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For a month, Tennessee has been on a basketball barnstorming tour, with stops in Chattanooga, Nashville, Cincinnati and Seattle.

It was fun, but all good things need to come to an end.

"It's time to get back to Knoxville, Tennessee, and get 'Rocky Top' pumping again,'' senior guard JaJuan Smith proclaimed Monday.

The No. 8-ranked Vols (12-1), have played one home game in a 39-day span. That changes Wednesday when they launch SEC play at Thompson-Boling Arena against surprising No. 16 Ole Miss (13-0).

Tip-off is 8 p.m. (TV: WVLT). About 300 tickets were available Monday afternoon at the arena box office or utsports.com.

SEC play opens tonight when Florida visits Alabama. The first two months of the season weren't especially kind. The general perception is the league is down, like a basketball with a leaky valve that doesn't bounce as high as it's supposed to.

"I don't think we can dispute that assessment,'' Kevin Stallings, coach of 15-0 Vanderbilt, said Monday, "because we (the league) didn't perform as well in the non-conference season as we normally have.''

Still, UT coach Bruce Pearl will dispute that assessment. Sort of.

"There are five (six, actually) teams in the country undefeated and two of them live in the SEC,'' Pearl said. "It's just that they're not Kentucky and Florida.

"If Kentucky and Florida were undefeated and Tennessee was ranked where we're ranked, the SEC would be up.''

Instead, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt are undefeated, Kentucky is struggling and two-time national champion Florida is unrecognizable with all its fresh faces.

LSU and Auburn have been bushwacked by injuries and Georgia by attrition. Arkansas, like Kentucky, is meshing with a new coach.

"I think there are a number of teams in our league that are finding their way,'' said Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy.

Florida's Billy Donovan, who lost six of his top seven players, is not the only coach trying to get a number of freshmen up to speed.

"A lot of teams in this league will get better and be more prepared as we move into February and March,'' Donovan said.

And that even goes for Tennessee, a veteran team playing only one freshman, Brian Williams, in a limited role.

The Vols have won seven consecutive games since their loss, to Texas. The most recent two were against probable NCAA tournament teams, Xavier and Gonzaga, in hostile environments.

"We were good a month ago,'' said Smith, "but we didn't know what it takes. "With us going on the road, we're a tough team now.''

Ole Miss' Kennedy doesn't understand why the Vols aren't included in discussions about potential national champions.

"I really believe they have enough pieces and a style of play to make a long run in March,'' Kennedy said.

"Tennessee is certainly a national championship contender and their play over the next few months will serve that out.

"I hope it doesn't Wednesday night, but I'll be a big fan of them starting Thursday.''

Bracket Watch: Joe Lunardi's newest Bracketology report on ESPN.com lists UT as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Other SEC teams in the bracket are Vanderbilt (3), Ole Miss (6) and Arkansas (10). Among the "last four out" is Florida.

Seven of UT's non-conference opponents are included (with seed): Memphis (1), Texas (2), Xavier (5) Gonzaga (7), West Virginia (8), Ohio State (8), Chattanooga (14).

Big East Challenge: Pearl said a UT-Marquette match in Nashville next year as part of the SEC/Big East Challenge has been discussed but not finalized. In that scenario, Vanderbilt would face another Big East team in the doubleheader. Four teams from each league participate per year in a pair of neutral-court doubleheaders.

This was the inaugural year. In Birmingham, Auburn lost to West Virginia and Alabama lost to Georgetown. In Philadelphia, South Carolina beat Providence and LSU lost to Villanova.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.