KNOXVILLE -- Through three weeks of the Southeastern Conference men's basketball schedule, Tennessee has looked more at home on the road than inside its own Thompson-Boling Arena.
The notion will face its biggest challenge tonight, however.
The Volunteers have three road wins and two home losses in their first six league games heading into what figures to be their toughest road game of the season at Arkansas.
"I'd like to think we're confident, having won some games on the road," first-year Tennessee coach Donnie Tyndall said Monday. "I was asking our staff, the last couple of games -- two of the three at least -- we've almost played a little bit more nervous in front of our home crowd than we have on the road.
Tennessee coach Donnie Tyndall, right, argues a call with a referee during a timeout in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Missouri on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015, in Columbia, Mo. Tennessee won 59-51. "I don't know if that's purely coincidental, or guys do feel a little more pressure at home because all the fans are here and they want to do so well to keep them coming out, if you will, that maybe they put too much pressure on ourselves.
"Really only one of the last three home games have we played the way we went on the road and played, so I hope that trend continues, at least up until Tuesday night."
With wins at Mississippi State, Missouri and South Carolina -- teams with a combined SEC record of 4-14 -- the Vols notched victories in their first three SEC road games for the first time since 2009.
The last time Tennessee won its first four SEC games was in 1982, when SEC player of the year Dale Ellis and coach Don DeVoe led the Vols to a share of the league crown.
Tyndall is expecting a "crazy atmosphere" tonight at Bud Walton Arena, where the Razorbacks are 12-1 this season and 62-7 in four seasons under coach Mike Anderson.
A former assistant coach at LSU, Tyndall said Arkansas and Arizona are the two loudest places he's played as a coach.
"What is it, that 'Woo Pig Sooie' deal?" he wondered aloud. "They get a little crazy in there. It's just they love basketball. Going back to Coach (Nolan) Richardson's days, they've had good teams, great players and their home crowd has always been very, very good for them."
According to Tyndall, Tennessee's win at South Carolina last week was the hardest his team has played for a full game this season, but he expected a fresher group than what he got, particularly after he essentially gave his players two days off, in Saturday's home defeat to Texas A&M.
"It's a young, inexperienced team trying to find their way," Tyndall said. "Every team and every kid has a different way of being prepared mentally. Maybe some of these newcomers are a little more nervous at home."
It wouldn't be the first time Tyndall had a team support that theory.
In his final season at Morehead State in 2010-11, the Eagles, with future NBA star Kenneth Faried, had a 24-game home winning streak snapped in a televised game before the largest crowd of the season.
That team went on to win 11 of its next 12 games on the way to the Ohio Valley Conference tournament title and upset Louisville in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Tyndall said his team's combination of toughness, some quality 3-point shooting (Tennessee hit 10 at both Mississippi State and South Carolina) and consistent rebounding have been themes for why the Vols' road success to start SEC play.
As for the home losses to Alabama and Texas A&M, Tyndall is starting to ask questions and ponder possible answers.
"I don't want to be one of those guys where we lose one and all of a sudden I've got 20 different excuses," he said. "That's not what I'm about, and I don't want to make it sound that way. I just think that maybe, because we are at home and they want to play so well for our home fans, they play a little bit tight, if you will. Don't know that that's the case.
"We're 8-2 at home, so it's not like they've done that every night. You have to give the opponent credit. Texas A&M and Alabama are two good teams, and their size and physicality has bothered us, so I don't know. We've just got to continue to get better every day."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.