FACTS & STATS: Site: BJCC Arena (16,266) -- Birmingham, Alabama. Television: CBS. NCAA Tournament Record: Butler 8-7, Tennessee 12-16. Series Record: Butler leads, 2-0.

GAME NOTES: The second-seeded Tennessee Volunteers avoided a major upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and they will be tested again today by the seventh-seeded Butler Bulldogs as East Region action continues. The winner of this contest will take on either third-seeded Louisville or a sixth-seeded Oklahoma in the Sweet 16. Butler was extremely impressive in its 81-61 romp over South Alabama on Friday, and the program has now won its first-round game in its last four NCAA Tournament appearances. The Bulldogs captured their first Horizon League Tournament title since 2001 with a 70-55 victory over Cleveland State on March 11th, and their seven seed in this tournament is the second-highest in program history, as last year's club earned a five seed. As for Tennessee, it ended up beating American University by a 72-57 final in the first round, but that game was much closer than the final score suggests. There is reason for concern among fans of the program, as the Vols entered this event fresh off a heartbreaking 92-91 loss to Arkansas in the SEC Tournament semifinals last Saturday. Still, the Vols' 30 wins this season have eclipsed the previous school record of 26 set in 1999-2000. They are making their 16th NCAA Tournament appearance, and while a 12-16 record in this event isn't exactly impressive, last year's squad did reach the Sweet 16. Butler owns a 2-0 edge in the all-time series with Tennessee, including a 56-44 victory over the Vols last season.

Butler is a strong defensive team that limits its opponents to 57.8 ppg on 42.9 percent shooting from the floor. The Bulldogs are generating 68.3 ppg, and they have racked up over 100 more assists than their foes while committing more than 100 fewer turnovers. Point guard Mike Green continues to play outstanding basketball for Butler as he is scoring 14.9 ppg to go with 6.6 rpg and 164 assists. A.J. Graves is netting 13.3 ppg, but it is hard to get too excited about his 37.5 percent shooting from the field. Matt Howard adds 12.6 ppg to the mix, and Pete Campbell provides 11.2 ppg. In the first-round victory over South Alabama, Campbell exploded for 26 points off the bench on 8-of-10 shooting from three-point range. He did his damage in only 20 minutes of action, clearly one of the most impressive performances we have seen thus far in the tournament. Graves scored 18 points against the Jaguars and Howard added 11, helping to overshadow the fact that Green was limited to just five points and three assists. Butler connected on 50.9 percent of its field goal attempts, including a 15-of-28 showing from beyond the arc.

Not until late in the second half against American University could Tennessee breathe a sigh of relief. The Vols were outrebounded in the contest by a 39-27 margin, including 18-6 on the offensive glass. So how were they able to win by double figures? Well, it certainly helped that they forced 22 turnovers and limited their upset-minded opponent to a mere 36.2 percent shooting from the floor. Also, Tennessee earned a 22-6 edge in points from the foul line. JaJuan Smith paced UT in scoring with 19 points. Wayne Chism added 16 points to the cause, and Tyler Smith finished with 14 points. Both Chris Lofton and Tyler Smith were recently named First Team All-SEC performers, while JaJuan Smith earned Second Team honors. J.P. Prince was tabbed the SEC Sixth Man of the Year, so there is a wealth of talent on the roster. Tyler Smith is undoubtedly the team's most versatile performer, and he is posting 13.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg and 3.6 apg. Lofton is generating a team-high 15.7 ppg, and JaJuan Smith is netting 14.6 ppg.

Expect Tennessee to take care of business in this clash. Butler will certainly keep things close, but the Vols are simply too athletic for the Bulldogs.

Predicted Outcome

Tennessee 70, Butler 63