GAME NOTES: After a loss Wednesday night to NC State, the Tennessee Volunteers will try to get back in the win column as they host their in-state rival Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles in a non-conference tilt at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Tennessee Tech hasn't played against the greatest competition in the last few weeks, but the Golden Eagles have earned a 3-1 record in their last four contests. The Eagles are coming off a narrow 82-80 win over North Florida on Monday.

Tennessee saw a two-game win streak come to an end on Wednesday night as the team was downed by NC State, 83-72, in Raleigh. The loss dropped the Vols back to 4-4 on the season, with the team's next three games all being played in Knoxville.

The two intrastate rivals have clashed on the basketball court 22 times in their series history, with Tennessee holding a commanding 21-1 all-time series record over the Eagles. The sides met last season, which saw the Vols come away with an 84-63 win.

Tennessee Tech trailed North Florida at the end of the first half in Monday's contest, 41-32, before the Volunteers rattled off 50 second-half points to come back for the two-point win. Dwan Caldwell netted a team-high 14 points and brought down 10 rebounds for the double-double, while Charles Jackson chipped in with 10 points in the winning effort. The Golden Eagles made 50.8 percent of their shots in the game, and 18-of-24 from the free-throw line.

Offense has seemingly come easy to the Golden Eagles this season, who will certainly get one of their tougher tests from Tennessee Friday. The team enters the clash with the Vols netting 73.3 ppg on 44.6 percent shooting from the floor, led by both Caldwell and Jackson, who each are scoring 13.6 ppg. Jackson's 9.4 rpg mark leaves him just shy of a double-double average this season.

Tennessee played well against NC State Wednesday, but it was the Wolfpack that had the hot hand offensively, shooting 51.1 percent from the floor in the win. Josh Richardson scored 17 points with five assists to pace the team before he fouled out, while both Kevin Punter and Armani Moore chipped in 14 points in the setback. Devon Baulkman added another 10 points in the losing effort for the Vols, who shot 41.7 percent and 10-of-18 from 3-point range.

Richardson leads the team in scoring, netting 16.6 ppg on 48.1 percent shooting from the field. Richardson leads the team with 20 assists and 15 steals, but has turned the ball over 20 times as well. Moore contributes 11.1 ppg with a team-leading 6.6 rpg, and Punter checks in at 10.9 ppg for a Volunteers squad scoring an average of 66.6 ppg. The Tennessee defense has been lacking a bit, allowing opponents to net 68.9 ppg on 42.9 percent shooting.

The Golden Eagles are riding a bit of a hot streak, but the team will soon realize that Tennessee is in a different league than some of its other competitors, especially in front of its home crowd.