The biggest win of Cuonzo Martin's young career in Knoxville was January 7 against Florida. The Memphis game in Maui felt like something special until the end, though it turned out to be a false alarm. The UConn game may end up being more memorable because of the way Jarnell Stokes played. But the best team Tennessee owns a win over this season is, without question, the Gators.

Florida stands at 19-5 (7-2). There are a pair of single digit road losses to Ohio State and Syracuse and a curious double overtime loss to Rutgers. But between their loss to us in the SEC opener and their loss at Rupp Arena on Tuesday, the Gators beat everybody else. Everybody else includes LSU and Mississippi State by a dozen and Vanderbilt by eight points, plus Ole Miss on the road.

The Vols beat the Gators with sensational defense, plain and simple. Florida averages 79 points per game, 12th nationally and first in the SEC. The Vols held them to 56, still their lowest total of the season; only Kentucky (58) has also held them under 64. Florida shoots 46.7% from the floor and a best-in-the-SEC 39.5% from the arc. The Vols held them to 35.7% from the floor and 31.8% from the arc - only Kentucky held them to a lower percentage overall, and only three teams have done a better job guarding the three point line.

Tennessee's performance wasn't a fluke, as we've discovered in the last month. Florida's part of that equation has looked familiar in the last two weeks: even if you throw the Kentucky performance out because everyone looks bad in Rupp Arena, the Gators have struggled from the floor in their last two home games against South Carolina (37.3%) and Vanderbilt (38.3%). They were able to win both games thanks to free throw shooting (23 of 32 against Carolina, 16 of 17 against Vandy) and a strong performance from three against the Dores (11 of 24). But their numbers are trending in the wrong direction. So either they're due - and many will be playing the rebound card after the performance against Kentucky - or they've truly cooled off, and Tennessee's defense is the last thing they want to see.

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The Tennessee Volunteers have finally caught up numbers-wise -- almost too caught up, actually.

By my count, UT has 70 scholarship players currently on its roster including the mid-term enrollees. Throw in the 14 committed high school players yet to arrive on campus, and that gets the Vols to 84. If Jacksonville (Fla.) inside linebacker Kenneth Bynum decides this week that he wants to join UT over Cincinnati, that would put the team right at the 85 scholarship player limit allowed by NCAA rule.

As of now, the Vols are in line to lose only 13 senior scholarship players after the 2012 season -- Marsalis Teague, Rod Wilks, Prentiss Waggner, Herman Lathers [likely, unless he gets another year from the NCAA], Ben Bartholomew, Nigel Mitchell-Thornton, Carson Anderson, Dallas Thomas, Darin Gooch, Mychal Rivera, Zach Rogers, Willie Bohannon and Steven Fowles. That would mean that -- unless some major attrition happens -- UT will only be able to sign 13 [or 14, if Bynum elects to head north] next year.

We all know that's not going to happen and the Vols will find a way to make more room, but still, we'd have to cull 12 players between now and next year's National Signing Day to get to the 25 max. That seems tough to imagine. There is the looming possibility that several Vols will test the NFL waters early, and while we hope that doesn't happen, it would clear recruiting spots for the next class.I do think the Vols will get close to that number, but 10 is probably the most room they will clear. So, we'll operate off Derek Dooley getting to 23 scholarships in time for the 2013 class.

For our exercise below, the information below can get a bit tricky unless you keep some things in mind. To note, a junior for the upcoming 2012 season will be referred to as a senior leading into the '13 class, and so on. We're going to list the players at each position the Vols will be returning, their class and also give a projection on who may look elsewhere for playing time.

NOTE:

• We will not base potential transfers on ANYTHING besides lack of playing time or NFL departures. So, you won't get anything like "If Player X gets homesick" ... or ... "If Player Y gets in trouble."
  
• UT's offensive line is full of players who can play guard or tackle, so we'll separate the centers from the exterior linemen, but all other OLs will be tossed in together.
  
