ATLANTA -- Don't get Ron Slay started on the pass, because he'll start telling you he should be playing quarterback for Tennessee too.

	Tennessee's Jon Higgins, left, and Ron Slay hug each other after their pass-catch-and-throw netted a halfcourt winner for the Vols.

But after the performance Sunday, nothing might be a reach for the reconstructed Vols senior star forward.

Slay is yet another modern medical marvel. He's back from a nasty ACL injury without a hitch. He entered the game Sunday against Georgia Tech leading the SEC in scoring with 24.7 points a game. He topped that Sunday in Atlanta with 28 against Georgia Tech. But none of his baseline moves, mid-range jumpers or three 3-pointers could beat his pass.

It was perfect.

Slay threw a bullet to guard Jon Higgins. He caught it on the fly a foot on the near side of midcourt -- roughly 51 feet from the basket. Higgins shot the ball. Well, sort of. He said he shot it but also felt like he heaved it. He wasn't even sure if his body was even turned facing the basket.

But he made it.

And then he ran, like a soccer player after a World Cup goal. Higgins ran as far as he could to the other corner of the court. His teammates gave chase while officials Larry Rose, Tony Greene and Jamie Luckie checked the monitor to ensure the shot beat the buzzer.

It did. Tennessee 70, Georgia Tech 69.

"Ron's going to start saying he should be quarterback,'' Higgins said. "He's got a good arm. The pass was there. I released it low, but it had form. That's the kind of shot every kid dreams about.''

"The pass was a little bit of Daunte Culpepper and Michael Vick,'' Slay said. "I worked with (Tennessee quarterback) Casey Clausen to get me prepared for that.''

"Ron's saying he's a quarterback,'' Tennessee coach Buzz Peterson said. "But it was a fluke (Higgins) hit it.''

"He'll never hit a shot like that again, even if he's just playing around,'' Georgia Tech's Chris Bosh said.

The Vols' victory, which seemed like a longshot when they were down 13 points with 6:37 remaining, capped a banner Southeastern Conference weekend. OK, Kentucky lost at home to Michigan State, but that's the one exception and that's actually a good defeat in the power ratings.

The weekend started with Mississippi State and Mario Austin dominating Xavier. Florida snapped Maryland's seemingly endless non-conference win streak in College Park. Alabama remained unbeaten. Ole Miss beat Virginia Commonwealth and still has only one loss. Auburn is quietly 6-1 after beating Murray State. LSU beat up on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to move to 5-1.

That was all before the matinee Sunday between Georgia and Gonzaga in Atlanta. Georgia reasserted itself as the favorite in the SEC East with a dismantling of Gonzaga 95-83 in the first game of the Peach Bowl Classic in Philips Arena. The victory was Georgia's third in a row (Gonzaga, vs. California in Anaheim and at Colorado) after dropping two of its first three.

Georgia was expected to be the best team in the SEC East, Tennessee the worst. If that's the case then no one is getting out of this division without getting beaten. Not once. Not twice. Not three times. But maybe four to five. This was billed as the most balanced division within a major conference. Sunday was an indication nothing has changed.

	“	Ron's going to start saying he should be quarterback. He's got a good arm. The pass was there. I released it low, but it had form. That's the kind of shot every kid dreams about. ”
		— Jon Higgins, on the pass he got from Ron Slay that led to a half-court game-winner for Tennessee

Tennessee shouldn't have won the game. The Vols had no business being in position to win. Tennessee's offense was Slay and no one else until late in the game. Tennessee's defense was decent but the Vols had 22 turnovers. The Vols desperately needed C.J. Watson, Brandon Crump or Higgins to consistently hit shots.

Instead, they watched as Georgia Tech's B.J. Elder, the forgotten sophomore on a team getting pub for its freshmen, made five 3s. Tennessee looked like it had no chance when the Vols trailed 68-65 after two made free throws by Bosh. The freshman forward then blocked a Slay 3-point attempt on the next possession with 3.7 seconds remaining.

