Cal Poly and Tennessee move on with wins
Volunteers join 19-loss Cal Poly in second round
Through much of the regular season, Tennessee looked like a tantalizing collection of potential that was sputtering toward mediocrity throughout Southeastern Conference play.
Now the Volunteers look like a dangerous team. Third-year coach Cuonzo Martin earned his first NCAA tournament victory with the Volunteers on Wednesday night, rallying from a 12point first-half deficit to outlast Iowa 78-65 in overtime in a First Four matchup.
The 11th-seeded Volunteers (22-12) could pose a threat to No. 6 seed Massachusetts in Friday’s second-round matchup in Raleigh, N.C.
The outcome was a sour end to an emotional day for Iowa coach Fran McCaffery, who spent the morning in Iowa with his 13-yearold son, Patrick, who had surgery Wednesday to remove a thyroid tumor.
McCaffery initially flew with his team to Dayton on Monday but left Tuesday night to visit Patrick. The Iowa coaching staff led players in Wednesday morning ’s meeting and shoot-around. After the surgery, McCaffery returned to Dayton in time for Iowa’s first NCAA tournament appearance in eight seasons.
The Hawkeyes (20-13) entered the tournament having lost six of their last seven games. But they looked extremely focused from the opening tip, holding Tennessee scoreless for more than six minutes.
The Volunteers entered the game having won five of their previous six, and they had held their previous four opponents to an average of 47.4 points a game.
Tennessee remained competitive in the second half behind the play of Josh Richardson, who scored six consecutive points midway through the second half, including a thunderous onehanded dunk from the baseline.
Antonio Barton’s three-pointer with 3:07 remaining gave the Volunteers their first lead of the game. Iowa remained composed, though. And first-team all-Big Ten selection Roy Devyn Marble, who struggled shooting all night, sank a difficult mid-range jumper with 17.9 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score at 64.
That pushed the game into overtime, which was dominated by the resurgent Volunteers. Chants of “S-E-C” rang out during the closing seconds of the game at University of Dayton Arena.
The first game Wednesday featured a team that would need to win the national championship just to finish the season with a winning record.
Cal Poly entered its Big West Conference tournament with 10 victories, seeded seventh out of nine teams. But the Mustangs won three games to claim the league’s automatic berth, and they continued an improbable March on Wednesday by beating Texas Southern 81-69 in the First Four.
Cal Poly became the second team with 19 losses to win an NCAA tournament game. The first was Bradley in 1955. Coach Joe Callero said he never lost faith in his team, which battled injuries for much of the season.
“Maybe it sounds arrogant, but I did believe,” he said. “I completely believed in our guys. We had the right components.”