TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl didn't allow himself much time to enjoy the win over Alabama.

A trip to Starkville, Miss., to play the Mississippi State Bulldogs, is just around the corner.

The No. 7-ranked Vols (18-2, 5-1 SEC) scored a 93-86 victory over the Crimson Tide (12-9, 1-5) in a hard-fought rivalry game Tuesday night.

The squads' intensity led to two surprising statistics: Tennessee turned the ball over more than its opponent (23-20) for the first time this season while enjoying a 45-36 rebounding edge over the taller, more athletic Alabama team.

Pearl took the time to pay tribute to the Tide for its inspired effort and to praise his stars, Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith, who combined to score 45 points on 16-of-27 shooting, and the versatile Tyler Smith, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds.

But then it was on to the worries that the next game, at 7 p.m. Saturday (TV: FSN), presents.

"You ask yourself, 'What does it take to win on the road in the SEC?' " Pearl said. "Does it take 69-percent shooting in the second half? Does it take making 15 free throws in a row? Does it take your seniors stepping up?

"The answer is, 'Yes,' all of the above and then some.''

Indeed, if it took all those things to happen for UT to score a win over fifth-place SEC West Division member Alabama, what will the Vols need to do to beat SEC West leader Mississippi State (14-6, 5-1) on Saturday in Starkville?

"We're going to work on that,'' Pearl said. "Their front line is very physical. Charles Rhodes is similar to (Richard) Hendrix in their abilities, (Jarvis) Varnado is the leading shot blocker in the nation, and who is going to guard Jamont Gordon?''

Pearl said UT will go to work on its front line play when the Vols return to the practice court today after taking Wednesday off.

"We did not do a very good job of finishing around the basket (at Alabama),'' Pearl said. "Our (No.) five men did not shoot a great percentage. You look at Wayne Chism, Duke Crews and Brian Williams, and they were a combined 4-for-15 and got to the foul line five times.

"When you look at Tennessee as a team that's trying to go from being a good team to a very good team, if we don't pick up some inside offense, and we can't finish around the basket, the teams with that kind of talent are going to give us problems.''

That would be Mississippi State.

Pearl said his front line has stepped up when needed, and pointed out things aren't always as easy as they look.

"Just because they are close to the basket doesn't make them easy shots,'' he said. "They are contested shots and shots under contact and we need more of them.''

Gottfried's Take: Alabama coach Mark Gottfried realized his team played good enough to win if not for two UT players, JaJuan Smith and Lofton.

"They hit some huge, huge shots, and most of them were with a hand in their face,'' Gottfried said. Smith and Lofton, JaJuan and Chris, just made huge baskets for their team.

"Sometimes you dissect this thing like your dissecting a frog in science class, but the bottom line is they jump up there and drill a couple big ones at crucial times, and I think that was the difference.''

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.