Tennessee survives late Virginia rally, catches late officiating break to advance to Sweet 16
Tennessee's in the Sweet 16 for a fourth consecutive season. Is this the year Rick Barnes guides it to its first Final Four?
Tennessee played a nearly flawless first half Sunday to take control of its second-round NCAA tournament game against 3 seed Virginia. It then survived a late flurry from the Cavaliers for a 79-72 win that was aided by a late officiating break in its favor. With the win, the 6th-seeded Volunteers advance to the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight season.
There, they’ll face an uphill climb to advance to the program’s first Final Four and the second in head coach Rick Barnes’ 39-year career as an NCAA head coach. Tennessee committed just one turnover and hit 5 of 11 3s while building its first-half advantage. It then committed multiple miscues down the stretch including a pair of turnovers on inbounds plays in the final minutes to allow Virginia back in the game.
Thijs De Ridder hit a 3 to give Virginia a 3 a 71-70 lead, its first of the second half. But Tennessee maintained its composure to retake the lead and caught a late break when officials upheld an out of bounds called in the final minute that favored the Volunteers. Was this really out on Virginia?
After a Virginia miss, the ball appeared to go out of bounds off the head of Tennessee’s Bishop Boswell. But officials determined on the floor that Virginia’s Dallin Hall touched the ball before it went out of bounds. Refs currently reviewing if Hall from Virginia touched this ball that bounced off of Tennessee pic.