No celebrating yet for Vols

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TAMPA, Fla. — Tennessee’s 94-85 victory over Auburn on Saturday puts the Vols in the SEC men’s basketball championship game for the first time since 1991.

But hold the celebration.

“The accomplishment would be winning it for the first time since 1979,’’ UT coach Bruce Pearl said. “I don’t feel like getting to the championship game is a great accomplishment unless you win it.’’

The Vols (21-11) tip off against Mississippi State (21-12) at 1 o’clock Sunday (TV: WVLT). The Bulldogs will likely need to win the SEC tournament champion’s automatic bid to make the NCAA tournament.

Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury knows it will be no easy task.

“I thought Tennessee was the best team in the SEC,’’ Stansbury said. “They are the most athletic and deepest team in the league.’’

And the Vols sound as though they are just as hungry as the Bulldogs.

“We have to win this,’’ UT’s Tyler Smith said. “We were picked as the team to win it all in the SEC, and we want to prove it to ourselves that we’re the best.’’

The Vols proved they could put back-to-back impressive performances together before the crowd of 10,386 at the St. Pete Times Forum Saturday afternoon.

Wayne Chism scored a career-high 27 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead five Vols who scored in double figures.

“It’s warm here, and I’m comfortable,’’ Chism said. “I want to stay here instead of going back to cold weather.’’

Auburn coach Jeff Lebo said Chism’s hot shooting made the Vols hard to handle.

“When he’s on fire like that, it presents a lot of problems,’’ Lebo said. “When Tennessee scores like that and shoots the ball like that, they are a top-10 team.’’

Chism scored 16 of his points in the first half, hitting 4 of 7 of his 3-point attempts, including back-to-back treys as UT took its first double-digit lead at 33-22 at the 5:44 mark.

“Wayne came out shooting like C-Lo (Chris Lofton),’’ said Smith, who scored 23 points himself. “He hit his first two, and I said, ‘Hey, give Wayne the ball.’ ”

That’s exactly what guard Bobby Maze did when Maze wasn’t diving for loose balls or hitting shots himself. Maze dished out five assists and scored eight of his 11 points in the first half.

“It’s about doing what I have got to do for us,’’ Maze said. “I have to play aggressive. We’re having fun out there, and we’re playing together.’’

But Auburn, winners of nine of its previous 10 entering the game, wasted little time cutting into the Vols’ 47-36 halftime lead.

The Tigers hit three 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the second half. And when Korvotney Barber scored three of his career-high 24 points on a three-point play, capping a 12-5 run, UT’s lead was down to 55-50 with 15:34 left.

Cameron Tatum stepped up with a 3-pointer, and then two possessions later, a three-point play that extended the lead to 63-52 with 13:42 remaining.

“I think that’s along the lines of the idea that we have too many weapons,’’ Pearl said. “Tatum gave us some really good minutes, and between Tatum (11 points) and Scotty Hopson we had 21 points from our two-guard position.’’

Hopson, who had a career-high four assists and tied his career-high with six rebounds, was 4 of 5 from the floor.

J.P. Prince overcame an aggravated shoulder injury to score all nine of his points in the second half in what Pearl called a courageous effort.

Auburn cut the lead to 67-61 at the 10-minute mark on two free throws by Rasheem Barrett (18 points), but Prince answered with a three-point play.

The Tigers drew no closer than seven for the game’s duration.

Smith and Chism combined to score 17 of the Vols final 24 points down the stretch.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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