A lot can change in a week.

For Tennessee, it was perception. Rick Barnes' likely hasn't, even after his Vols' team lost three of four games, including two-straight. The 10th-year head coach wasn't close to hitting the panic button, especially not in late January.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

But outside of the program, it looked like Tennessee's offensive woes and its inability to match teams in scoring when its defense was breaking down, was going to be a problem for the Vols' postseason prospects.

How did Tennessee quell those concerns? It beat then-No. 5 Florida by 20 points--the largest margin of victory over a top 5 team in school history and the Vols did it without two starters in Zakai Zeigler and Igor Milicic Jr.

Both players are back, and so is momentum--all in time for another top 15 test in No. 15 Missouri at Food City Center Wednesday night (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network) to cap a five-game stretch against Associated Press ranked teams.

Tennessee (18-4, 5-4 SEC) had a lot working against it before it trounced the Gators. It had a few things working in its favor, too, especially motivation after Florida handed the Vols a 30-point defeat in Gainesville in the first meeting between the two teams and rubbed their noses in it less than a month before.

That kind of motivation can count for a lot. For Tennessee, it allowed it to return the favor to the Gators on their home floor, even shorthanded.

On Wednesday, a more healthy Vols team that is back inside the top 5 at No. 4 in both major polls will look to prove that it has gotten back on the same track that had it ranked atop the polls for several weeks earlier this season.

They'll have to do it against a Missouri (17-4, 6-2) team that is no stranger to playing spoiler on the road. The Tigers, who rank second in the league in three-point percentage at 37.9%, have already beaten Florida and Mississippi State on the road.

Here is what you need to know about the match up.

Who: No. 15 Missouri (17-4, 6-2 SEC) at No. 4 Tennessee (18-4, 5-4)

When: Wednesday, Feb. 5 | 7 p.m. ET

Where: Food City Center | Knoxville

TV: SEC Network (Roy Philpott, play-by-play; Jimmy Dykes, analyst)

Radio: Vol Network (Bob Kesling, play-by-play; Steve Hamer analyst)

Series: 23rd meeting all-time (Tennessee leads, 12-10)

Line: Tennessee, -9.5

KenPom Projection: Tennessee 71, Missouri 62

POINTS PER GAME

Missouri 83.4

Tennessee 74.5

FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE

Missouri 48.6%

Tennessee 44.4%

THREE-POINT PERCENTAGE

Missouri 37.9%

Tennessee 33.32%

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Three thoughts on Chaz Lanier ahead of Tennessee's clash with Missouri

ASSISTS

Tennessee 15.6

Missouri 14.0

REBOUNDS

Tennessee 38.6

Missouri 35.1

BLOCKS

Tennessee 5.2

Missouri 3.0

-- Tennessee will finish off a historic stretch on Wednesday. Missouri is the fifth-straight ranked AP Top 25 team that the Vols have faced since playing then-No. 14 Mississippi State on Jan. 21. Tennessee has also played No. 1 Auburn, No. 12 Kentucky and No. 5 Florida. It is the first five-game stretch vs. ranked teams in program history.

-- Tennessee will have both point guard Zakai Zeigler and forward Igor Milicic Jr. back in its starting lineup vs. Missouri. Zeigler missed the Florida game with a knee injury while Milicic was a game-time scratch with flu-like symptoms. With their return, the Vols' starting five has three players averaging double scoring figures.

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Where Tennessee basketball stands in latest AP Top 25

-- Tennessee is 10-6 against Missouri since the Tigers joined the SEC in 2012-13. The Vols are 11-6 in the last 17 games in the series, but the last three games have been decided by 14 total points. Wednesday will mark the fourth time the two teams are both ranked in the AP Top 25.

-- Missouri has had one more remarkable turnarounds in college basketball. After going 8-24 overall and 0-18 in SEC play last season, the Tigers are 17-4 with wins over Kansas, Florida and Mississippi State. Their 6-2 league record is third in the standings behind only Auburn and Alabama.

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