The last time Vanderbilt and Tennessee locked horns, the visiting Volunteers came out victorious, leaving a bad taste in the Commodores' mouths.

Vanderbilt shot terribly from the field, while allowing the Volunteers to score at will, and although the Commodores made it respectable most of the way, they could never get close enough to the Volunteers to take the lead as Tennessee cruised to a 76-63 victory on Vanderbilt's home floor.

Almost a month later and after three straight wins, Vanderbilt is looking to avenge the early season loss. The Commodores have had a full week to prepare for the Tennessee, but have a tough stretch of games coming up. A home match-up with Kentucky and a road date with Florida are on the horizon, but the Commodores must take care of their in-state rival first, who stand at 15-8 just like Vanderbilt. The teams tip off today at 2 p.m. and the game is televised on Raycom Sports.

The elder statesman of the team, redshirt junior guard George Drake, understands that they have to take care of business one game at a time.

"Basically we've got to take each game one day at a time and one game at a time. We've just got to come out there and play to win each game," he said. "We'll worry about the game ahead of us and we won't look over any game."

Preparing for the upcoming game has been crucial and guard Brad Tinsley believes that the experience of playing Tennessee once already this season will help their chances in Knoxville.

"After you play a team, I think you get a little bit of how they play and how their guys play. It's nice playing them a second time. Hopefully we can get up there and get a win," the freshman Oregon native said.

Tennessee stands at 6-3 in the SEC, whereas Vanderbilt is at 4-5. A win on Saturday could be a season-changer for the Commodores. A shot of confidence that comes along with a big win would be a perfect addition to this talented but young team.

Vanderbilt has plenty of skill but has just been hitting their stride as of late. They will need a cohesive effort on Saturday, which head coach Kevin Stallings duly noted.

"It's nice now because finally we've hit a pace where we are scoring with some consistency and we are getting some offensive rhythm and flow," Stallings said.

With Vanderbilt's offense beginning to gel, the Commodores must also look to their defense for support if they hope to come away victorious in Knoxville. Vanderbilt must find a way to stop the incredible duo of Tyler Smith and Wayne Chism who are averaging over 30 points, nearly 15 rebounds, and five assists per game between them. In the team's first meeting the tandem combined for 38 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.

Drake re-iterated multiple times during the seven days off the Commodores re-committed to their defensive principles, while also recovering from injuries.

"(This week) has been a bit of both, rest and hard work. Some of the players, including myself, have been banged up," Drake said. This has been a real good time for us to rest our bodies and get our injuries or whatnot taken care of."

Hopefully for the Commodores, this week of recovery and preparation will be the key to redemption against their rival Volunteers.