Tennessee's Bruce Pearl knows how to beat Georgia. His Volunteers did it twice during the 2008 regular season.

Pearl also knows how to beat Xavier, the Bulldogs' opponent in Thursday's first round of the NCAA Tournament in Washington, D.C. In one of several quality road wins for the Volunteers this season, Tennessee went to Xavier on Dec. 22 and won 82-75.

Georgia (17-16) is a No. 14 seed and a No. 14 has beaten a No. 3 seed only 15 times in 92 NCAA tournament games. None of that matters, said Pearl. He believes Georgia has a real shot against the Musketeers.

"Xavier has a veteran team that is really athletic," Pearl told the AJC on Tuesday, as the Volunteers were preparing for their first round game in Birmingham this Friday. "But Xavier is no more athletic than Arkansas, and you saw how well Georgia played against them."

Georgia beat Arkansas 66-57, which had knocked off Tennessee in the semifinals, 66-57 to win the SEC Tournament title.

Here are five things Pearl believes Georgia must do if it wants to beat Xavier:

1. Keep leaning on Sundiata Gaines: "Georgia's got a shot because of Sundiata. He is so good defensively he'll be able to keep (Xavier point guard) Drew Lavender in front of him. Xavier is a much better team when Lavender can penetrate the defense off the dribble. Sundiata will slow that down.

2. Play great interior defense: "Georgia's big guys played very well in the (SEC) tournament. I really like what (Dave) Bliss did giving them such a good presence inside. When you play Xavier your bigs have to be active to handle what they do on offense. You also have to be very aggressive when it comes to rebounding. Georgia can do that."

3. Be strong on the perimeter: "Xavier is very athletic at the No. 3 position (Josh Duncan) and you have to have a very good athlete on your side to get out there and guard the3-point shot. He didn't shoot very well against us (0-7 from three-point range) but when he's shooting well they are a tough team to beat. Georgia has the kind of guy who can defense that in Terrance Woodbury. I liked the way he played in Atlanta."

4. Respect Stanley Burrell: "He is their chaser on defense and does a very good job (Chris Lofton made 3 of 12 shots when he was guarded by Burrell.) I'm anxious to see who he is going to chase against Georgia. Will it be Sundiata? Will it be Billy Humphrey? That will be a very interesting decision by (Xavier coach) Drew Miller.

5. Focus, focus, focus: "Georgia hasn't had much rest, but believe me when I tell you they will be ready. What Gaines and Bliss and the other guys did keeping that team focused over the weekend was really impressive. Xavier is a good team. But Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Arkansas are good teams and are all in the NCAA Tournament. Georgia beat them all in less than two days. They can win this game."