Sweet 16 bound.
It wasn’t easy, but Tennessee got it done. The No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region is officially moving on to the Sweet 16, thanks to a gritty win over a Texas team that just wouldn’t go away.
Neither side got off to a pretty start offensively. It was a slugfest early, complete with empty jumpers and plenty of turnovers. Despite that, it was Tennessee finding early control. The Volunteers went up 8-4, then turned that into a 16-8 lead.
Surprisingly, it was Tobe Awaka carrying the early load for Tennessee, cleaning up the boards and grabbing a couple of tough buckets in the paint. His early eight points kept the Volunteers in front in the opening ten minutes, while the rest of the team couldn’t find their stroke.
Dalton Knecht started 1-8 from the field, shooting 0-4 from three-point range. Zakai Zeigler broke the seal on the three-point line late in the first half, but Tennessee couldn’t find much more. Santiago Vescovi was 0-2 and Justin Gainey was 0-2, giving the Volunteers a whopping 1-13 total from deep to open the game.
The good news? Texas was just as bad offensively, and they didn’t have the interior presence to make up for it. Texas had 11 turnovers in the opening half, failing to capitalize on Tennessee’s poor shooting.
Tennessee took a 28-19 to the halftime break.
It was Zakai Zeigler’s defense providing the fuel for Tennessee out of the break. The SEC’s defensive player of the year was giving Texas all they could handle, while Awaka’s work in the paint kept Tennessee’s lead around ten. The Vols held a +10 advantage on the boards in the opening minutes of the second half.
Chendall Weaver kept Texas in it, going on a mini-run all by himself to close the gap. Weaver pushed the Longhorns back into this by getting to the free throw stripe, and starting the game 6-6.
With under ten minutes to play, Texas entered the bonus, and the Tennessee lead was just 41-37. The Vols were just 1-21 from three-point range, and the looks really couldn’t get any better.
Finally, with six minutes to play, Knecht finally hit one from deep. It was a corner three on an inbounds play — his first of the night — that gave Tennessee a 50-42 lead.
Texas wouldn’t go away though. A couple of transition buckets gave the Longhorns the answer they needed, with Max Abmas and Tyrese Hunter coming up big. With 3:12 to play, Tennessee was clinging to a 53-48 lead.
Back and forth we went, but Tennessee found issues in the transition game. Texas kept the pressure on with a Dylan Disu three and a Hunter layup coming off of defensive stops, tightening this up to a 55-53 game.
After a key block, Texas had a chance to tie, but couldn’t find the bucket in the paint. They came back at the other end and fouled Jonas Aidoo, who hit one of two from the line. Tennessee’s lead was 56-53 with 48 seconds to play.
Abmas found a quick layup, then Texas fouled Aidoo once again. This time it was Aidoo hitting both, bringing us back to a three-point game. Abmas missed his three to tie, and Texas was forced to foul Knecht with 8.8 seconds left.
Knecht hit two, but Hunter answered with an instant three. With 4.2 seconds left, Texas fouled Knecht one more time. Knecht drained two free throws, officially putting this one on ice.
Final score: Tennessee 62, Texas 58
Knecht ends with 18 points after a pretty dreadful shooting night. Zeigler had six points and seven assists, while Awaka added ten points of his own. Aidoo ends with 11 points — none bigger than the free throws he hit at the end.
Tennessee moves on to play the winner of Creighton-Oregon.