I could be wrong here, but I doubt coach Kevin Stallings reads much ESPN Insider. As great as this winning streak has been, Stallings refuses to dwell on seeding. Don't let the ranking fool you, he says, there's too much work to be done.

"I'd like to stand up here and be Mr. Gleeful and jolly and all of that, but there are too many things that I see in us still that have to be bettered in order for us to make a deep run," Stallings said after watching his team beat Georgia.

That's right, shooting 51 percent from the field and committing just six turnovers translates into room for improvement.

"I'm talking about small, margin things," Stallings said. "I'm talking about better cutting, better screening. As a coach, what you want is consistency. You want to know what to expect."

The nit-picking may never stop, but Stallings wouldn't have it any other way. He remembers 2004, when sixth-seeded Vandy was the trendy upset pick to be upset by No. 11 Western Michigan. He remembers last year, when his sixth-seeded Commodores were doubted again, this time against No. 11 George Washington. Two Sweet 16's later, Stallings can appreciate the role of the spoiler.

Which brings us to Tuesday night. We all saw Tennessee beat the nation's top ranked team despite shooting 38 percent from the field. The fact that the Vols appear to still have room for improvement is pretty scary, and their recent prestige will put Vandy in the underdog spot once again.

Not surprisingly, Stallings embraces the role by downplaying his own ranked team.

"Tennessee is awfully good. For them to have only one conference loss is proof of that. I don't know if we're ready for that yet or not. We'll have to find out on Tuesday."

He probably felt the same way last year, when the top ranked Gators came to town. Florida was riding a school-record 17 game winning streak and an undefeated Southeastern Conference record, but Vandy wanted it more. The crucial eighth SEC win all but guaranteed the Commodores a spot in the big dance.

Though these Dores look to be in good shape for another invitation, Tuesday's game carries similar implications. For Vandy (8-4 SEC) to lock up a first round bye in the SEC tournament, it has to finish ahead of Kentucky (9-3). The Wildcats control their own destiny but have to play Tennessee, Ole Miss and Florida to finish out the season. A Commodore victory on Tuesday over the top-ranked Vols would be a great first step to secure the bye and, consequently, a better spot in the NCAA tournament.

But like I said earlier, Stallings doesn't care about seeding. He views it as an unnecessary worry since so much is out of his control. What he can control is the game plan for Tuesday night, and though he'll always play the "we'll see what happens" card during interviews, deep down, Stallings knows you can't ever count the Commodores out at home.

Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl will tell his players just this. When he strolls into Memorial with that seizure-inducing orange jacket, he'll remember his last experience in Memorial: Shan Foster's game-winning tip in at the buzzer.
This time the game is nationally televised. Will Memorial Magic dethrone the top ranked Vols?

As Stallings says, only time will tell.