Stage is set for No.1 vs. No. 2

Both Tennessee and Memphis took care of business Wednesday night.

At last, the stage is officially set for the No. 1 ranked Tigers and No. 2 ranked Volunteers to meet in the Bluff City Saturday night (9 p.m. tip-off on ESPN). It will mark the first time since 1998 the nation’s top two teams from the same state (Duke vs. North Carolina)  play each other.

Both the Vols and the Tigers had to tend to some league matters Wednesday night as Tennessee blasted Auburn 89-70 for its 30^th straight win at Thompson-Bowling Arena and Memphis went on the road to bounce Tulane, 97-71.

Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl made it a point not to overlook the Tigers from the SEC West this week, but now the Vols’ charismatic coach has turned his full-attention to the much-hyped showdown with the Tigers from across the state. He understands what playing in a game like this can mean for his program but he also wants to make certain his team doesn’t lose focus of their top objective of winning an outright conference championship for the first time in 41 years.