Tennessee guard Jordan Bowden spoke to our Vince Ferrara in the locker room after the Vols’ 83-77 OT win in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament in Columbus. UT advances to play Purdue in Louisville in the Sweet 16.
Our Vince Ferrara checks in from the court at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, site of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Tennessee vs. Iowa in the 2nd Round.
Tennessee Volunteers starters Admiral Schofield, Grant Wiliams, Jordan Bone, Lamonte Turner and Kyle Alexander followed by head coach Rick Barnes previewed their game with Iowa on Sunday in Columbus in the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament at Nationwide Arena.
Tennessee forward Kyle Alexander spoke to our Vince Ferrara 1-on-1 Saturday ahead of the Volunteers’ 2nd Rd NCAA Tournament game vs. Iowa in Columbus.
Tennessee guard Jordan Bowden spoke to the media in a group session Saturday ahead of the Volunteers’ 2nd Rd NCAA Tournament game vs. Iowa in Columbus.
Tennessee guard Lamonte Turner spoke to the media in a group session Saturday ahead of the Volunteers’ 2nd Rd NCAA Tournament game vs. Iowa in Columbus.
Tennessee guard/forward Admiral Schofield spoke to the media in a group session Saturday ahead of the Volunteers’ 2nd Rd NCAA Tournament game vs. Iowa in Columbus.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — With a spot in the Sweet Sixteen on the line, Tennessee is set to take on 10th-seed Iowa in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Nationwide Arena in the South Region. The game tips at 12:10 p.m. ET and will be televised live on CBS.
Tennessee is 30-5 on the season. That impressive record includes a school-record 19-game winning streak, a program-record-tying three victories over top-five opponents and the second most victories in a single season in program history. The Vols spent four weeks atop the Associated Press Top 25 rankings, and for the first time in program history, UT spent the entire season ranked among the top 10.
National Player of the Year candidate Grant Williams is just the 10th player in conference history to win SEC Player of the Year in back-to-back season and was the first since Arkansas’ Corliss Williamson did so in 1994 and 1995. Williams was also tabbed first-team All-SEC after finishing the regular season as the top scorer in the SEC with 19.3 points per game. He has been one of the nation’s most versatile and reliable players this season, averaging 7.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 57 percent from the field and an impressive 82 percent from the charity stripe.
Senior wing Admiral Schofield earned first-team All-SEC recognition from the coaches after averaging 16.3 points per game, which ranked second on the team and fifth in the SEC, to go along with 6.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists. Jordan Bone rounded out the Vols’ All-SEC performers, earning a nod on the second team by both the coaches and the AP. The junior point guard led the SEC in assists per game (6.1), ranked second in assist/turnover ratio (3.0) and seventh in field-goal percentage (.475).
Iowa (23-11) earned an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament out of the Big Ten Conference and advanced to the second round with a 79-72 victory over No. 7 seed Cincinnati on Friday. The Hawkeyes are trying to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1999.
SUNDAY’S MATCHUP
• Tennessee’s all-time series with Iowa is tied at 2-2. All four meetings took place at neutral sites.
• The Vols are 23-34 all-time against current members of the Big 10.
• Rick Barnes owns a 3-1 head coaching record vs. Iowa, with all meetings coming during his tenure at Texas. Barnes is 29-29 against current members of the Big 10.
A WIN WOULD…
• Stand as Tennessee’s 31st win of the season. That would tie UT’s program record for wins (2007-08). It would also tie for the most wins in a season by a Rick Barnes‘ coached team. His 2007-08 Texas squad went 31-7.
• Give the Volunteers a .500 all-time record in NCAA Tournament play (22-22).
• Make Tennessee 4-0 in NCAA Tournament games played in Columbus, Ohio.
STORYLINES
• These teams last met in the First Four in 2014. Tennessee rallied from a 12-point deficit to win in overtime.
• This year’s Vols have posted three wins over teams ranked in the AP top five. That ties the 1976-77 squad for UT’s most wins over top-five opponents in a single season.
• Two of Tennessee’s four losses this season have come in overtime, and all five were away from home against opponents that are seeded No. 5 or better.
• For the first time in program history, Tennessee has spent the entire season ranked in the top 10 of the AP Top 25.
• The Vols will finish this season with no more than six losses.
• Tennessee’s final average home attendance of 19,034 ranks fourth nationally.
• Tennessee is 56-14 (.800) since the start of last season.
• Sunday should mark Grant William’s 100th consecutive start.
LOOKING AHEAD
• A win by the Volunteers on Sunday would give Tennessee its eighth all-time Sweet Sixteen appearance—and its sixth since 2000.
• Rick Barnes could become the 11th or 12th head coach to lead a third Division I program to the Sweet Sixteen.
• If the Vols defeat Iowa on Sunday, possible Sweet Sixteen opponents next Thursday are No. 3 seed Purdue and No. 6 seed Villanova. Those teams meet Saturday at 8:40 p.m. ET (TNT).
• Tennessee has advanced to the Elite Eight only once in program history, defeating Ohio State and National Player of the Year Evan Turner to advance to the Regional Final in 2010.
ABOUT IOWA
• Iowa (23-11) earned an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament out of the Big Ten Conference and advanced to the second round with a victory over Cincinnati Friday.
