Tennessee is Now Number 1 by Defeating Memphis

That's right Tennessee took it right at Memphis for 40 minutes of basketball. It was a knock-down, drag-out fight to the finish with Tennessee nailing their free-throws and taking the win 66-62. Both teams played their hearts out. I would have to say it was one of the best college basketball games I have seen in a long time. This was a true rivalry game. Duke v's Carolina had nothing on this game tonight.
Here is the recap from www.espn.com
1 2 T
#2 TENN (25-2) 34 32 66
#1 MEM (26-1) 35 27 62
Final9:00 PM ET, February 23, 2008
FedExForum
Memphis, TN
No. 2 Tennessee likely next No. 1 as Memphis leaves with 1st loss

Team Stat Comparison
TENNESSEE MEMPHIS
Points 66 62
FG Made-Attempted 24-64 (.375) 23-58 (.397)
3P Made-Attempted 6-19 (.316) 8-27 (.296)
FT Made-Attempted 12-18 (.667) 8-17 (.471)
Fouls (Tech/Flagrant) 19 (0/0) 17 (0/0)
Largest Lead 7 7

Game Leaders
TENNESSEE MEMPHIS
Points T. Smith 16 D. Rose 23
Rebounds J. Smith 10 J. Dorsey 6
Assists T. Smith 3 D. Rose 5
Steals J. Prince 2 D. Rose 4

Next 5 Games
TENNESSEE (ET) MEMPHIS (ET)
02/26 @VAN 9:00pm
03/02 UK 12:00pm
03/05 @FLA 9:00pm
03/09 SCAR 2:00pm
02/27 TLSA 9:00pm
03/01 @USM 4:00pm
03/05 @SMU 8:00pm
03/08 UAB 1:00pm
Tyler Smith hit a turnaround jumper in the lane with 26.5 seconds left and No. 2 Tennessee knocked off the nation's last unbeaten team, edging top-ranked Memphis 66-62 on Saturday night.
Tennessee (25-2) won on a night when star guard Chris Lofton scored only 7 points, beating the Tigers with a dominating performance on the boards. Lofton did finish it off, though, hitting a couple of free throws with 4.5 seconds to go after Memphis intentionally missed at the line.
Memphis (26-1) lost at home for the first time since Jan. 2, 2006, ending the nation's longest home winning streak at 47 games.
"We've just got to learn from it. We lost," Robert Dozier said. "They just out-toughed us. They get every loose ball, every offensive rebound. They just outplayed us."
The Tigers had hoped to use this game to show their lofty record was proof they were the nation's best team, not the beneficiaries of playing in an unheralded league, Conference USA.
And, of course, they wanted to stay on track to become the first team since Indiana in 1976 to make it all the way through the season with a perfect record.
But the Hoosiers can rest easy. At the end, Tennessee's players walked off the court in triumph, holding up the name across the front of their orange jerseys to taunt the stunned crowd. The small group of Vols fans who actually got in the building hung around to chant "We're No. 1! We're No. 1!"
Tennessee surely will be No. 1 when the next poll comes out -- for the first time in school history.
Just as flamboyant coach Bruce Pearl predicted at a pep rally before the game, then again at halftime.
"I wanted to make sure our guys knew we were playing for something," Pearl said. "I don't know if we're the best team in the country. I knew we were 40 minutes away from being No. 1."
Smith scored 16 points to lead the Vols, while Wayne Chism and J.P. Prince added 13 apiece. But Tennessee did its best work on the boards, overpowering the Tigers with a season-high 50 rebounds. Memphis had 34.
"Rocky Top, you'll always be, home sweet home to me," they sang, having the arena to themselves after the Memphis faithful headed out onto Beale Street to drown their sorrows. "Good ol' Rocky Top, Rocky Top Tennessee."
The Tigers were up when Smith took a pass from Lofton, backed in and hit the jumper for a 62-61 lead. Antonio Anderson missed badly for Memphis at the other end, and the Tigers were forced to foul.
"I really don't even remember," Smith said. "I just remember the shot going in."
Prince hit a pair of free throws to make it a three-point game, and Tennessee wisely fouled before Memphis could go for a tying 3. Instead, Derrick Rose made the first attempt in a 1-and-1, but had to miss the second intentionally, in hopes the Tigers could grab the rebound.
No way. Tennessee came down with it and Lofton was fouled. He only went 2-of-11 from the field, but calmly sank the two foul shots that finished off the Tigers' perfect record.
While Rose was trying to miss, Memphis clanked plenty of foul shots it was trying to make. The Tigers, one of the nation's worst free throw-shooting teams, lived up to their ranking by making just 8-of-17 at the line.
Rose led Memphis with 23 points, but Chris Douglas-Roberts was the only other player in double figures with 14 points.
The Tigers looked in good shape when Douglas-Roberts scored on a layup with 2:28 left, putting his team up 61-58.
Then Smith went to work. He answered with a drive of his own, pulling the Vols to 61-60, then hit the game winner -- but only after Memphis squandered three chances on one possession to extend the margin.
Doneal Mack missed a 3, but the Tigers grabbed a long rebound. Rose missed, and Memphis chased it down again. Finally, after playing without the ball for some 90 seconds, the Vols finally grabbed it away off an attempt by Dozier that banged off the front of the rim.
A couple of hours before tipoff, flamboyant Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl held a pep rally with the Volunteer faithful at a sports restaurant near the FedExForum. He made a bold promise: "All I can tell you is we're 40 minutes away from being No. 1."
Then his team proved him right.