Pearl has plan for Belmont's scheme

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Tennessee brings a 35-game home-court win streak into today’s game with Belmont.

But men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl has a message for the Vols’ fans and players: Take nothing for granted against the Bruins.

“They are third in the nation in 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage,’’ Pearl said. “This is one of the most difficult (defensive) covers we’ll face.’’

How good is Belmont coach Rick Byrd’s scheme?

Good enough that Pearl said the UT scout team beat the starters running it in practice.

The 16th-ranked Vols (7-2) will see the real thing when they tip off against Belmont (4-3) at 3 o’clock today (TV: SportSouth, MyWVLT2).

Tennessee was hoping junior wing J.P. Prince would be back from the ankle injury he suffered Dec. 12 in Philadelphia, but Pearl said as of Friday Prince is out.

That means defensive wizard Josh Tabb will get another start on the wing.

“Josh did a great job against Marquette, and I like it that he knows it is time for him to step up,’’ Pearl said. He played that way, and he has practiced that way.

“Cameron (Tatum) also had one of his better games against Marquette, doing a lot of the little things while being more active rebounding and getting to the foul line.’’

It could be a case where UT will need a raucous crowd for added motivation, as Pearl pointed out that Belmont will not be intimidated easily.

“They about beat UCLA as sophomores, and they about beat Duke as juniors,’’ Pearl said of a Bruins’ team that starts four seniors. “They play 10 guys, and they know they are good enough to play well and beat us. It’s a great opportunity for Belmont.’’

Pearl said UT has a size advantage inside, so he’ll likely be counting on junior Wayne Chism to follow up his effort (26 points, 11 rebounds) in the win against Marquette with another monster performance.

Ultimately, the Vols will need to show their skills once again in their half-court defensive set, as Belmont has quick guards who are hard to press.

“This is a much more complex scheme than we’ve seen — it’s unique,’’ Pearl said. “Against Marquette, we had to stop one basic thing, dribble penetration.

“This is not some guarantee game where you pay someone a bunch of money to come in and they know their role. This is an NCAA tournament team we are playing.’’

Smith for Naismith: Junior Tyler Smith has been named to the preseason watch list for the 2008-09 Naismith Trophy, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced. The 6-7 forward is among six SEC players on the 50-man list.

“Tyler would have had another 10 assists against Marquette if we would have hit our shots,’’ Pearl said.