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Tennessee, Memphis preserve 1-2 matchup with easy wins 2/22/08

By Chris Low - ESPN.com

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Memphis did its part, and so did Tennessee.

The No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown was preserved Wednesday night with both teams cruising in games that were never really close. Memphis blasted Tulane 97-71 on the road, while Tennessee took care of business at home in an 89-70 battering of Auburn.

Now, onto the one everybody’s been waiting for Saturday at the FedEx Forum in Memphis (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET).

“It’s the biggest game of my life, but we’re not going to treat it any differently than any game we’ve played all year,” Tennessee senior guard JaJuan Smith said. “We play every game like it’s the championship.”

A championship won’t be at stake Saturday in Memphis (well, maybe a state championship of sorts), but never has the national spotlight in men’s basketball shown on two teams from the state of Tennessee like it will this weekend in Elvis’ hometown.

Ramar Smith scored a team-high 19 points in Tennessee’s tune-up for No. 1 Memphis.
No. 1 Memphis (26-0) is bidding to become the first team since UNLV in 1991 to go into the NCAA Tournament unbeaten. No. 2 Tennessee (24-2) is basking in the kind of success usually reserved for its women’s program.

“This weekend is a celebration for Tennessee basketball,” Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said. “These events are reserved for Tobacco Road at this time of the year, and I say that with all due respect & or somewhere in Indiana or Ohio.”

But in the same breath, Pearl said the Vols’ season won’t hinge on what happens Saturday against Memphis. He said there’s more out there for this team, namely winning the school’s first outright SEC title since 1967. The Vols (11-1 in the SEC) now have a two-game lead in the loss column. They have an equally treacherous game at Vanderbilt on Tuesday (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET) just three days after the Memphis showdown.

“We’ve got to find a way to win one of these games,” Pearl said. “If we’re fortunate enough to win the first one, we’ve got to find a way to win two of these games. Whatever we do at Memphis, we’ve got to be ready to turn around and go to Vanderbilt. It’s step-up time.”

The only disappointing thing for Pearl on Wednesday was that he had to put his starters back into the game after the reserves failed to hold a lead that had ballooned to 31 points. Auburn (13-11, 3-8 SEC) pulled to within 14 points with just over two minutes to play.

“I’m not concerned about hurting feelings,” Pearl said.

In a testament to Tennessee’s balance, sophomore guard Ramar Smith scored a season-high 19 points, becoming the sixth Vol this season to lead the team in scoring.

“That’s us. We’ve got depth, and we’ve got each other’s back,” Smith said. “Everybody doesn’t need to have their best game every time out.”

Posted by Tug | Filed under Men's Basketball