• Some players will be listed twice.
  
• Finally, we're not factoring in redshirts, which will almost certainly occur.
  

As I said, this is far too early [but never too early if you love recruiting ...] so here is my subject-to-change breakdown of how I see numbers shaking out for next year's class. This is a completely unscientific look at the numbers, and I could be WAAAY off from what UT coaches envision currently. Still, think of it as an early-bird guide to get us thinking about what UT's needs will be entering this year's recruiting cycle. And, yes, I enjoy recruiting far too much.

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It's no secret that Vanderbilt hates Tennessee. What is often a big/little brother relationship has fueled the rivalry for a long time in many sports, as Tennessee holds major edges in football and women's basketball. Vanderbilt's distaste for Tennessee is often so pervasive that it seems that every waking moment is spent spitting at orange.

That obsessive hatred served Vanderbilt well. It's not often you see a team so finely tuned to an opponent. Vanderbilt had plays designed to break Tennessee's best defenses. They had defenses designed to break Tennessee's best offensive sets. They even had inbounds passes designed to exploit the holes in Tennessee's inbounds defense. It's a hard thing to do, but Vanderbilt's coaches have obviously spent many sleepless nights wondering how to break through Tennessee. It was obvious in the emotions of the game.

Tennessee wanted to win a game. Vanderbilt wanted to beat Tennessee.

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	February 9, 2012 Nashville, TN 9:00 PM EST TV: CSS / ESPN3 Internet Audio: Lady Vols Network Live Stats: GameTracker
17-6 (8-2 SEC) #11 (AP) #11 (USA Today) #5 RPI		18-5 (6-4 SEC) NR (AP) #25 (USA Today) #29 RPI

Let the rehabilitation roadshow begin.

The Lady Vols are coming off a nice win against Auburn, but this is the game that can put the South Carolina debacle in the past. Last time against Vanderbilt, Christina Foggie lit up the scoreboard for 27 points (a career high, but you already knew that) and Glory Johnson and Shekinna Stricklen came up with a hurt shoulder and knee, respectively. Tennessee won comfortably, 87-64, but the injuries may have played a part in the Lady Vols' collapse against Notre Dame.

Tonight, it's a familiar opponent in a familiar funhouse. Memorial Gym will provide the Lady Vols with the opportunity to prove they can play as a team when the bench is located somewhere in Uzbekistan. Will they answer the call? Will the magical floating rims present trouble? Will Vanderbilt again claim a sold-out game to prevent UT fans from buying tickets?

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First, Hoops. The part of the Red Hot Role Player last night was shared by Kenny (not sure what the screws thing is about) Hall and Skystache McStacheBee, who LIT UP SC for a career high 18 points. Congrats, too, to Cam Tatum for hitting the 1,000 point threshold. Jarnell Stokes didn't play due to a wrist injury suffered in a tough practice and is day-to-day, but Mike Griffith still thinks he's UT's brightest new star due more to the head on his shoulders than the size of his shoes. He's right and all, but the whole wrist thing sort of threw a timing kink into that story, didn't it, Mike?

Football. Yowza, a giant mound of football news hatched out of nowhere this morning. The coaching staff has been locked in a room to foster staff chemistry, and the meetings have produced some great information. As always, coach Chaney serves as the class clown:

Chaney said it's pointless to make it a cool contest; the Volunteers' affable offensive coordinator insisted, capriciously, that such an endeavor would be a battle for second place.

Ba dump bump. And there's this, regarding Darin Hinshaw's move from QB coach to WR coach, leaving QBs with Chaney:

The relationship Hinshaw has built with starting quarterback Tyler Bray and backups Justin Worley and Nathan Peterman, both of whom he had a major hand with their respective recruitments, won't go to waste. Chaney joked that every time Bray throws an interception, "it will be Hinshaw's fault."

The man is jovial, and I love him for it.

Sal Sunseri couldn't exactly be characterized as jovial. More . . . driven?