• Four different players are averaging double-figure scoring for the Hawkeyes this season in Tyler Cook (14.6 ppg), Luka Garza (13.1 ppg), Jordan Bohannon (11.4 ppg) and Joe Wieskamp (11.1 ppg), giving Iowa a balanced scoring attack.
• Cook, who is also the team’s leading rebounder at 7.8 boards per game, was tabbed a second-team All-Big Ten selection by the media and a third-team selection by the coaches. Bohannon earned third-team accolades, Garza was an honorable-mention selection and Wieskamp earned a spot on the league’s all-freshman team.
• Bohannon leads the Hawkeyes in assists (117) and has led the Big Ten in free-throw percentage each of the last two seasons. The junior guard also is a threat from beyond the arc, where he’s connected on 73 3-pointers this year.
TENNESSEE IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• The Vols are making their 22nd all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Big Orange own a 21-22 (.488) NCAA Tournament record.
• The Vols are 1-0 in the “First Four,” 13-6 in first-round games, 6-8 in second-round games, 1-0 in third-round action, 1-6 in regional semifinals, 0-1 in regional finals and 0-1 in the now-defunct regional consolation round.
• This is the program’s third NCAA berth in the last eight years and its second under fourth-year head coach Rick Barnes.
• Tennessee’s 22 NCAA Tournament berths tie LSU for third-most among SEC teams.
• In the last dozen years (2009-2018), among SEC programs, only Kentucky (29) and Florida (18) have won more NCAA Tournament games than Tennessee (10).
VOLS PERFECT AGAINST 10 SEEDS
• Tennessee is 1-0 in its lone previous matchup against a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Vols haven’t faced a No. 10 seed since 1980, when the Big Orange defeated Furman, 80-69, to advance to the Round of 32.
TENNESSEE’S WINS TOTAL AMONG PROGRAM’S BEST
• Tennessee has recorded 30 wins for the second time in program history. This also is the first time the Vols have won at least 25 games in back-to-back seasons.
RECORD SEASON SEASON RESULT
31-5 2007-08 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
30-5 2018-19 TBD
28-9 2009-10 NCAA Elite Eight
26-9 2017-18 NCAA Second Round
26-7 1999-2000 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
UT Athletics
The No. 11 seed Lady Vols (19-13) erased a 17-point deficit and led by as many as three in the fourth quarter, but their upset bid came up short in falling to No. 6 seed UCLA (21-12) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the XFINITY Center, 89-77.
Sophomore Rennia Davis had a double-double for Tennessee with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Kasiyahna Kushkituah recorded a career-high 16 points, while freshman Mimi Collins, who hails from nearby Waldorf, Md., tied her career high of 14 points.
No. 20/24 UCLA was led by sophomore Michaela Onyenwere who posted a double-double with 22 points and 15 rebounds. Lindsey Corsaro and Kennedy Burke were close behind with 18 and 19, respectively.
UCLA came out with the hot hand, jumping out to an 18-6 lead off of 7-of-12 shooting in the opening five minutes. Kushkituah cut the lead to 10 with a layup before the media timeout, but the Bruins launched into a 9-0 run to lead 25-8 with 2:13 remaining in the quarter. Collins ended the streak, knocking down two free throws to set off a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 11 with 46 seconds remaining in the quarter. UCLA answered with a three before the buzzer to head into the second half up 28-14.
UT settled in during the second quarter, outscoring UCLA 18-16. Davis hit two free throws to get things started for Tennessee, and Zaay Green followed it up with a jumper to cut the deficit to 10 in the opening minute. The Lady Vols twice cut the lead to single digits, but UCLA closed out the quarter with a 6-3 run to lead 44-32 at the half.
The Bruins opened the second half with four straight points before Meme Jackson answered by knocking down her second three of the game to move the score to 48-35. That set off a 9-0 run spanning just over three minutes that put the Lady Vols within seven by the under-5:00 media timeout. UT forced a defensive stop following the timeout and Kushkituah knocked down a layup on the other end to cut the deficit to five. UCLA bounced back with a Corsaro trey, but Tennessee kept the pressure on, scoring seven unanswered points to pull within one with 1:33 remaining in the period. Collins tied it up at 52-all off a layup at the 1:12 mark, but the Bruins outscored the Lady Vols 6-3 in the final minute to take a three-point lead into the final stanza.
Collins scored the first bucket of the fourth quarter, knocking down a three to put UT within one. Kushkituah followed it up with a layup on the next possession to give the Lady Vols their first lead of the game at 59-58. The teams traded buckets, tying it up twice before Corsaro hit back-to-back threes to put UCLA up 70-67 with just under four minutes remaining in the game. Davis answered with an old-fashioned three-point play to tie the game at 70-all, but the Bruins rallied back with a 10-0 run to lead 80-70 with 1:22 to play and went on to run out the clock.
Youngsters Making Noise: UT was led in scoring by three underclassmen. Davis posted her ninth double-double on the season, while Kushkituah recorded a career-high 16 points. Collins was also in double figures, tying her career high of 14 points.
UT Athletics
Tennessee guard Jordan Bone spoke to the media in a group session Saturday ahead of the Volunteers’ 2nd Rd NCAA Tournament game vs. Iowa in Columbus.
