STARKVILLE, Miss. - If Tennessee needs a reference for the Top 25 voters or the NCAA men's basketball tournament selection committee, it should look no further than Mississippi State senior Charles Rhodes.

He didn't just tout UT after the No. 7 Vols' hard-earned 76-71 victory Saturday night at Humphrey Coliseum. He sent a warning to No. 1-ranked Memphis, whom the Vols play in three weeks.

"Tennessee is one of the best four teams in the country," Rhodes said. "I guarantee you Memphis is gonna be in trouble when (the Vols come). I'm behind Tennessee.

"I think they will break Memphis' (home-court winning) streak. Tennessee is the team that can do that."

Rhodes' opinion wasn't formed overnight. It's based on three meetings with coach Bruce Pearl's teams.

"Bruce Pearl has got to be the best coach," Rhodes said. "Since my sophomore year, I always say they've got to be the toughest team. They're the only team that gets me worn out.

"I've got to give credit to coach Bruce Pearl. He's the man."

Rhodes still managed 15 points and 10 rebounds. His determined play throughout the evening, coupled with Jamont Gordon's torrid 3-point shooting down the stretch, almost enabled the Bulldogs to overturn a 17-point lead in a battle between the SEC's two division leaders.

The Vols won over Rhodes before they won the game. They did it with exceptional shooting against the nation's second-best defense.

UT's 41.3-percent shooting for the game might not turn heads. But the Vols rarely got easy shots against a defense that had held opponents to 36 percent shooting for the season.

And the West Division-leading Bulldogs were revved up to play their best defense against the Vols.

"That's the most difficult part as a player and as a coach," Rhodes said. "It makes you pull your hair out when guys shoot shots like that, and you're all in their face.

"Some of their 3s came on broken plays when they just shot a dagger in us."

You only needed to see a couple of early possessions to realize the Vols wouldn't win this game with ordinary shooting. Mississippi State center Jarvis Varnado, who leads the nation in blocked shots, had two quick blocks and forced Duke Crews into a travel with intimidating defense to open the game.

The Vols got the message. They stayed clear of Varnado and sought haven on the perimeter, where they made eight of 16 3-point attempts in the first half.

"I worried about their outside shooting," Rhodes said. "When you've got Tyler Smith shooting 2-for-2 on 3s, that's crazy.

"Our game plan was to let him shoot the 3. We weren't expecting him to do that. When he's making shots like that, he gets the whole team going."

Varnado also was taken aback by Smith's 3-pointers.

"Tyler hit those two and we were like 'oah,' " Varnado said. "We knew (center) Wayne Chism could shoot (3s).

Chism made a couple of 3-point tries in the first half. But no one made a tougher 3 than Jordan Howell, who hit a 22-footer over the outstretched arms of the 6-foot-8 Rhodes.

"I came off a (blocked shot) of (Josh) Tabb," said Rhodes, who had five blocked shots. "But they got the offensive rebound and threw it right back to (No.) 15. So I'm running out there, and he just knocked it in my face. That's real frustrating."

UT didn't do all its damage with 3s. Ramar Smith made a spectacular reverse layup, spinning the ball off the backboard when the Vols were building their nine-point first-half lead.

Tyler Smith had another highlight shot inside the 3-point line. He drove toward the basket, then pulled up rather than do battle with Varnado, and hit a fade-away shot that hushed a loud, hostile crowd.

The Vols continued their clutch shooting early in the second half. JaJuan Smith made a pair of 3s, and J.P. Prince had a reverse layup through the thicket of Mississippi State's defense.

It was big-time shooting against a big-time defense. And no one was more impressed than Rhodes.

"They're difficult to guard," he said. "That's why they're probably the best team in the country right now."

You couldn't ask for a better reference than that.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.

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