Tennessee believes it's on the verge of producing a second consecutive late-season surge.
 
One year ago, Tennessee was 10-12 before winning eight of its last nine regular-season games and barely missing out on a seventh consecutive NCAA tournament bid. The Volunteers finished 19-15 after a second-round loss to Middle Tennessee in the NIT.
 
This year's Tennessee team had been one of the Southeastern Conference's bigger disappointments for much of the season, but the Vols (14-10, 6-6 SEC) carry a three-game winning streak into Tuesday's game with LSU (15-8, 6-6).
 
Tennessee followed up victories at South Carolina and Vanderbilt - their first true road wins of the season - with an 88-58 drubbing of Kentucky on Saturday that represented the Vols' most one-sided triumph in that rivalry's 216-game history.