KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Jordan Howell called it a "storybook ending." JaJuan Smith said it was "a dream come true."

"We came from the bottom. We're SEC champs, now," Chris Lofton said.

No. 4 Tennessee closed the regular season with an 89-56 victory over South Carolina yesterday, and the three Volunteers seniors — whose freshman team went 14-17— finally got to celebrate a Southeastern Conference regular-season title.

Lofton scored 28 points for Tennessee (28-3, 14-2), hitting six 3-pointers, and Smith fouled out with 17 points and four 3s, receiving a hearty standing ovation.

Tennessee fans engaged in a delayed celebration of the Vols' first outright SEC title since 1967, which the team won Wednesday with a win over Florida.

A new championship banner was unveiled in Thompson-Boling Arena while orange and white streamers dropped from the ceiling and the players cut down one of the nets.

When asked if he ever thought he'd be a part of a conference championship, Smith smiled.

"Asleep? Yes. Awake, no," he said.

Despite all of the pomp and circumstance, the Vols said they still have several more goals for the season. First is winning the SEC tournament title next weekend.

And then?

"We want to win a national championship," Howell said.

Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said his team needed the win over South Carolina and will need a strong showing in the SEC tournament to claim a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

"Everything is now designed to get us to San Antonio, Texas, for the Final Four," he said. "The thing that we can do to help make it happen is to win the SEC tournament."

Tennessee led by one at halftime in this game, but used 61.8-percent shooting to take over.

A four-minute scoring drought by South Carolina allowed Tennessee to add some breathing room in the second half. A jumper by Tyler Smith gave the Vols a 64-43 lead with 9:04 left.

"I don't know, maybe I kept them in the locker room a little too long at halftime," South Carolina coach Dave Odom said. "We came out colder than the frigid Smoky Mountain air, and we just couldn't make a shot."

Mike Holmes led South Carolina (13-17, 5-11) with 15 points.

TOP 25 RESULTS

No. 9 Texas 62, Oklahoma St. 57: D.J. Augustin scored 20 points as the host Longhorns (26-5, 13-3) captured a share of the Big 12 regular-season championship by edging the Cowboys (16-14, 7-9). Damion James added 13 points and 18 rebounds for Texas, making four free throws in the final 36 seconds to help maintain the lead. Byron Eaton and Terrel Harris each scored 12 points for Oklahoma State.

No. 13 Connecticut 96, Cincinnati 51: Stanley Robinson scored 18 points and had eight rebounds as the host Huskies (24-7, 13-5 Big East) swept the regular-season series against the Bearcats (13-17, 8-10) in a game postponed a day because of a Midwest snowstorm. Hasheem Thabeet added 15 points and eight blocks for Connecticut.

No. 15 Purdue 72, Michigan 58: E'Twaun Moore and Keaton Grant each scored 17 points, and the visiting Boilermakers (24-7, 15-3) put together a 21-4 run midway through the second half to finish off the Wolverines (9-21, 5-13). DeShawn Sims led Michigan with 19 points.

Ohio St. 63, No. 17 Michigan St. 54: Jamar Butler scored 20 points, and the host Buckeyes (19-12, 10-8) closed out the game with a 15-2 run to upend the Spartans (24-7, 12-6). Raymar Morgan scored 19 points for Michigan State, which missed its last six shots with three turnovers.

Penn St. 68, No. 18 Indiana 64, OT: David Jackson tied the game in regulation with a 3-point play and muscled his way to convert an offensive rebound that put the host Lions ahead for good, 63-61, in overtime as Penn State (15-15, 7-11 Big Ten) upset the Hoosiers (25-6, 14-4). Eric Gordon led Indiana with 26 points, but missed a late 3 in overtime that would have tied the score at 67.

No. 20 Drake 79, Illinois St. 49: Jonathan Cox scored 20 points, and Adam Emmenecker had 16 points and six assists as the Bulldogs (28-4) beat the Redbirds (24-9) at St. Louis to win their first postseason championship in the 32-year-old Missouri Valley tournament. Osiris Eldridge had 14 points for Illinois State.

No. 22 Gonzaga 52, Santa Clara 48: Josh Heytvelt scored 15 points and the Bulldogs (25-6) hit 13 of 16 free-throw attempts in the second half to reach their 11th straight West Coast Conference tournament final by beating the Broncos (15-16) in San Diego. Brody Angley led Santa Clara with 13 points.

No. 24 Clemson 70, Virginia Tech 69: Terrence Oglesby scored 17 points, and Demontez Stitt hit two free throws with 3.8 seconds left as the host Tigers (22-8, 10-6) held on to beat the Hokies (18-12, 9-7) and lock up third place in the Atlantic Coast Conference. A.D. Vassalo led Virginia Tech with 23 points.

No. 25 Davidson 82, UNC Greensboro 52: Stephen Curry scored 26 points as the Wildcats (25-6) beat the Spartans (19-12) to win their 21st game in a row and reach the Southern Conference tournament final. Kendall Toney led UNC Greensboro with 12 points.