It couldn’t have been a better start to the weekend for Tennessee fans, winning 76-62 over Iowa State in the Sweet 16. The late night was worth every second, as Rick Barnes has guided the Vols to their third consecutive Elite Eight appearance.
All season long, the Vols have faced adversity. They blew big leads to Kentucky twice, their freshman star, Nate Ament, had a rocky start, and then got hurt once he was in his groove. The Vols fought all the adversity, and it paid off. Toughness and program culture won this game.
The Vols gave the ball away 15 times to one of the best defenses in the nation, and only shot 60% from the free-throw line. That being said, the Vols made up for it with big rebounds and timely buckets and won by 14. It was a complete script flip from the past
It's worth mentioning that Iowa State missing their star Joshua Jeferson hurt them on the glass, and Tenenssee took advanatge. Felix Okpara, Jaylen Carey, and DeWayne Brown II all came up huge. Plus, even though JP Estrella didn't have his best game, he came up big when needed. It was an all-around effort for Tennessee that started in the frontcourt and ended with their stars, Nate Ament and Ja'Kobi Gillespie.
It got down to an eight-point game with about five minutes to go, and that’s when your stars have to deliver. For Tennessee, that’s Ja'Kobi Gillespie. He came right back down and drilled a massive three to stretch the lead to 1, and that's just a backbreaker for Iowa State, losing all your momentum.
It's winning plays like that three-pointer that Tennessee has found themselves doing all March. They dismantled Miami (OH), and they came up clutch against Virginia. Today, against Iowa State was the same story. The Vols are no longer the team that chokes and falls apart down the stretch.
Tennessee's Elite Eight matchup vs. Michigan will be difficult
Not to rain on the Sweet 16 parade, because this is awesome, but Tennessee has its biggest test of the year coming up in just two days against Michigan. They are one of the best teams in the nation with a deep eight-man rotation. It's our time, though. Tennessee is due for its first Final Four.