Vols Trail By Three At Halftime

Mar 19, 2014; Dayton, OH, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Jordan McRae (52) dribbles the ball against Iowa Hawkeyes defense in the first half of a college basketball game during the first round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament at UD Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The start of Tennessee’s return to the NCAA tournament went about as bad as it could go in the first half.

Yet somehow the Vols find themselves only trailing by three.

The Vols didn’t score their first points of the game until nearly six minutes of action had passed, at which point they were down 8-2. Tennessee trailed by 11 with under five minutes to play in the first half, but they were able to rally behind their big men.

Jordan McRae led the team in scoring the first half with eight, while Jarnell Stokes and Jeronne Maymon each contributed seven points.

Stokes is well on his way to yet another double-double, as he already has six rebounds.

It feels like Tennessee is down by 15 after shooting only 38% from the field, while Iowa is shooting 52% from the field.

The Vols are in a good position right now. They just have to capitalize on the momentum they built to close the first half.

Make sure to follow along with us on Twitter @AllforTennessee for the second half!

Update: 

Josh Richardson took the team on his shoulders in the second half, leading the Vols back to take the lead late in the second half. Iowa was able to tie the game with under 15 seconds to go and a last second shot attempt from McRae was off the mark. The two teams are heading to overtime now!