BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The University of Tennessee men’s basketball held off Butler on Sunday for a 76-71, overtime victory in a second-round NCAA tournament game at BJCC Arena.

The second-seeded Volunteers (31-4) advanced to their second consecutive Sweet Sixteen, where they will play the winner of Sunday’s Louisville-Oklahoma game. For the second consecutive year, the seventh-seeded Bulldogs (30-4) ended their season with a loss to the Southeastern Conference champion. Eventual national champion Florida eliminated Butler in the Sweet Sixteen last season.

Sophomore forward Wayne Chism’s inside bucket in the final minute of overtime gave UT a 70-68 lead, and the Vols got the ball back after a wild sequence with 32.5 seconds left. UT sophomore forward Tyler Smith soared to block a driving layup attempt from Butler senior point guard Mike Green. Vols senior guard Chris Lofton grabbed the rebound and had the ball stripped away from behind by Green, but Chism bounced on the loose ball and called timeout.

Sophomore point guard Ramar Smith was fouled after hitting a layup to put the Vols ahead 72-68 with 26.6 seconds left, but he missed the following free throw. Senior forward Pete Campbell cut it to 72-70 on a putback, but UT senior guard hit two free throws to push the cushion back to four.

Butler senior guard Julian Betko’s free throw hit his first free throw to get the Bulldogs within 74-71 with 4.9 seconds left, but he missed the second, and JaJuan Smith put the game away by making two free tosses with 3.8 seconds left.

Chism led Tennessee with 16 points, while Tyler Smith scored 15 and JaJuan Smith added 11. Butler senior guard A.J. Graves led all scorers with 21 points, while Green chipped in 15.

Vols sophomore J.P. Prince — who started at point guard Sunday for the first time in his career — was called for a traveling violation with 4.1 seconds left in regulation, giving the Bulldogs the ball in a tied game. Prince atoned for his error, though, stifling point guard Mike Green and preventing a game-winning shot attempt at the buzzer.

Chism’s inside bucket gave the Vols a 62-60 lead with 2 minutes, 9 seconds left. After Butler missed a second consecutive layup, UT sophomore forward Tyler Smith hit a free throw to make it 63-60 with 1:23 left.

Green’s free-throw cut the Vols’ lead to 63-61, and guard Willie Veasley’s tipped putback tied the game with 37 seconds left.

Tennessee sped out to an 18-6 lead in the first eight minutes, but Butler slowly whittled within 35-34 on a Campbell 3 in the final minute of the half. Lofton responded with a trey to put the Vols up 38-34 at halftime.

Statistics were remarkably even after a foul-filled first half — 13 called on Tennessee, and 10 on Butler. Both teams had 17 rebounds and eight made free throws (although Butler attempted two more) at the break, while UT had nine turnovers to Butler’s eight. The Vols shot marginally better from the field and the free-throw line, while the Bulldogs were better behind the arc.

Nine Vols scored in the first half, as JaJuan led the way with seven points. Graves had 11 at the break, and Campbell added 10.

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E-mail Wes Rucker at wrucker@timesfreepress.