Ament scores 18 as Tennessee beats Iowa State 76-62 to advance to third straight Elite Eight
CHICAGO (AP) — Nate Ament scored 18 points, Ja’Kobi Gillespie finished with 16 and Tennessee beat Iowa State 76-62 on Friday night to advance to the Elite Eight for the third straight year. Coach Rick Barnes' team used a dominant effort on the glass and a strong second half to put away Iowa State (29-8) and move within one win of its first Final Four . The sixth-seeded Volunteers (25-11) will meet top-seeded Michigan in the Midwest Region final on Sunday.
The Wolverines beat Alabama 90-77 behind a dominant all-around performance by Yaxel Lendeborg. Ament made three 3-pointers. Felix Okpara chipped in with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Jaylen Carey added 11 points and 10 boards, and the Volunteers outrebounded the Cyclones 43-22. Nate Heise and Tamin Lipsey each scored 18 points for Iowa State, but the Cyclones clearly struggled without injured star Joshua Jefferson. The All-America forward was hurt minutes into the Cyclones’ March Madness opener against Tennessee State and did not play in their lopsided win over Kentucky .
He averaged 16. 4 points, 7. 4 rebounds and 4.
8 assists. Tennessee led 34-33 at halftime after Okpara hit two free throws in the closing seconds and Lipsey missed a driving layup at the buzzer. The Volunteers were up 44-39 when they went on a 13-4 run that Carey punctuated with a three-point play off a tip-in.