World according to Pearl: must-win situation

But those are the words Tennessee's basketball coach chose to use in describing tonight's 7:30 p.m. game at Thompson-Boling Arena against Georgia.

The Vols (14-7, 2-4 SEC), who for the third consecutive game will be without the services of junior guard Chris Lofton, have lost five of their past six games. The Bulldogs (13-6, 5-2) are winners of five of their last six.

"The Georgia game at home is as close to a must-win as we'll have at this point in the season,'' Pearl said. "We have to play this game like we're playing for the NCAA tournament. We have to get it going if we're going to make it.''

There's no better place for the Vols to get started than home; UT has won 10 in a row in Knoxville this season.

But if the Vols lose tonight, they're in sole possession of last place in the Eastern Division

"In no way are we panicking, but we do feel like it's a huge game,'' UT senior Dane Bradshaw said. "You don't want to dig yourself too deep of a hole.''

The Vols have led at the half of all six SEC games they've played, but the Bulldogs could change that trend with the talent, momentum and depth they'll bring to The Summitt floor.

"They are very aggressive on defense and they have excellent ball pressure,'' Pearl said. "Offensively, Georgia possesses the ability to score from all areas. They have five guys shooting 40 percent from 3-point range.

"The addition of Takais Brown on the inside gives them a legitimate scoring threat they didn't have last year.''

The Bulldogs' trio of guards, Sundiata Gaines, Levi Stukes and Mike Mercer, are tough to top.

Gaines leads the SEC in steals, hits .463 of his 3-point attempts and leads Georgia in assists and is second in rebounds. Stukes is the primary 3-point threat, taking nearly twice as many 3-pointers as Gaines (104-54) while maintaining a .462 percentage. Mike Mercer, an athletic 6-foot-4 wing, scores 14.1 points per game and is second on the team in assists.

And then there's Brown, a 6-8, 250-pound force originally from talent-rich Flint, Mich., who came to Georgia by way of Southeastern Illinois College.

"Georgia is playing better than Kentucky,'' Pearl said. "They're playing like I want my team to play, and they're deep.''

The Vols, meanwhile, continue reaching for answers in Lofton's absence.

"We're not going to suddenly become a power inside team,'' Pearl said. "We have guys capable of making open shots, and they need to make them.''

And, as Pearl made clear in a heart-to-heart talk with his team following Tuesday's practice, the Vols have to show their fans how bad they want to win.

"Tennessee basketball has a brand and an identity, and we've got to play that way,'' Pearl said. "Georgia wants to make the NCAA tournament badly. We have some real challenges, but I told my guys that one of them can't be that they want it more than we do.''