Heading into a game against No. 1 Kansas on Sunday, Tennessee knows it needs every ounce of talent from every player.
Now the Volunteers are down to six scholarship players because four were suspended indefinitely after being charged with gun possession. A police report included officers saying they smelled marijuana coming from a car and saw an open container of alcohol during a traffic stop just hours after the team defeated Memphis on Thursday.
Senior forward Tyler Smith will be missed the most. He was averaging 11.7 points and 4.7 rebounds and played 26.8 minutes per game.
"We obviously don't have the depth," coach Bruce Pearl said. "It's definitely going to be a challenge. It's our hope we find a way."
He plans to continue to use a nine-man rotation by playing some nonscholarship athletes, but he said employing a press will be much more difficult.
Dismissals are not out of the question, Pearl said. He also indefinitely suspended sophomore guard-forward Cameron Tatum, junior center Brian Williams and junior guard Melvin Goins.
The Volunteers already were playing short-handed. Forward Emmanuel Negedu is on medical leave, and senior Josh Tabb left the program to take care of his ill mother after he had been suspended indefinitely for breaking team rules in September.
"I've talked to my team every day about making the right decisions," Pearl said.
Not cramping his style:John Wall has looked pretty close to perfect in his first 15 games at Kentucky.
But he does have one problem the Wildcats hope to address.
Wall, an outstanding freshman point guard, has struggled with leg cramps during games. Coach John Calipari said he will start thinking more about ways to strategically substitute for Wall to help monitor the cramping, such as before television timeouts.
Wall, who averages 33.5 minutes, never experienced this problem before, but he said he has never played this hard either.
"I'm using a lot of energy," Wall said, "sweating a lot. I'm playing to a level I thought I could never play."
The Turner wait:Evan Turner had an X-ray on his back again Monday, and Ohio State hopes for an update that might allow him to return soon. Without him, the Buckeyes are 3-3 and 0-2 in the Big Ten with road losses to Michigan and Wisconsin.
"He's doing a little bit more every day, shooting-wise," coach Thad Matta said. "He's running on the treadmill, going up and down the court a little bit. I don't know when it's going to feel right for him (to play)."
Turner was slated to return possibly within the week, but Matta said he doubted Turner would play Wednesday against Indiana.
Swish of the week:Chandler Parsons, Florida. The junior forward was 0-for-3 and Florida was 2-for-23 on 3-pointers before Parsons unleashed a 75-foot heave at the overtime buzzer against North Carolina State for a victory that helps keep the Gators in the hunt for an NCAA tournament bid.
Brick of the week: USC. The Trojans know when their season will end: March 6 at Arizona. USC took a positive step in imposing sanctions on itself for rules violations in the recruitment of former star O.J. Mayo that will not allow the team to participate in the Pac-10 or NCAA tournaments. Former coach Tim Floyd and Mayo aren't being punished, but this season's team is taking the blow. The Trojans looked like possible contenders for the conference championship after a surprising 10-4 start.
Game of the week: Purdue at Wisconsin, Saturday.
Wisconsin defends its home court as well as any team in the country. For the undefeated Boilermakers, this is one of the toughest tests of the Big Ten season.