Tennessee and LSU square off tonight on ESPNU at 7:00 PM ET from Thompson-Boling Arena. The Tigers have won five of six while Tennessee has won three straight including Saturday's 30 point beatdown of Kentucky, which I'm sure you'll remember.

Tennessee's RPI holds at 69 coming into tonight's game; don't expect a lot of vertical movement even if the Vols win; a home victory over the 105th ranked Tigers won't do us much good, but a loss would do a ton of bad. We continue to believe the Vols need to get to at least 19-11 to think about dancing when they head to the SEC Tournament; that means winning five of the last six games, and this is simply one the Vols cannot afford to drop.

It should be a good one, and it is an incredibly important one. This basketball team has become incredibly fun to watch, and the air is getting thicker with anticipation as we move toward March. Let's keep it going.

Joel and Jackson have the night off and I'm watching live from a hotel room on a tablet, so I won't be around in the comments as often this evening. But this is your open thread for all the action tonight - Go Vols!