Tennessee Advances to Sweet 16, Faces Iowa State

0:00On March 23rd, Tennessee punched its ticket to the sweet 16, with a 79-72 victory over Virginia in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The six-seated volunteers dominated the first half and held off a late rally to advance for the fourth straight season undercoach Rick Barnes. The game got tense in the final minutes when Virginia grabbed a brief lead, but Tennessee stayed cool and regained control. A key out of bounds call in the closing seconds went their way after review, and Virginia's Dallin Hall even confirmed afterward that he touched the ball first. Standout performances fueled the win, with Jacobi Gillespie dropping 21 points in six assists, while freshman Nate Amen added 16 points after a quiet first round. Tennessee outrebounded Virginia 39-35 and shot well from beyond the arc. Now the vols face a tough second-seated Iowa State in the sweet 16, a team missing injured all American Joshua Jefferson, who sat out their last game, in a boot.

1:00The winner could meet top-seated Michigan in the Elite Eight. This keeps Tennessee's final four dreams alive in a stacked Midwest region as Barnes chases his first trip there with the volunteers after 39 years of coaching.