Tennessee is moving on to the Sweet 16 once again, taking down Virginia on Sunday in Philadelphia. The Volunteers will be moving on to Chicago, where they’ll run into No. 2 seed Iowa State. The Cyclones beat Kentucky 82-63 to advance.
Iowa State finished the season 29-7, going 12-6 in Big 12 play. Their dominant win over Kentucky was done with out second-leading scorer Joshua Jefferson, who was hurt early on in the first round against Tennessee State. The 6-9 senior forward hopes to return for Friday’s
matchup against the Volunteers, but it remains to be seen if his ankle injury will allow that to happen.
Speaking of ankle injuries, Nate Ament started looking more like himself on Sunday evening. Ament handled 29 minutes after sitting out much of the first round matchup against Miami-Ohio, scoring 16 points.
Tennessee has opened as a small underdog, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Iowa State is favored by 4.5 points, but that line is sure to move as we learn more on the status of Joshua Jefferson. The total sits at 138.5.
The Volunteers are 2-0 against the spread so far in the NCAA Tournament, thanks in large part to the play of senior point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie. Playing out his final few games in the orange and white, Gillespie has scored 29 and 21 points, shooting well over 50 percent from three-point range. Tennessee has badly needed that production with Ament still working back to full strength.
Tennessee will face one of the best defensive units in college basketball on Friday, taking on Iowa State’s 5th-ranked group, per KenPom. Iowa State ranks seventh overall in the metric, while Tennessee has climbed up to 14th.
Tip-off is set for Friday night at 10:10 p.m. ET in Chicago.
