LEXINGTON, Ky. — Tennessee will try and keep its season alive by knocking off one college basketball blue blood in the building of another Saturday.

The 2-seed Vols, NCAA Tournament First Round victors over 15-seed Wofford, are on the cusp of their third-straight Sweet 16 berth with 7-seed UCLA standing in the way.

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The Bruins opened the tournament in convincing fashion, beating 10-seed Utah State in a game they were largely in control of from start to finish.

The stage for this clash between hoops royalty and one of the most successful teams in the sport over the last eight years is Rupp Arena, a place where Tennessee has had a string of successes in for the most part during what UCLA coach Mick Cronin recently dubbed the "golden age" of basketball at the school under Rick Barnes.

The Vols (28-7) hope to have more in a late-night tip-off (9:40 p.m. ET, TBS or TruTV) to continue a run that they also hope yields the greatest accomplishments yet of this golden age.

Tennessee is the favorite, but the Bruins (22-10) will be no easy out.

Like the Vols, UCLA is a team that prides itself defense, ranking 15th in adjust defensive efficiency, according to KenPom, 12 spots behind Tennessee, which ranks third.

The Bruins have two bigs in 6-foot-9 forward Tyler Bilodeau and 7-3 center Aday Mara, offering up another challenge for starting frontcourt duo Felix Okpara, Igor Milicic Jr. and Cade Phillips off of the bench.

On the perimeter, the Vols are coming off of a 35.7% shooting performance that was headlined by Chaz Lanier, who scored 29 points and tied the program record for most 3-pointers in an NCAA Tournament game with six.

Zakai Zeigler assisted on most of those, breaking the school record for career assists with 726 over the last four years after accounting for 16 against Wofford.

Tennessee will need similar performances to keep its season alive.

Who: 2-seed Tennessee (28-7) vs. 7-seed UCLA (22-10)

When: Saturday, March 22 | 9:40 p.m. ET

TV: TBS/TruTV (Brian Anderson, play-by-play; Jim Jackson, analyst; Allie LaForce, reporter)

Radio: Vol Network (Bob Kesling, play-by-play; Bert Bertelkamp, analyst)

Series: Second meeting all-time (UCLA lead, 1-0)

KenPom Projection: Tennessee 67, UCLA 62

POINTS PER GAME

UCLA 74.8

Tennessee 74.7

FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE

UCLA 46.6%

Tennessee 45.5%

THREE-POINT PERCENTAGE

UCLA 35.2%

Tennessee 34.0%

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Everything Rick Barnes, Tennessee players said about UCLA matchup

ASSISTS

UCLA 16.3

Tennessee 15.5

REBOUNDS

Tennessee 36.6

UCLA 32.7

BLOCKS

Tennessee 5.0

UCLA 3.0

-- Tennessee and UCLA are meeting for just the second-time ever. The two programs first and last played on Jan. 30, 1977 at the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta. The Bruins won, 103-88. That game featured Johnny Darden, the Vols' previous all-time career assists leader before Zakai Zeigler broke the record against Wofford.

-- Tennessee guard Chaz Lanier, coming off of a 29-point performance vs. Wofford, including six-made 3-pointers to tie the program's single-game NCAA Tournament record is closing in another record. He needs two more to tie former player Chris Lofton for the single-season record in made 3-pointers with 118.

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Everything UCLA's Mick Cronin said about Tennessee

-- Tennessee and UCLA are both ranked top 15 in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom. The Vols are No. 3, allowing 89.5 points per opponents' 100 possessions, while Bruins rank No. 15 with 93.9 points allowed per 100 possessions.

-- UCLA will offer up challenges for Tennessee in the paint. The Bruins are paced by starting 6-foot-9 forward Tyler Bildeau in scoring with 13.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Off the bench, 7-3 center Aday Mara averages 12.8 minutes and 4.0 rebounds.

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