Tennessee Basketball dominated its first-round matchup against Miami (OH) on Friday night in Philadelphia. The 6-seed Vols eliminated the 11-seed Miami RedHawks with a 78-56 win and will now move on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. Tennessee will square off against 3-seed Virginia to close down the weekend with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.
Tennessee’s Ja’Kobi Gillespie led the way for the Volunteers on both ends of the court. With Nate Ament both limited and not looking like his usual self while battling injury, Gillespie shouldered the scoring load for the Vols. He racked up 29 points and nine assists while going 11-of-21 from the field and 6-of-11 from three-point range. Gillespie was a terrific scorer for Tennessee on Friday, but he also put together some nice defensive stretches on the other end for the well-rounded outing.
Tennessee forward JP Estrella was also a big contributor in the game, putting up 14 points and 10 rebounds in the Vols’ win.
After the game, RTI’s Ryan Schumpert and Ric Butler shared their reactions to Tennessee’s Friday night victory while also giving some opening thoughts on the Vols’ Sunday matchup against Virginia.
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Check out the full RTI: Reaction below:
RTI: Reaction
