Sure, it’s spacious. Sure, its decibel level pales in comparison to its SEC counterparts. But the Tennessee men’s basketball team sure does love to play there.

Thompson-Boling Arena has been a good home for the Vols (9-2, 1-1 SEC) during the 2003-04 season, as they are undefeated there in eight games.

Away from Knoxville, though, it’s a different story.

We play different here than we do on the road, Vol center Brandon Crump said. We’re just worried about winning all of our home games, and just trying to steal a few games on the road.

So far, the Vols have only stolen one a 74-66 victory at UMass on Jan. 3.

Tennessee’s other two road games resulted in the Vols’ only losses of the season. The first was a poor shooting night in Nebraska against the Cornhuskers, and the most recent was a 95-57 pounding by No. 11 Florida.

According to Crump, the Vols aren’t worried about their road woes.

I don’t think we’re panicking, Crump said. They’ve (Florida) got to come to our house. That’s all I’ve got to say.

Crump’s coach isn’t taking the blowout so lightly. Buzz Peterson saw his team dominate Georgia 89-65 on Jan. 7, then falter on the road in Gainesville just three days later.

I was sky high Thursday night and all of a sudden on Saturday afternoon you’re low, Peterson said. You’ve just got to keep things in the middle. You can’t get too high and too low.

Peterson said the up-and-down play was a glaring sign of the team’s youth, but he wasn’t ready to start heavily criticizing his players.

You’ve got to remember that they are part of what you’re trying to teach them, Peterson said. A lot of our guys, being young, need positive reinforcement.

We’ve got some tough games coming up and we’ve got to put it behind us.

For Peterson and his Vols, the next six games could decide their postseason fate.

Tennessee’s opponents for the rest of January carry a combined record of 71-7, including three top-10 teams.

We have a tough stretch coming up, but that’s the kind of thing that separates good teams, the third-year coach said. There’s a band of us (in the Eastern Division) that are 1-1, so we have to keep it above .500.

That stretch begins with Vanderbilt (12-1, 1-1) Wednesday.

Fortunately for the Vols, that game, and three of the next five, are in Knoxville.