"I'm going to say this when you guys are watching us, you ain't going to always see us in a 3-4. You ain't always going to see us in a 4-3. You are going to see multiplicity of fronts. It's harder to run the freaking ball on a multiplicity of fronts than it is the same front."

Sunseri's preference is to play a 3-4 scheme because of the match-up it presents.

"I like getting one-on-ones and making guys block one-on-one," Sunseri explained. "If you come out with great technique and know what you are doing, it's a one-on-one battle and we should be able to whip that guy's butt."

Sunseri don't play, and he will have our guys running into brick walls thinking they can leave football player sized- and shaped- holes in them. Luckily, Chaney will be there to tease them while they're recuperating.

Lo, the mother of all daily YouTube dumps, including UT catcher Ethan Bennett playing Rocky Top on the banjo, in easy playlist form, after the jump. Hover over the player and click the rectangle thingy to bring up a list of all of the videos in the playlist so you can pick and choose. But hey, if you have 2:14:25, have at it.

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It wasn't always pretty, but the Tennessee Volunteers made the plays they needed to close out their tenth straight victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks, winning 69-57 in Knoxville to move back to .500 on the season at 12-12, 4-5 in SEC play. With star freshman Jarnell Stokes sidelined with a wrist injury and Jeronne Maymon in foul trouble, the Vols needed a stretch of hot outside shooting to gain a lead and some timely defense from Kenny Hall to hold off a late charge by the Cocks.

Without Stokes, Tennessee struggled early, with the Vols trailing South Carolina for thirteen straight minutes in the first half. The Vols' deficit never exceeded five points, thanks to Jordan McRae showing his good side, leading Tennessee with eight early points on a pair of threes and a driving baseline bucket. But McRae also showed his bad side, taking a couple bad shots and picking up a pair of early fouls, one offensive, and the Vols weren't able to get in rhythm for most of the first frame.

But then, trailing 23-21, Skylar McBee hit a three. And on the next possession, he hit another. And on the next possession, he hit another. And on the next possession, Cameron Tatum hit his own trey. To top it off, McBee got a steal with time running out on the half and got to the line off the break, adding two more to give Tennessee, who hadn't led by more than two points in the first 18 minutes, a 35-27 halftime lead.

Tennessee stayed hot to start the second half, as McBee hit his fourth consecutive three-pointer and Tennessee extended their run spanning both halves to 16-3 (or 22-7, if you prefer) to take a 43-30 lead. At one point, Tennessee had made seven straight three-point shots and had 13 assists on 14 made field goals, and it looked as though the Vols would cruise to victory.

But South Carolina would not go quietly. They got a couple extra possessions from some comical officiating and cut into the lead. And then they got a couple extra possessions by forcing Tennessee turnovers, and they cut into the lead. By the time the Gamecocks had held Tennessee to over seven minutes without a field goal and cut the lead to four points, things ceased being comical.

Josh Richardson broke the Tennessee drought, and the Vols extended the lead to eight, but Bruce Ellington led South Carolina right back, and the under four timeout saw the Gamecocks trailing just 58-55 and poised to take over.

But a clutch drive with the shot clock running down from Trae Golden yielded a three-point play and a little breathing room, and then Jeronne Maymon added his own three-point play after coming out on the right side of the random block/charge generator for the first time of the night. On the other side, Kenny Hall got steals, blocked shots, and generally kept South Carolina from hanging around during a 7-0 run that extended the lead back to double digits and salted away the game for a young Tennessee team that hasn't been able to avoid extended periods of sloppy play but has figured out lately how to win an ugly game.

McBee, in just his second start, led the Vols with 18 points, with Golden adding 14 and Maymon 12. Hall grabbed 10 boards and swatted three shots (officially) for Tennessee, with Maymon and Tatum both adding six rebounds.

After consecutive home games with the two teams at the bottom of the SEC standings, Tennessee's schedule toughens back up Saturday, as they will visit #8 Florida in search of their first road victory of the season.