Florida A&M @ Tennessee preview

A poor shooting night resulted in Tennessee's first loss of the season Friday as the Volunteers came up short 60-57 against Florida State at the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla. Rick Barnes' team didn't stay down long, however, as the Volunteers rebounded with a last-second victory over then-No. 20 VCU in the tournament's third-place game and now they return home Wednesday to face winless Florida A&M in the schools' first-ever matchup.

Turnovers were also a big part of the problem in the loss to Florida State as Tennessee had 21, leading to 23 Seminoles points, with star senior Lamonte Turner responsible for eight giveaways, three in the first 3:31. "The way he started the game (against Florida State), it really got everybody else back on their heels," Barnes told reporters. "Everybody was looking around like what is going on here, because he is a guy you can count on to take care of the ball." The Volunteers did a much better job against VCU with 13 turnovers, but Tennessee has still lost the ball 12 times or more in five of the team's seven games. Florida A&M has a quick turnaround to get ready for the Volunteers as the Rattlers lost to Kansas State 76-58 Monday, their fifth double-digit loss of the season.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, SEC Network.

ABOUT FLORIDA A&M (0-6): Center Evins Desir comes off a career-high outing for the Rattlers with a team-high 18 points, along with eight rebounds, while MJ Randolph also finished in double digits (10). As a team, the Rattlers hit 44.6 percent of their shots from the floor against Kansas State, only their second time shooting better than 40 percent this season, but only one shot fell from deep as they went 1-of-11 from 3-point range for a season-worst 9.1 percent. Florida A&M is averaging just 57.5 points per game but is surrendering 77.7 and the team has lost the rebounding battle in every game.

ABOUT TENNESSEE (6-1): Turner won it for the Volunteers last time out, hitting a 3-pointer from the right corner to cap his 12-point, seven-assist performance against VCU. Junior forward John Fulkerson paced Tennessee with 17 points in the win and he is shooting a team-best 72.5 percent from the floor while ranking fourth on the team in scoring behind senior guard Jordan Bowden (15.4), Turner (14.3) and junior forward Yves Pons (12.4) with a career-best 10.9 points per game. Fulkerson tied Josiah-Jordan James (7.1 rpg), the top rebounding freshman in the SEC, for the team lead with seven rebounds against VCU, with Bowden adding six boards for a team averaging 39.1 rebounds per game.

TIP-INS

1. All eight Volunteers who got into the game against VCU scored at least two points.

2. Tennessee is 3-0 all-time against current members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

3. The Volunteers have won 30 straight home games, the longest active home win streak in Division I.

PREDICTION: Tennessee 82, Florida A&M 54