Tennessee to defend No. 1 ranking against West Virginia

After needing some extra time to pass its first test as the nation's new No. 1 team, Tennessee doesn't expect things to get any easier -- no matter the opponent.

The Volunteers look to extend their longest winning streak in 96 years to 14 games on Saturday when they host West Virginia in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

Thanks to a bevy of upsets and its own ability to avoid one from Alabama last weekend, Tennessee climbed two spots to the top of the AP poll for the second time in program history Monday. The Vols' barely cleared their first hurdle as No. 1 on Wednesday night at Vanderbilt.

Tennessee (17-1) trailed by six with 1:22 left in regulation but, thanks to a career-high 43-point performance from star Grant Williams, the Vols forced overtime and pulled away for an 88-83 victory. Williams went 23 of 23 from the free-throw line -- a single-game school record for total makes and consecutive made free throws.

Williams' memorable effort overshadowed the fact that Vanderbilt made half of its field-goal attempts, held the Vols to 5-of-20 shooting from 3-point range and out-rebounded them 33-30. Tennessee should learn from that scare.

"We are where we are. That's the bed that you make," coach Rick Barnes said of the Vols' place atop the college basketball world. "You've got to understand you're going to get the best shot from a lot of people every single night."

Williams, who scored the most points by a Volunteer since Allan Houston also had 43 in February 1990, said the team can handle the pressure. But it also can't take anything for granted.

"It's part of the maturity of this team," said Williams, who is averaging 25.5 points in the past four games.

"We have a lot of things that we need to work on. We're not there yet."

Tennessee's focus now shifts on recording a 14th consecutive victory for the first time since the 1922-23 season. The Volunteers are also in position to claim a 20th straight home victory.

Although West Virginia is 0-3 in true road games and is amid a disappointing season overall, it did knock off then-No. 7 Kansas 65-64 last weekend while displaying some of that trademark, aggressive Bob Huggins-coached defense.

The Mountaineers (9-10) have also won two of their last three games against the country's No. 1 team, but both victories came at home while they were also ranked.

West Virginia was unable to build on that victory over the Jayhawks, losing 85-73 to visiting Baylor on Monday. The Mountaineers, who trailed by as many as 21, allowed the Bears to hit half of their shots and own a 45-35 advantage on the boards.

Junior guard James Bolden had 22 points and is averaging 20.0 in four games since being held scoreless at Kansas State on Jan. 9. West Virginia has dropped six of seven in the Big 12 entering this game, but Bolden does not think his team will be intimidated Saturday.

"You just got to go in there and focus," Bolden said. "Just have the same mentality we had against Kansas. Kansas is just as good as (Tennessee). If we can beat (Kansas), we can beat anybody."

Tennessee won the most recent meeting against West Virginia, 74-72 in November 2007.

--Field Level Media