GAME NOTES: The Tennessee Volunteers try to keep tabs on undefeated Kentucky in the SEC, as the team meets up with the South Carolina Gamecocks on Tuesday night at Colonial Life Arena.

The top-ranked Wildcats, in a class all to themselves, presumably will be tough to take down this season, which leaves a program like Tennessee fighting to become second-best in the SEC. Entering the week the team was tied with Florida for second place in the standings at 3-1, most recently taking down Missouri on the road over the weekend, 59-51. The win was the second in a row and the seventh in the last eight outings for the program.

The lone conference loss for the Vols was an embarrassing 56-38 final in Knoxville against Alabama just over a week ago.

South Carolina has hit a bit of a rough patch with three defeats in the last four outings, and is now just 1-3 in league play as a result. Also in action on Saturday, the Gamecocks were dealt a 71-68 setback by Auburn on the road. The good news for USC is that the team is at home for this meeting and has won seven of nine dates played in its own building.

Dating back to 1927, the series between these two teams has been dominated by Tennessee, 40-23. The Volunteers have won 14 straight meetings dating back to 2008, the latest being a 59-44 triumph in Atlanta last March during the SEC Tournament.

In a game that featured eight ties and as many lead changes, the Volunteers used an 18-3 scoring advantage at the free-throw line to get them over the hump at Missouri on Saturday. Armani Moore, who was named the SEC Player of the Week on Monday, converted 6-of-8 shots from the floor as he delivered a double-double consisting of 15 points and 11 rebounds, both of which were game highs. Kevin Punter pitched in with 12 points and Derek Reece 10 and eight boards for the visitors.

Moore, the leader on the glass more often than not for the Vols, tops the team in that department with 7.2 rpg and is third in scoring with 9.6 ppg, although his 2-of-16 effort behind the 3-point line and 58.6 percent accuracy at the free-throw line could stand some improvement. Moore is one of two players to have started every game, the other being Josh Richardson who leads the group with 15.9 ppg and is also tops with both 56 assists and 34 steals, the latter helping to limit foes to only 62.1 ppg.

USC led for more than 11 minutes total against Auburn on Saturday, but when it counted the most the Gamecocks came up short on the road. The visitors turned the ball over 17 times and shot only 8-of-15 at the free-throw line, which meant even a small change in either of those categories could have easily changed the outcome.

Except for Demetrius Henry, who was held scoreless through 15 minutes of action, every South Carolina starter scored in double figures, led by Duane Notice with 16 points. Laimonas Chatkevicius notched his second double-double of the campaign with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Sindarius Thornwell and Tyrone Johnson pitched in with 13 points apiece in the close call.

Overall this season, the Gamecocks are outscoring opponents by 10.3 ppg, but when it comes to conference outings, the story is quite different. During those four contests, USC has been outscored by an average of 5.3 ppg and only Johnson is averaging double figures with his 14.8 ppg, thanks to 88.9 percent accuracy at the free-throw line. Notice pitches in with 9.5 ppg, but his 31.0 percent effort from the floor and 5-of-20 shooting out on the perimeter leaves quite a bit to be desired.

Taking more than a few steps backwards in conference games, compared to the schedule overall, the Gamecocks don't appear ready to challenge Tennessee even though USC will have the support of the hometown crowd. If scoring is kept to a minimum then perhaps the hosts will have a shot.