Tennessee is not resting upon its regular-season SEC co-championship with Auburn.
The No. 13 Volunteers (23-7) want to distinguish themselves as the best from the conference as they open play in the SEC Tournament on Friday in a quarterfinal game against Mississippi State in St. Louis.
The Bulldogs (22-10), who lost at home to Tennessee 76-54 on Feb. 27, advanced to have the rematch with the Volunteers after defeating LSU 80-77 in a second-round game Thursday.
"We played the regular season, and now we are going into the conference tournament where there's a lot at stake," said Tennessee coach Rick Barnes, the SEC Coach of the Year.