Tennessee saves itself against Iowa
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Admiral Schofield ran around the court in sheer joy, waving a March Madness towel after Tennessee made it back to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2016.
The rest of the Volunteers? Just trying to breathe normally again.
Tennessee avoided one of the biggest meltdowns in NCAA Tournament history Sunday, letting a 25-point lead slip away before SEC player of the year Grant Williams asserted himself in overtime for an 83-77 victory over Iowa.
None of the Volunteers (31-5) saw that coming, not after they’d raced ahead, 44-19, in a sizzling first half they dominated every which way.
The biggest NCAA Tourna- ment comeback? BYU’s 25-point rally past Iona in a play-in game in 2012.
“The way we started the game, that’s the team we win (with),” said Schofield, who scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half. “The way we finished the game, we can’t have that.”
Tenth-seeded Iowa (23-12) nearly pulled off another historic comeback , sending it into overtime tied at 71 — the first overtime game in this year’s tournament. The last time the teams played also was in the NCAA Tournament, with Tennessee rallying from a 12-point deficit to a 78-65 overtime victory in a play-in game at Dayton in 2014.
UNC 81, WASHINGTON 95
After making an early exit from the NCAA Tournament last season, North Carolina breezed to the Sweet 16.
Luke Maye and Nassir Little each scored 20 points and the top-seeded Tar Heels beat Washington, 81-59. They never trailed and moved on to face fifth-seeded Auburn on Friday in a Midwest Regional semifinal.
TEXAS TECH 78, BUFFALO 58
Texas Tech dominated on defense once again and, boosted by Jarrett Culver’s 16 points and 10 rebounds, shut down Buffalo to reach the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.
The third-seeded Red Raiders (28-6) broke away with a 27-3 burst that spanned both halves. They’ll next face Michigan in the West Regional semifinals. Sixth-seeded Buffalo (32-4) had won 13 in a row and was averaging more than 85 points per game, fifth-best in the nation.
VA. TECH 67, LIBERTY 58
The final seconds ticked down and the celebration began for Virginia Tech. The more than half-century wait for a return to the Sweet 16 was finally over. The fourth-seeded Hokies advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in school history, knocking off 12th-seeded Liberty.
VIRGINIA 63, OKLAHOMA 51
Virginia finally breezed through an NCAA Tournament game and beat Oklahoma to advance to the Sweet 16.
Mamadi Diakite scored 14 points and had nine rebounds as the No. 1 seeded Cavaliers led for all but three minutes.
HOUSTON 74, OHIO STATE 59
Houston’s fans chanted “Sweet 16” in the final minute of the Cougars’ NCAA Tournament victory over Ohio State.
The celebration was long overdue — 35 years, to be exact — since the Cougars have made this trip.
Corey Davis scored 21 points to help Houston win its 33rd game of the season — breaking the record set by the 1983-84 team. That squad was the last to reach the Sweet 16 and advanced to the national final.
OREGON 73, UC IRVINE 54
Ehab Amin sparked Oregon out of a long drought to start the second half and the Ducks became the lone double-digit seed to advance to the Sweet 16 by beating UC Irvine.