PHILADELPHIA — Leaping out of bounds to intercept a Miami (Ohio) outlet pass, Ja’Kobi Gillespie fired a pass that hit official Doug Sirmons and went back out of bounds. Sirmons was the only one that could stop Gillespie Friday evening as the star Tennessee point guard dominated in the Vols’ 78-56 NCAA Tournament win over Miami (Ohio).
Gillespie’s brilliance and a strong defensive performance was enough for Tennessee to cruise to the second round. Here’s three quick takeaways on the win.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie Was Terrific
Ja’Kobi Gillespie played in three NCAA Tournament games last season at Maryland. His best scoring output came against Florida when he totaled 17 points in the narrow Sweet 16 loss. It took him less than 17 minutes to pass the 17-point mark on Friday evening.
Tennessee got its big men involved early, taking advantage of its size advantage. But after Felix Okpara and JP Estrella combined to score Tennessee’s first eight points, Gillespie took over.
The senior point guard weaved his way through Miami’s defense and had tough finishes at the rim. But most importantly, he got his three-point shot going. Gillespie, who broke out of a recent shooting slump against Vanderbilt, knocked down five-of-six three-point attempts in the first half and six-of-11 in the game.
Gillespie scored 22 of Tennessee’s 51 first half points. He assisted on four more baskets and accounted for 32 Tennessee points— the same amount Miami scored in the first 20 minutes.
The East Tennessee native kept it rolling in the second half, finishing the game with 29 points, nine asists and three steals in a dominant showing.
Tennessee’s Defense Was Suffocating
Miami made its first four field goal attempts and three of its first foul three-point attempts. The sharp shooting RedHawks fit the billing of a Cinderella upset, but in those early made shots was good signs for Tennessee. Nearly every attempt was contested.
The Vols made life extremely difficult on Miami’s offense, holding them to 18 points below its previous season-low.
Tennessee pushed the RedHawks back and made them run their offense from farther out then they would have liked. Miami struggled to create open looks from three-point range. After the red-hot start, Miami made just four of its final 25 three-point attempts. The RedHawks air-balled at least five shots which was a good indication of how stout Tennessee’s defense.
Miami grabbed more offensive rebounds than expected but still grabbed only 28% of its misses. Not near enough to overcome the 41% field goal shooting.
More From RTI: Former Tennessee Basketball Star Kennedy Chandler Getting Another Chance in the NBA
Turnovers Were Prevalent On Both Sides
Another area where Tennessee was stout defensively was forcing turnover. The RedHawks struggled with the Vols’ ball pressure, turning it over 12 times which led to 19 points for Tennessee.
Miami has been stout at taking care of the ball this season while Tennessee has not forced turnovers at a super high rate. But the Vols’s athleticism clearly gave their MAC foe trouble.
Turnovers have been an issue for Tennessee all season and they were again in the opening round of the tournament when they totaled 16 turnovers. It was particularly an issue at the start of both halves, keeping the Vols from getting out to a fast start.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee advances to the Round of 32 where they’ll face three-seed Virginia/14-seed Wright State on Sunday in Philadelphia.