The Vols' fouled Ed Nelson, but he missed the shot. For some reason, Georgia Tech fouled Higgins with one second remaining. He made both to cut the lead to one, even though he tried to miss the second but the rainbow shot was good. Elder was fouled with five-tenths of a second remaining. He missed the first. Slay said Elder should have missed the second. But he didn't.

"We shouldn't have been in that position,'' said Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt.

"Our defense was good but our offense isn't crisp and hasn't been all year,'' Hewitt said. "And we missed free throws.''

But who knew Slay would make the pass, Higgins the shot?

The stunning turn of events could change the Vols' season. Tennessee lost four games at the buzzer last season to Louisville, West Virginia, Florida and Georgia. Could Sunday be the start of luck turning in a different direction?

Regardless, this team has renewed hope after a disappointing 17-point loss at Texas A&M on Dec. 4.

"Hopefully this will give Jon a chance to look for his shot,'' Tennessee assistant Chris Ferguson said.

Like a 51-foot 3-pointer?

"Not that,'' Ferguson said. "But he should look for 3s, mid-range jumpers to help Ron out. He'll get confidence from that shot.''

"It's nice to know luck is finally on our side,'' Higgins said.

Nothing about Georgia's victory was a fluke. Georgia is in the midst of a roll that could stretch to eight and include Pittsburgh and LSU before a road game at Florida on Jan. 11.

Georgia could end up being one of the toughest teams to match up against with either man or zone. Georgia went with a lineup of 6-foot-7 Damien Wilkins at the point, and 6-7 Jarvis Hayes and 6-4 Ezra Williams on the wings for most of the first half with 6-3 point Rashad Wright in foul trouble. Gonzaga didn't know whom to guard. They guessed wrong often because Wilkins found Williams (21 points) and Hayes (29) open.

"It makes it hard to focus on any one of us,'' Wilkins said.

"It creates a lot of mismatches,'' Williams said.

Georgia coach Jim Harrick will continue to alternate Wilkins and Wright at the point. Forward Steven Thomas is due back from a first semester banishment (three-game suspension before he was ruled academically ineligible) for the game Wednesday against South Alabama. If that happens, then Wilkins will be an exclusive perimeter player. He has split time inside but he's clearly evolved into a point forward with nasty ball skills. Wilkins passed over the 6-foot Winston Brooks, his defender. Wilkins (eight assists, two turnovers) drove past 6-10 Ronny Turiaf when he was trying to guard him out on the perimeter.

"It's a matchup nightmare for a lot of teams,'' Harrick said. "I hope starting this week I can use Wilkins exclusively on the wing and at the point.''

And the Zags couldn't do anything with Hayes (five assists, no turnovers) along the baseline, in the corner or anywhere he found space. Georgia can score. Georgia is quick to the ball. Georgia can board (38-24). Georgia can defend, with Wright limiting Gonzaga's Blake Stepp to four points after he entered the game averaging 21.7.

"If they played the schedule like some of those other teams out there, they'd be undefeated right now,'' Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.

Georgia will be ready for the SEC because it has been tested nearly every game. Georgia opened with Texas in Madison Square Garden. Georgia played one guarantee game against Belmont before playing at Georgia Tech, at Minnesota, at Colorado, against Cal in Anaheim, Gonzaga in Atlanta and an upcoming game against Pittsburgh in Athens.

The players love the schedule. Hayes said he wouldn't have it any other way. Neither would Harrick.

"We should have won the Tech game, we got beat straight up at Minnesota, we stole one at Colorado with a lucky shot at the buzzer,'' Harrick said. "All our mistakes are correctable. If I were 7-0, I wouldn't understand them. The losses we've had aren't bad losses.

"We could have played Mercer at home in a buy game, but we chose to play Texas in the Garden instead. I'd rather do that,'' Harrick said. "In the long run, we'll be better with Thomas. He'll give us the boost on the defensive end. He's the key. We've been like the Lakers, a bit out of sync. But we're getting there.''

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.