ROCKY TOP !!!

From ESPN.COM - - - -

Best in its own state, and now best in the land by unanimous vote.

By thwarting Memphis' pursuit of a perfect season Saturday with a 66-62 victory, Tennessee wrestled the No. 1 ranking in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll away from the Tigers -- its first visit to the top in school history.

For complete AP and ESPN/USA Today polls, click here.

"No. 1's great," Tennessee star guard Chris Lofton said Saturday, "but we want to be No. 1 at the end of the year."

The Vols (25-2) received all 31 first-place votes and 775 points in the poll released Monday, while Memphis (26-1) fell back to third.

Based upon The Associated Press writers' poll, only once before in its history had Tennessee beaten a No. 1 team, a 55-54 win at No. 1 South Carolina on Dec. 6, 1969. The game drew a standing room, star-studded crowd of 18,389 at FedExForum in Memphis, where the ceiling on individual tickets touched $4,500.

The loss halted Memphis' winning streaks of 47 games on its home court -- the Tigers' last home defeat came Jan. 2, 2006 against Texas -- and 45 regular-season games.

And yet Tennessee's challenges are far from over. For the Vols to get a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, they'll still have to win at Vanderbilt (Tuesday, ESPN, 9 p.m. ET), at home against Kentucky, and at Florida -- all before the onset of the SEC tournament in early March.
"Win or lose, we've got to go to Vandy," Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said after Saturday's victory.