CHICAGO — Nate Ament was all alone and took a deep breath. The star freshman calmly rosed up and drilled his third triple of the night, the dagger in Tennessee’s 76-62 win over two-seed Iowa State. Simply put, Tennessee is elite again.
Three quick takeaways as Tennessee basketball advances to the Elite Eight for a third straight season.
Tennessee Got Production From Its Front Court
J.P. Estrella is Tennessee’s best interior offensive player but was off from the jump, missing a number of open looks around the rim. But the Vols still found an inside offensive presence thanks to big performances from Felix Okpara and Jaylen Carey.
Okpara was absolutely stellar for Tennessee in the first half, totaling 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks before having a more quiet second half.
The senior center didn’t do anything crazy offensively but finished lob attempts, grabbed rebounds and finished trash around the rim. What Okpara did on the glass and on the defensive end was what was truly special.
Carey gave Tennessee a huge boost especially early in the game, settling the Vols in by making some good looks around the rim. The junior’s year has largely been defined by his inability to finish second chance opportunities. He did a stellar job of cleaning up trash against the Cyclones. Carey also made a lot of good reads with the ball in his hand, finishing with four assists to go along with his 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Estrella did some good things for Tennessee in the second half as did DeWayne Brown. The Vols’ front court also helped Tennessee obliterate Iowa State on the glass, earning a 43-22 advantage.
Tennessee Got It Done Despite Turnovers Being An Issue
There was nothing more important for Tennessee to do against Iowa State than take care of the basketball. But the Vols were dreadful against the Cyclones’ ball pressure, turning it over 16 times which led to 14 Iowa State points.
It was particularly an issue for Tennessee in the first half when the Vols turned it over a remarkable 10 times, accounting for just under 30% of their possessions. The Cyclones just put constant pressure on Tennessee and the Vols got sloppy with the basketball.
The second half was much better. Tennessee totaled seven of its turnovers in the second half. It wasn’t great but was enough for a efficient 42-point performance in the final 20 minutes
Ja’Kobi Gillespie was the biggest contributor of turnovers, coughing it up five times. Bishop Boswell and Ethan Burg each did a strong job handling the basketball, combining for 10 assists and two turnovers.
The good news for Tennessee is that they forced a number of Iowa State turnovers themselves. This Tennessee team does not force turnovers at the rate that past teams have, but the Cyclones coughed the ball up 11 times helped mitigate the damage.
More From RTI: Iowa State Forward Joshua Jefferson Out Against Tennessee
The Vols Did A Great Job Slowing Down Iowa State’s Stars
Iowa State has been a three-headed monster offensively all season. Star Joshua Jefferson was unable to play due to an ankle injury and additionally did a really strong job defending Milan Momcilovic and Tamin Lipsey.
Momcilovic was Iowa State’s leading scorer and the nation’s best three-point shooter. Tennessee did a fantastic job defending him, holding him to six points on two-for-eight shooting from deep.
The star wing missed some shots he usually makes, but Tennessee threw multiple defenders at him and made it difficult for him to shake loose.
Point guard Tamin Lipsey was much better and actually scored higher that his season average, finishing the game with 18 points. But they limited him to just five assists while he totaled three turnovers.
The Vols holding Lipsey and Momcilovic to a combined 24 points was a something Tennessee would have easily signed up for before the game. They made Iowa State’s role players beat them and they weren’t able to.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee advances to the Elite Eight for the third straight season. Standing between the Vols and their first ever trip to the Final Four is one-seed Michigan. Tipoff between the Vols and Wolverines is at 2:15 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon. CBS is broadcasting the game.
