The Tennessee Vols are, again, back in a very familiar place — on the doorstep of the Final Four. The Vols defeated Iowa State 76-62 behind a big second half surge to secure their third straight appearance in the Elite Eight.
Nate Ament led Tennessee with 18 points and four rebounds despite missing 15 minutes of action on the bench with foul trouble. Felix Okpara was dominant in the paint, posting 12 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks. Jaylen Carey also had a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards.
Iowa State was without star forward Joshua Jefferson with an ankle injury. Tennessee absolutely blanketed the Cyclones,’ top scorer Milan Momcilovic, who had a nightmarish game with 6 points on 2-9 shooting.
The Vols absolutely dominated this game close to the basket. Tennessee held a 43-22 edge in rebounds after leading 22-10 at the break.
The game started slow, with Tennessee falling behind early 10-6 in the first six minutes. But Tennessee tied it up at 15 and gradually pulled ahead 24-19 on a slam by Carey. The Vols had a shot to go into the half with momentum, as they controlled the glass and the paint, but a layup and a bad throw into the backcourt by Okpara gave the Cyclones the lead back at 33-32 with a chance to build on it. Tennessee’s defense held, and Okpara atoned with two free throws in the final seconds of the half, and the Vols took a 34-33 lead into the locker room.
The problem for Tennessee was the turnovers. The Vols coughed it up 10 times in the first half, and ISU registered 12 fast break points. Where Tennessee should have had a significant lead, those two stats are why it was a one-point game at half.
Ament took a pass and launched a long three from the top of the key just 10 seconds into the half to get Tennessee going quickly. Boswell was open on the wing and splashed home a three to push the lead to 7 at 44-37. After Ja’Kobi Gillespie knocked down a three, Carey followed a J.P. Estrella miss with a putback, and Tennessee had control of the game at 54-41. From there, Tennessee stayed in control, up by double digits for almost the rest of the way.
ISU made one last late mini-surge, cutting it to 66-58 on a Momcilovic with around four minutes left. But Estrella took a pass and slammed it home to push the lead back to 68-58. Iowa State couldn’t muster anything to get back into it, and Tennessee dribbled out the last 25 seconds.
Up next for Tennessee is Michigan on Sunday afternoon at 2:15 pm ET on CBS, with a trip to the program’s first ever Final Four on the line.
