CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Not surprisingly, Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl attributed his team's game-winning spurt in the game's final four minutes to superior conditioning.

"In the last couple of minutes our kids pulled together in a very special way," Pearl said of his team's 13-2 run to close the game. "I liked the way we looked and I thought fatigue was a factor [for Xavier]."

Pearl was encouraged by the way his team rallied from a 73-69 deficit.

"In sport, teams pull together or they pull apart at times," Pearl said. " We really pulled together when we got down. I just never saw any doubt in my players' eyes that we were going to win the basketball game. Today was the first day I've seen that look."

The win significantly improves Tennessee's NCAA Tournament resume, Pearl said.

"It's a marquee win for us," Pearl said. "And it would have been a marquee win for Xavier if they would have won."

That if will haunt Xavier for a while, or at least until its game on Friday against Delaware State.

"We lost all concentration at the end of the game, and we can't let that happen," Xavier guard Stanley Burrell said. "When you're up four with 3:41 to go, you don't lose the game."

Unfortunately for Xavier, it did.