Tennessee basketball stuffs Texas in March Madness, advances to NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
CHARLOTTE, N.C. − It wasn't pretty but it was fitting.
Tennessee basketball turned to its trusted defense in its tightest game of the season and that season will keep going because of it. It was merciless, it was suffocating and it was clinical.
The Vols are going to the Sweet 16 for the third time under coach Rick Barnes, who got the best of his former program Saturday. Tennessee beat Texas 62-58 at Spectrum Center. It will face No. 3 Creighton (25-9) on Friday in Detroit with the program's second Elite Eight on the line.
Dalton Knecht led the No. 2 Vols with a hard-earned 18 points. The Vols (26-8) made six free throws in the final 24.3 seconds to clinch the win against the No. 7-seeded Longhorns (21-13). Tyrese Hunter hit a 3-pointer with 4.2 seconds to pull Texas within 60-58. Knecht hit a pair of free throws to seal it, his second set in the final 10 seconds.
UT was 3-for-25 shooting on 3-pointers on a woeful shooting outing that was saved by its trademark defense.
Tennessee won it on defense to reach the Sweet 16
The Vols had a horrific game offensively but were terrific on defense. They held Texas to 36.4% shooting and 30.4% shooting on 3-pointers.
Tennessee forced 17 turnovers, including 11 in the first half.
Tobe Awaka was the offensive catalyst as the Vols dominated inside
Tobe Awaka of Tennessee played only six minutes in the first half but he made each one count.
He had eight points and four rebounds before halftime. He picked up two fouls in the first 10 minutes then got his third at the 5:46 mark after Barnes put the sophomore forward back in. He got back in for the second half and kept going. He finished with 10 points and five rebounds in 11 minutes.
Awaka set the tone as UT scored 36 points in the paint.
Texas made Dalton Knecht's life really hard
Dalton Knecht of Tennessee made a layup with 1:28 before halftime for his first field goal. He had four points in the half, making the lone field goal and a pair of free throws.
The SEC player of the year missed his first four attempts and only attempted two in the first 10 minutes. He missed two more in the final 20 seconds to finish the half 1-for-7 shooting. He missed all four first-half 3-point attempts.
Knecht made his first 3-pointer at the 5:39 mark to give UT a 50-42 lead.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee vs Texas in March Madness: Vols head to Sweet 16
