Second-seeded Tennessee needed overtime to take down seventh-seeded Butler 76-71 and advance to the round of 16.

The Bulldogs gained their first lead of the game at 68-66 on an A.J. Graves jumper with 1:25 left in overtime, but the Vols outscored the Bulldogs 6-3 in the final minute of the game. 

Wayne Chism's layup with 54 seconds left put Tennessee up for good. 

Chism led a balanced offensive effort for Tennessee with 16 points. Tyler Smith and JaJuan Smith added 15 and 11 points respectively.

Tennessee led by as many as 13 in the first half and 10 in the second half, but the persistent Bulldogs stayed in the game thanks to a game-high 21 points from senior guard A.J. Graves.

The Bulldogs sent the game to overtime on a tip-in by Willie Veasley.

Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl replaced senior point guard Jordan Howell in the starting lineup with J.P. Prince, who made his first start in a game since his senior year of high school. 

The game was the first second-round matchup between 30-win teams in NCAA Tournament history.

The win puts Tennessee in the Sweet Sixteen for the second season in a row. They'll take on the winner of the Louisville-Oklahoma game on Thursday.

My Take

Tennessee talked a lot this week about their seeding and what they wanted to prove in the tournament.

For the first time in quite a while, Tennessee's play on the court matched up with its rhetoric.

It wasn't the prettiest game (the Vols turned it over 20 times), but they showed the effort required to win a championship.

The play that ultimately sealed the game was a tough 50-50 rebound by JaJuan Smith with just a few seconds left in the game. He was fouled and sealed the game with two free throws.

The Vols made those plays all game, the very plays they didn't make against American when they gave up 16 offensive rebounds.

This time, the Vols grabbed 14 of their own.

Pearl making a major change to his lineup at the very end of the year was either a sign of genius or desperation -- maybe both.

Prince was 4-of-5 from the field with 5 assists, a much needed improvement over Ramar Smith and Howell's performance over the last month of the season.

However, Prince almost made him pay for the decison as he turned it over twice coming down the stretch.

Even worse, he put Howell in a bad situation by benching him for the game, then calling upon him down the stretch once Ramar Smith and Prince got into foul trouble.  

Prince provided a nice boost, yet Howell has proven himself down the stretch over the last two seasons. Pearl will have to decide whether or not he can rely on Prince to make smart decisions in the clutch.

Pearl probably won't be happy that his team didn't pull away after they looked to be well on their way to coasting to a nice victory. Nonetheless, the close game was probably just what the doctor ordered.

It gave them a chance to come together as a team and prove to themselves that they still have a lot left to accomplish.