Tennessee’s Admiral Schofield, left, and Kyle Alexander celebrate after the Vols defeated Iowa 83-77 in overtime during an NCAA tournament second-round game Sunday in Columbus, Ohio.COLUMBUS, Ohio – Tennessee is going to the Sweet 16.
And for a half Sunday afternoon, it appeared the Volunteers would have an easy path to this week’s South Region semifinals in Louisville, Kentucky, a dominating win over what appeared to be an overmatched Iowa team in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
But then the 10th-seeded Hawkeyes responded, erasing a Tennessee lead that reached 25 points at one point in the first half and stood 49-28 at the break. Iowa never led but was able to force overtime.
Then the Vols responded in their own right, and that’s why they’re moving on.
Tennessee opened the extra period with a 7-0 run, then held on to defeat the Hawkeyes 83-77 and advance to the Sweet 16 for the eighth time in program history but the first time since 2014. The sixth-ranked, second-seeded Vols (31-5) will face third-seeded Purdue (25-9) on Thursday at the KFC Yum! Center. The Boilermakers beat sixth-seeded Villanova, the 2018 national champion, 87-61 on Saturday night.