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High-powered Tennessee looks to wipe out Virginia

Mar 18, 2007 - 1:27 PM No. 5 Tennessee (23-10) at No. 4 Virginia (21-10) 12:10 pm EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) - Tennessee had an offensive bonanza in their first-round matchup. It might need another one against Virginia.

The fifth-seeded Volunteers hope to continue to pile on the points when they face the Cavaliers in a second-round matchup in the South Region on Sunday.

The winner will face star freshman center Greg Oden and top-seeded Ohio State.

Tennessee looked lost offensively in its 76-67 loss to Louisiana State in the Southeastern Conference tournament, shooting just 34 percent from the floor. It was a totally different story in a 121-86 victory over Long Beach State in the first round on Friday.

The high-flying Volunteers raced to a 57-45 halftime lead before pouring in 64 points after the break. It was the highest scoring output by a team in this tournament since Nevada-Las Vegas scored 131 points in the 1990 regional final against Loyola-Marymount.

The Volunteers will look to keep it going when they face the Cavaliers, who cruised to an 84-57 triumph over No. 13 seed Albany in the first round. J.R. Reynolds scored 23 of his 28 points in the first half.

Virginia's second-leading scorer, Reynolds made the most of his first career NCAA Tournament appearance, shooting 9-of-13 from the floor and going 5-of-8 from the arc.

With the victory, the Cavaliers (21-10) advanced to the second round for the first time since 1995, when they reached the regional final.