CHICAGO — Tennessee forward Jaylen Carey called the Volunteers’ renewed dedication to rebounding on Friday “getting back to what we do.”
Now that tenacity has Tennessee headed for familiar March ground.
Nate Ament scored 18 points and Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 16 as sixth-seeded Tennessee defeated second-seeded Iowa State 76-62 in an NCAA Tournament Midwest Region semifinal.
Tennessee (25-11) will meet top-seeded Michigan in Sunday’s regional final, the Volunteers’ third straight trip to the Elite Eight under coach Rick Barnes.
“That just says a lot about Coach Barnes and the program he’s built here,” Gillespie said. “I’m glad we’ve been able to keep it up and keep playing.”
Michigan defeated fourth-seeded Alabama 90-77 in the first regional semifinal on Friday. The Wolverines topped Tennessee 76-68 in a South Region second-round game in 2022.
Nate Heise and Tamin Lipsey paced the short-handed Cyclones (29-8) with 18 points apiece.
Iowa State second-team All-America forward Joshua Jefferson missed the game with a sprained left ankle he sustained early in the Cyclones’ tournament-opening romp against Tennessee State.
Jefferson sat out Iowa State’s second-round game vs. Kentucky. Listed as a game-time decision on Friday, he was ruled out before tipoff.
“Just a really tough circumstance to deal with,” said Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger, who added that “we did everything in our power to get him out there to play.”
Iowa State aimed to channel its physicality without Jefferson, the team’s top rebounder and second-leading scorer. While the game hinged on defense and rebounding the way many expected, the Cyclones were outmuscled. The Volunteers finished plus-21 on the glass to overcome 17 turnovers.
Volunteers big men Felix Okpara (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Carey (11 points, 10 rebounds) both had double-doubles.
Tennessee’s rebounding margin included a 16-8 edge in offensive boards.
“Something we emphasized all summer was wanting to be the best on the offensive glass,” Carey said, “and we proved that tonight.”
A stretch of more efficient ball movement helped Tennessee create breathing room early in the second half. The Volunteers scored 20 of the first 28 points coming out of the break to take a 54-41 lead with 12:57 left.
Tennessee assisted on five of its first six made field goals in the second half. Gillespie contributed seven points to the surge on 3-of-4 shooting.
Meanwhile, Lipsey, the Cyclones’ point guard, ran into foul trouble. Gillespie drained a 3-pointer moments after Lipsey went to the bench with his third foul, extending the advantage to double digits.
Milan Momcilovic hit a 3-pointer to pull Iowa State within eight with 4:01 left, but the Volunteers answered with J.P. Estrella’s second-chance dunk on the ensuing possession.
“T.J.’s teams are never going to give up. We’re going to fight. We’re going to show effort. We’re never going to not give an effort,” Momcilovic said. “So we did that. We just didn’t execute on the offensive end, and they had a really good game plan for our defense.”
Killyan Toure scored nine points for Iowa State. Heisey and Lipsey both had five boards while Lipsey dished five assists.
Tennessee led 34-33 at halftime behind 10 points and eight rebounds from Okpara. He hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds of the half to provide the Volunteers with the advantage.
Bolstered by their physicality up front, the Volunteers stayed in control to extend their Elite Eight streak.
“I don’t know. I’m not sure what it is other than the fact that God has blessed me with a great job, good players,” Barnes said. “We have 11 new ones this year. We do have a standard on a lot of things. It’s not just what we do on the basketball court. You know, we’re pretty much a no-nonsense program. We talk about that through the recruiting process.
“We tell everyone it’s going to be tough. We want them to come and want to help them live their dreams, and along the way we would love to have a chance to play for a national championship.”
–Kevin Druley, Field Level Media
