Pearl on cusp of 100th win with Vols

Bruce Pearl's next victory will be the 100th in his tenure at Tennessee, but the Vols' basketball coach has another number in mind.

"If we win (tonight), it's number two,'' Pearl said, referring to what would be UT's victory total this season with a win over UNC-Asheville. "That's the only number that matters to me. It (100 wins) sounds good, but if you've been around me, it is what it is.

"I care about history, and I want very badly for this to be known as a special time in Tennessee basketball.''

The Vols (1-0) tip off against the Bulldogs (0-1) at 7 tonight (TV: Fox Sports Net) in Thompson-Boling Arena.

With a win, Pearl's 100 victories at UT would come in his 137th game - only John Mauer (1938-47) accomplished the feat quicker (131 games).

Mauer also served as an assistant coach to Gen. Robert Neyland on the Vols' football staff and was UT's baseball coach while handling his basketball duties.

Obviously, it's a different time in collegiate athletics, and Pearl said his time (five years) with the Vols has flown by.

"It feels like a much shorter time than that,'' Pearl, 49, said. "I still feel like I'm new, like I'm a rookie, like we're trying to get some credibility with the men's basketball program.''

Pearl has proven a fan-favorite, with UT's' attendance increasing each of the previous four seasons while rising to No. 4 in the nation.

Tennessee also has played in the NCAA tournament four consecutive years under Pearl, one short of tying the school mark set by Don DeVoe (1979-83). Pearl delivered the first outright SEC regular-season championship at Tennessee (2008) since former coach Ray Mears in 1967, and attained the Vols' first No. 1 basketball ranking in the process.

But as Pearl says, it is what it is, and his focus is on getting the next victory and improving.

UNC-Asheville opened its season with an 86-70 loss at Charlotte on Friday, but Pearl said he expects the Bulldogs will be capable of challenging the Vols.

"It's a team we've played before, and they've given us competitive games and know us well,'' Pearl said. "They gave (Charlotte) a good game, and their best player, John Williams, didn't play. We expect him to play against us, and that should bolster them.''

UNC-Asheville also features a strong point guard in J.P. Primm, who scored 15 points against Charlotte. Primm played in the Pilot Rocky Top League last summer, holding his own against UT players while averaging 19.9 points for the HT Group team that won the league title.

Pearl Vs. SEC: With a win tonight Pearl will become the fourth active coach in the SEC with 100 victories, joining Florida's Billy Donovan, Mississippi State's Rick Stansbury and Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings.

It took Donovan 154 games to win 100 at Florida, Stansbury 158 and Stallings 179.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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