Hooray for Tennessee basketball. It has won two big games in a row and reached the “to be continued” stage of the NCAA tournament.
The gritty Volunteers eliminated 30-win Virginia, 79-72, Sunday evening in Philadelphia in the second round of the Midwest Regional. For the fourth consecutive season, Rick Barnes’ team will be moving on up to the Sweet 16.
The dubious reward waiting in Chicago will be Iowa State, even more highly regarded than was Virginia. The second-seeded Cyclones qualified by clobbering Kentucky, 82-63.
Tennessee advanced by doing what it previously had trouble doing. It blew a nine-point lead and fell behind by a point in the closing minutes. It fought fiercely and recovered.
The poor free-throw-shooting team hit 11 of 12 during crunch time.
Other strange things happened. Nate Ament, scoreless against Miami of Ohio, still supposedly bothered by the ankle injury, suddenly regained winning form. He played 29 minutes and 29 seconds, was a warrior in combat, scored 16 points, grabbed four rebounds, pulled off a steal and celebrated a blocked shot.
What happened, Nate?
“I wanted to do it for my teammates and this university. I owe them so much. The least I could do is fight through this.”
Other unusual developments: Jaylen Carey, season leader in missed shots at close range, hit four of five.
Near normal: Ja’Kobi Gillespie led the Vols in scoring (21) and clutch free throws (six of six). He hit three of five threes. He had six assists and four rebounds.
Bishop Bowell had nine assists and connected on four of nine long shots. Felix Okpara blocked four shots and contributed eight rebounds and seven points.
PJ Estrella caused acute consternation with two quick fouls. He missed several first-half minutes, gained forgiveness and scored 10 points without missing a shot. He also picked off the Virginia pass that confirmed the victory.
“Just really excited and proud of our guys,” said Barnes. “They worked hard, they had to, to play a team like Virginia.
“A great win for us. They fought through a lot of things that maybe we didn’t have to, but they found a way to fight through it.”
The big, bad Cavaliers were plenty tough under and around the baskets. They lost the rebounding battle by only four. They had only two fewer points in the paint than the Volunteers.
Thijs De Ridder, age 23, listed as a 6-9 freshman from Brasschaat, Belgium, scored inside and outside and led Virginia with 22 points. Ugonna Onyenso, a seven-footer, didn’t live up to his reputation. He stuffed in only two goals and blocked two shots.
Bosell and Estrella gave Tennessee a very early lead. From four behind, the Vols went up by eight on two Carey goals, threes by Gillespie and Boswell and a dunk by Okpara. A short jumper and free throw by Carey provided a 36-31 halftime lead.
Tennessee led by nine with 10:31 remaining. Tennessee turnovers helped Virginia recover. It got even at 66. A De Ridder three put the Cavs ahead at 71-70.
Ament free throws regained the lead with 1:37 left. Boswell made one. Pressure gets heavy. Virginia missed everything it threw in the general direction of the goal. It fouled to extend the game. Gillespie cashed in six consecutive free throws.
After the cheering stopped, Ament was asked essentially the same question again. How? What happened? He said his confidence never really wavered.
“It was trusting that I don’t have to do much to help this team win. We have talented guys. I don’t have to play every minute, score every point for us to win.”
Well said, but having him do a little something helps.
Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com
