By SCOTT FELTS
The 23rd ranked, No. 6 seed Tennessee Volunteers took on the 9th ranked, No. 3 seed Virginia Cavaliers Sunday in the second round of the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament from Philadelphia.
Tennessee (24-11) wasn’t given an easy path in the NCAA Tournament. In fact, the Vols became the first team since the field expanded to 64 to play two 30-win teams in the first two rounds. But with the 79-72 win over Virginia (30-6), the Vols are headed to the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight year.
Let’s go Beyond The Box Score to see how this border battle broke down.
Gillespie Goes Off: Ja’Kobi Gillespie put up fantastic numbers in the two games in Philadelphia. On Sunday, he led the Vols with 21 points, also contributing six assists, three rebounds, and a steal. That’s after dropping 29 points, nine assists, and three steals against Miami (Ohio), the first Southeastern Conference player ever to post such a stat line in an NCAA Tournament game and the second guy in Division I to do it in the past 30 years.
Thijs or That: First team All-ACC choice Thijs De Ridder, Virginia’s leading scorer and rebounder, was as good as advertised on Sunday, totaling 22 points, five rebounds, and two assists.
Let’s Get Defensive: The Vols shut down Virginia’s Jacari White, a dangerous outside shooter who dropped 26 points for Virginia in the first round of the NCAAs against Wright State, hitting 10 of 12 shots from the field with six made 3-pointers. White had a tougher road against the Vols, scoring 10 points on 3-for-12 shooting from the field including a 2 of 9 mark from 3-point range.
Fab Five?: Five Tennessee Vols scored double digits against Virginia: Gillespie with 21, followed by Nate Ament (16), Bishop Boswell (13), J.P. Estrella (10), and Jaylen Carey (10).
Block Party: Virginia has one of the most prolific shot blockers in college basketball in Ugonna Onyenso, but the Vols managed six blocks to five for the Cavaliers. Felix Okpara had four rejections — two more than Onyenso — while Ament and DeWayne Brown II contributed one block each.
Cardiac Kids: Tennessee led by as many as nine and for much of the second half but after making only one turnover in the first half, the Vols committed nine second-half turnovers, including five on their final 10 possessions to make the game much closer than the final score indicated. A 13-4 run by UVA tied the game with 4:42 remaining, and the Cavaliers even briefly took the lead with just under two minutes to play. Timely rebounding, defense and good second half free throw shooting (18 of 21) closed out the win for Tennessee.
Up Next: With the win, the Vols move on to the Sweet 16 to face No. 2 seed Iowa State (29-7), which beat Kentucky 82-63 on Sunday. Iowa State star player Joshua Jefferson missed the game with an ankle injury.
Tip Ins: Houston and Alabama join Tennessee as the only other team to reach the Sweet 16 in each of the past four years. … Over the last nine seasons, Tennessee (225-85; .726) leads all SEC programs in total victories, overall winning percentage, and postseason victories (26). In that same span, the Vols are one of two SEC teams with 210 or more wins and a winning percentage above .690. The other is Auburn (220-87, .717). In just SEC play across those nine seasons, Tennessee (109-52, .677) is first in both league victories and league winning percentage. Only Kentucky, Alabama, and Auburn also are at 100 or more wins across that same span. … Tennessee is 6-4 in its last 10 games against Virginia and 7-8 all-time). The first matchup in the series was in 1917, the ninth year of Tennessee’s program. … Tennessee is 128-102 all time against current Atlantic Coast Conference schools. … Rick Barnes has now six more NCAA Tournament wins and two more bids than any other coach in Tennessee history. … Tennessee is now 3-0 versus opponents ranked in The Associated Press’ Top 11 this season. It defeated third-rnked Houston by three and 11th-ranked Louisville by 21. … This was only the fifth game for the Vols all season that did not have a 10 point lead by either team.