Tennessee fans will get their first glimpse of Cuonzo Martin's squad tonight as the Vols host Victory University in an exhibition game (tip-off at 7 p.m.). It's a dress rehearsal for the home team, which opens the season this Friday night at home against Kennesaw State.

The 2012-13 season is opening under vastly different circumstances than Martin's first year at the helm. Last November the head coach himself and most of the members of his roster were untested and unknown, at least in the eyes of fans.

Tonight, the fans expect to get a sneak preview of a team that's expected to compete for an SEC championship in Martin's second season, and many observers project the Vols as an NCAA tournament team.

Martin isn't one to project that far down the road, especially this early in the season.

He's not exactly shy about acknowledging that his team has the pieces in place to be considered an SEC contender. For the moment though, he's focused on the short term.

His expectations for the Vols early in the season pretty much read verbatim from what the head man said before he embarked on his first season in Knoxville.

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