How Tennessee used regular season blunders to fuel March Madness win vs Virginia
Rick Barnes isn't sure how they did it, but he knows Tennessee basketball just made another Sweet 16 appearance after a 79-72 win over Virginia.
PHILADELPHIA − Maybe all those blown leads in the regular season were good for Tennessee basketball ? While it didn't surrender a double-digit big lead, Tennessee fans certainly felt pangs of anxiety when Virginia pulled ahead late at Xfinity Mobile Arena. This time, though, instead of collapsing, the No.
6 Vols (24-11) banded together and pulled off the 79-72 victory over No. 3 Virginia (30-6) in the Men's NCAA Tournament on March 22. Tennessee coach Rick Barnes guided the program to its fourth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance.
The road gets tougher for the Vols against No. 2 Iowa State (29-7) at the United Center in Chicago on March 27 (10:10 p. m.
ET, TBS). How did Tennessee avoid a meltdown? Well, Barnes isn't really sure.