Tennessee holds off Butler, 76-71, in overtime win

The Horizon League champions gave the Vols all they could handle.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The Tennessee Volunteers scrapped, pounded and grabbed.

They also survived. No coincidence in that.

The second-seeded Vols mostly ditched the glamorous 3-pointer and got physical in Sunday’s second-round, moving on with a 76-71 overtime victory over Butler.

Tennessee (31-4) got a little assist from Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt, who called her men’s counterpart a few hours before the game.

“She said, ’Just tell those guys to rebound the basketball,’ ” Bruce Pearl said of the colleague, whose seven national titles make her something of an expert.

JaJuan Smith hit four straight free throws in the final 13.6 seconds of overtime and the Vols barely won a game they at times threatened to turn into an East Regional rout.

The earliest game to feature two 30-win teams definitely lived up to the distinction.

The Vols, who struggled at times against American in the first round, will play Louisville on Thursday in Charlotte, N.C.

Tennessee scored 38 points in the paint, had five players with multiple fouls by halftime and made only two 3s in the final 40 minutes against the Bulldogs (30-4).

“Fatigue was a factor for them at some point, because of the way we guarded them,” Pearl said. “We really played great defense tonight and did what we needed to do on the boards.”

The approach paid off at the end.

The Vols scored six straight points inside after the Bulldogs took their first lead in the final 2 minutes of OT, including benched guard Ramar Smith’s basket with 27 seconds left to make it 72-68.

Butler still wouldn’t go away. Pete Campbell followed a missed shot to make it 72-70 with 16 seconds left. JaJuan Smith then made both free throws.

Julian Betko rebounded a missed 3-pointer by A.J. Graves and was fouled with 4.9 seconds left for Butler. He made 1-of-2 from the line, and JaJuan Smith grabbed the rebound before icing the game with foul shots at the other end.

The Bulldogs, who got a low seed considering their No. 11 national ranking, didn’t have their minds changed. Coach Brad Stevens remains convinced his team is “Final Four-caliber,” and his players agree.

“Why wouldn’t we? We play our style of basketball,” said Mike Green, who had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists before fouling out late in overtime. “It’s been very effective.”

So has Tennessee’s more fast-and-loose style.

JaJuan Smith sported the motivating message “No. 1 seed” on his sneakers for a second straight game for a Vols team that felt they were worthy. Tennessee survived the tournament’s opening weekend for the second straight year and avoided another 2-seed flop. The Vols had fallen in the second round as a No. 2 seed in 2006, the only other time they were seeded as high.