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Tyler Smith's introduction to the Tennessee-Florida basketball rivalry Tuesday night wasn't exactly the way he would have scripted it.

On the Vols' first possession, Smith headed to the rim on the drive. Collision. Bodies on the floor. Whistle.

Charge. The game is 25 seconds old. Turnover. Foul No. 1 on No. 1.

"I thought, man, here we go again,'' Smith recounted later.

Again, as in foul trouble. Just like at Mississippi State. Just like at Alabama.

Things didn't get better any time soon. Florida scored on nine consecutive possessions to take leads of 16-3 and 21-8.

By now, Smith is thinking what every one of the 20,036 in attendance at Thompson-Boling Arena and a national ESPN audience at home is thinking:

"Man, what's going on?''

Florida, the two-time national champion, is unrecognizable, all these fresh (and freshman) faces.

Tennessee is the veteran team, Smith, the transfer from Iowa, the only new face in the starting lineup.

Whatever was going on the first 20 minutes, it wasn't going Smith's way. He would finish the half with one basket and zero rebounds.

He picked up his second foul with 6:19 on the clock and carelessly acquired a third with only 46 seconds left in the half.

And Tennessee, by the way, was on the short end of a 48-44 score.

But if that was Smith's worst of halves, his best of halves was coming right up.

During intermission, a magician entertained the crowd with a barrage of quick-change moves, running through enough gloves, clothes and dresses (on his lovely assistant) to merit a standing ovation.

In the Tennessee locker room, Smith was making a quick change of his own.

"I was down on myself,'' he said, "but at the same time if I'm down on myself I can't show it.''

So he showed Florida.

In the second half - presto! - Smith was a different player, a virtual whirlwind.

He scored 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting. He grabbed nine rebounds.

He dished out four assists, the best one a penetration and pitch to Chris Lofton for a 3-pointer to make it 93-79.

He had zero turnovers. And he committed zero fouls.

And, by the way, Tennessee outscored Florida 60-34 and won going away, 104-82.

"Tyler was obviously a terrific separator,'' said UT coach Bruce Pearl.

"When you see Tyler be able to elevate his game when the game is on the line, that is what teams that become great teams have.

"We're trying to become a great team.''

Tennessee is a very good team, off to the best start in school history at 20-2.

The Vols might yet become a great team. They certainly finished like one Tuesday night to avoid an embarrassing misstep.

In college basketball, we say a loss is just one loss. Don't sweat it. The season is a marathon.

But the reality is a loss this night would have been a gut punch to Tennessee's SEC regular-season title hopes.

If Florida had won, both teams would have been 6-2 at the halfway point. But, of course, the Gators would have a monster win in Knoxville with the Vols still having to face the music in the O-Dome on March 5.

Furthermore, Kentucky is gaining steam and with the win in Rupp, has the current head-to-head tie-breaker edge over Tennessee.

But that gloomy scenario was dispelled after Smith shook off a misspent first half. And when he took the lead in the second, his teammates followed him.

"I've gone up against guys like that,'' said Pearl. "What exactly do you do (to stop them)?''

Smith shrugged.

"I don't know how to explain it,'' he said.

"The guys in the locker room told me to stay focused and I changed around for them.''

Presto. It was a magical transformation.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strange2@knews.com.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.