for a spot, the Vols have the greatest margin for error in league play, according to an SEC representative contacted Tuesday.

"Tennessee has done the most outside the conference and has the most room for error,'' said DeWayne Peevy, the SEC's associate director of media relations for basketball. "It's not just that they lost a starter in Chris Lofton; you're looking at the SEC's leading scorer.

"They played very well with him, even in the close losses, and the tournament committee will take that into account. The key is him coming back and them playing well with him.''

The Top 25 polls don't suggest the SEC's strength -- no more than three teams are ranked in either poll -- but the all-important RPI ratings tell a different story.

Eight SEC teams are in the top 64 of the RPI, a formula that combines won/lost records with strength of schedule.

Kentucky has the highest RPI at No. 7; UT is 18, Florida 20, Arkansas 24, Alabama 33, Georgia 39, Vanderbilt 57 and South Carolina 64. LSU has an RPI of 68.

The Vols have the fourth-toughest schedule in the nation, and that figures to improve with tonight's game with Georgia and Saturday's game at Florida.

"The RPI will help us,'' said Pearl, whose Vols have impressive wins against ranked opponents Memphis (11), Oklahoma State (12) and Texas (22), "but there needs to be enough conference wins for that to be a factor.''

Since the league split into two divisions in 1991-92, only two of the 17 SEC teams that finished SEC play 7-9 have made the NCAA tournament. In 2002-03, Alabama went 7-9 in the SEC and 17-11 in the regular season and was invited.

UT went 9-7 in conference that same season and 17-11 in the regular season, and didn't get invited. The Tide, however, had a 76-71 triumph over the Vols in Knoxville.

The other SEC team to go 7-9 in conference play and make the NCAA Tournament was Arkansas in 1999-2000. The Razorbacks got an automatic berth by winning the SEC tournament en route to a 19-15 record.

Of 18 SEC teams to go 8-8 in conference play, seven received at-large bids

No SEC team has made the NCAA tournament with a 6-10 or worse conference mark.

"I think everybody (SEC) is still in position to make the NCAA tournament,'' Pearl said. "This league will present the committee with as difficult of a challenge as it has had.''

Bus Stop: Beginning with tonight's 7:30 non-televised game with Georgia, UT fans who ride the free shuttle from the Ag campus will be dropped off at the corner of Chamique Holdsclaw and Lake Loudon. Buses will pick up fans at the same location following the games. This will cut down on the time the buses spend in traffic to reduce the time it takes fans to get back to their cars.

Orange Paint: A campaign called "Paint the Town Orange'' was announced for men's and women's games with Kentucky. The Lady Vols play the Wildcats Feb. 11 while the men's team comes to Knoxville Feb. 13.

"Our goal is to have every Tennessee fan wear orange to the game(s),'' UT athletic director Mike Hamilton said.

Fresh Faces: The Vols will start three freshmen -- Wayne Chism, Josh Tabb and Ramar Smith -- for the second straight game.

It has marked the first time since the 1996-97 season UT has had three freshmen in a starting lineup.

No other SEC team currently starts three freshmen.

Been A While: Georgia hasn't won in Knoxville since 2001 and just twice in the past 11 years. The Vols have won four straight in the series, a streak covering the past two seasons.