If 32-game winner Miami of Ohio was Cinderella for a few million March Madness fans hoping a fairy tale might come true, the glass slipper didn’t fit.
Tennessee overwhelmed the RedHawks, 78-56, in the NCAA Midwest Regional Friday in Philadelphia. The victory was more decisive than the score. It would undoubtedly have been more one-sided if the Vols hadn’t lost the ball 16 times.
For all practical purposes, the game was over before halftime. Miami got the better start. It hit three quick threes. The Vols got the message. The RedHawks missed eight of the next 10 shots.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie found the range. He hit five of six threes. He realized he was dialed in when two went through without touching the rim.
“I just knew I was feeling it and my guys kept finding me.”
The Vols enjoyed a 21-4 run. It was 51-32 at intermission.
The rout earned sixth-seeded Tennessee a Sunday afternoon match with No. 3 Virginia, 80-73 winner over Wright State. The Cavaliers, 30-5, are for real.
Miami, undefeated during the regular season, looked as if it had never seen a defense as determined as the Vols deployed. The RedHawks, famous for firing (and hitting) three-pointers, made just seven of 29. Overall, they hit 35.2 percent. Guard Peter Suder, player of the year in the Mid-American Conference, was Miami’s offense. He scored 27.
Gillespie was a brighter star. He scored 29. He had nine assists, took away three steals and caught three rebounds.
Near the finish, Gillespie received a standing ovation from Tennessee fans and probably some neutrals. He was outstanding.
Rick Barnes said “Ja’Kobi was phenomenal, not just making shots, but really running the team and helping us be effective on the offensive end.”
The coach said the defense, in some ways, was just as good.
“Really everything that we did well stemmed from our defense. It really did. It got us in a flow. Them making those early threes woke us up.”
Miami coach Travis Steele said Tennessee was “very, very physical with our offense. They were super, super physical on drives and cuts and we just couldn’t get loose.
“On the other end, Gillespie was unbelievable … NBA-range threes … you have to keep him out of the paint … Coach Barnes puts him in a really good position to be successful … he dominated the game.”
Forward J.P. Estrella #13 scored 14 and pulled 10 rebounds against the RedHawks.
Big Vols did some dominating, too. JP Estrella scored 14 and pulled 10 rebounds. Felix Okpara scored 12 points without missing a shot. He was outstanding on defense.
Tennessee posted a 42-25 edge in rebounds. Tennessee scored 40 points in the paint. Miami had 16.
The silver lining Barnes thought he saw in the early exit from the Southeastern Conference tournament, an extra day or two of rest, didn’t help Nate Ament. In a somewhat mysterious performance, he played 18 minutes (five in the second half), failed to score, blocked one shot, grabbed three rebounds and had three turnovers.
Barnes didn’t offer much insight.
“Nate would play every minute of every game if he could. He’s not going to be 100 percent healthy until the season is over. He tries. I was watching him in practice just doing some basic stuff and he never says a word but I could see on his face he was wincing a little bit.
“Right now he needs as much rest as he can get, but he’ll do everything he can to be ready to do what he can do.”
Ament said he isn’t all that concerned with the leftovers from the ankle injury.
“I know that regardless, I’m going to play. There’s no chance I’d sit out a March Madness game. It’s about what can we do to get back to 100 percent, or as close to it as we can.”
Barnes provided far more insight into what the NCAA tournament means to him. This is his 30th.
“It is special to be here … I think this is the greatest sporting event in our country … I know how hard it is to get here … every team in the country starts out wanting to be in this tournament … It’s something you never take for granted … It’s special … I thank God for the blessing of being here.”
Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com
Hard to put two amazing games together, but that is exactly what UT needs Gillespie to do to beat Virginia. They are as big as the Vols down low and play sticky defense too. They also know Ament is hurting, so don’t expect much from Nate. The Uva game plan will be to slow Gillespie down and make the other players beat them. I am not feeling great about this game. Without Ament as the 1-2 punch, Tennessee loses 30% of their offense. Va has the athletes to control the Vols’ shorthanded offense. Miami did not. Sorry Marvin.
If we beat a 32 game winner, we should roll against only a 30 game winner. Right? Hardly. Let’s just hope it is a good game, giving us a chance. We will need all hands-on deck, floor, court…whatever you want to call it.