DETROIT — Tennessee had Creighton all but run off the floor. Then Creighton had Tennessee staring in the face of another one of those second-half offensive collapses, the kind that have ended the past two NCAA Tournaments for Rick Barnes’ Vols.
An 18-0 Tennessee run. A 20-7 Creighton response. And in the end Friday (well, early Saturday morning), an unlikely hero making the difference.
As Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner lay on the hardwood for a few seconds, his hands on his head with 1:39 to play, it was clear — Tennessee would be surviving this one, 82-75, and moving on to play Purdue in the Elite Eight. That’s Sunday’s Midwest Regional final matchup at Little Caesar’s Arena. And it means No. 2 seed Tennessee (27-8) has an opportunity for the biggest win in program history, leading to the first Final Four.
Kalkbrenner had just let Tennessee backup center Tobe Awaka roll to the basket and score on him, plus the foul. The free throw made it 71-64 Vols. This came seconds after the 6-8, 250-pound Awaka — in late for Jonas Aidoo because his strength matches up better with the 7-1, 270-pound Kalkbrenner — walled off Kalkbrenner and forced him to miss a fading shot on the other end.
Awaka also had big rebounds on both ends late and finished with five points and five rebounds in 21 crucial minutes. Dalton Knecht was the star as usual with 24 points, including consecutive 3-pointers to slow Creighton’s run. Zakai Zeigler had 18 points and six assists, Josiah James came up big with 17 points and Tennessee rediscovered its long-range shooting touch — 11 for 24 on 3-pointers after a miserable 3 for 25 showing in the round-of-32 win over Texas.
Creighton’s star, Baylor Scheierman, also starred. But he had just 10 of his 25 points after halftime with the Vols staying attached to him. Creighton (25-10) also got 16 points from Steven Ashworth and 14 from Kalkbrenner.
From the start, Tennessee missed starting senior guard Santiago Vescovi, who was out with the flu and officially listed by UT as “day to day.” His absence brought Jahmai Mashack into the starting lineup, and that brought equally tough defense on Creighton guard Trey Alexander. But Mashack picked up two fouls in nine minutes.
Jordan Gainey, the other player who stood to gain minutes in Vescovi’s absence, picked up two fouls in 10 — one on a driving Alexander 3-point play. That left Barnes with Freddie Dilione and Cameron Carr to keep things afloat late in the first half. They did OK, Carr even nailing a corner triple to halt a Creighton run.
But Scheierman was wearing the Vols out, even with James applying physicality and an obvious understanding of the scouting report. Scheierman got himself space for big shots by jabbing and stepping back, then mixing it up and charging into the lane. He had 15 at the break, Creighton led 35-34 and the Vols were having more trouble with him than the Bluejays were having with Knecht (10 points, 4-for-10 shooting).
It was 39-37 early in the second half when the Vols unleashed a storm of blocked shots, deflections and transition baskets. An 18-0 run over 4:58 made it 55-39 Vols.
Creighton’s response was impressive, but the hole proved a bit too deep.
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(Photo: Brianna Paciorka / USA Today)
Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
