The Tennessee men sit atop the SEC. LSU is at the bottom.

And yet, there's an eerie feeling about Saturday's game (TV: WVLT, 3 p.m.) in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

The No. 7 Vols (20-2, 7-1 SEC) learned LSU coach John Brady was fired Friday. Associate head coach Butch Pierre will take over for the rest of the season.

One way or another, emotions figure to be running at a different level. Brady's 11-year tenure in Baton Rouge is second in the SEC to the 12 years Billy Donovan has been at Florida.

LSU (8-13, 1-6), two years removed from a Final Four appearance, has been beset with injuries and has struggled.

But on Monday UT associate head coach Tony Jones said he was "more worried about the game in Baton Rouge than the one in Knoxville against Florida.''

Why?

It could be because LSU's Maravich Center is one of three SEC arenas where third-year UT coach Bruce Pearl has not won - Ole Miss and Auburn are the others.

Further, the Tigers are one of only two SEC schools with a winning record against Pearl, taking two of three. Kentucky (3-2) is the other.

"Dang, I didn't know all that,'' UT sophomore center Wayne Chism said. "I just know I was about 0-for-50 shooting against them. I'm glad Glen Davis is gone, but I know they've got some other long, athletic guys that can really jump.''

Chism did indeed struggle in the two games against the Tigers last season.

He shot 3-of-10 in the first meeting, a 70-67 Vols' win in Knoxville, but he was 1-of-9 from the field - including 0-for-5 from 3-point range - in UT's 76-67 overtime loss in the SEC tournament.

The "long, athletic guy'' that will challenge Chism today is 6-foot-10 freshman Anthony Randolph, who has scored in double figures in 11 consecutive games and posted five double-doubles.

The Vols will need a collective effort to slow 6-foot-4 shooting guard Marcus Thornton, who averages 19.8 points per game on the strength of an SEC-high six consecutive games with 20 or more points.

Thornton put up 38 points against Auburn earlier this season, which represents the most points scored in an SEC game in nearly 13 years.

"We all know he's good,'' Chism said. "We're going down there knowing we've got to play aggressive defense without fouling.''

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.