NCAA News Wire
Tennessee 78, Iowa 65 (OT)
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
DAYTON, Ohio — Senior guard Jordan McRae scored 20 points, and junior forward Jarnell Stokes added 18, lifting Tennessee to a 78-65 overtime win over Iowa in a first-round NCAA Tournament game between two No. 11 seeds on Wednesday night at University of Dayton Arena.
The Volunteers (22-12) overcame a cold shooting start, then outscored the Hawkeyes 14-1 in OT. Tennessee advances to face sixth-seeded Massachusetts (24-8) on Friday in Raleigh, N.C.
Sophomore center Adam Woodbury scored 16 points for Iowa, which dropped eight of its last 11 games. Guard Peter Jok added 10 points for the Hawkeyes, who led by as many as 12 points.
A 3-pointer by Tennessee guard Josh Richardson tied the score at 37 with 14:31 left. It was the first time Iowa relinquished the lead.
A spurt by Richardson, who finished with 17 points, sparked the Vols offense after a slow start. He scored 11 points in fewer than eight minutes, including a soaring dunk from the left baseline.
Guard Antonio Barton’s 3-pointer gave Tennessee its first lead with 3:07 left.
Iowa guard Roy Devyn Marble tied the score at 64 with 18 seconds remaining in regulation, and McRae missed a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
Tennessee dominated the overtime period.
A three-point play by Stokes put the Vols ahead by three in OT. McRae’s layup made the score 69-64.
An intentional foul called on Iowa guard Mike Gesell with 1:38 left resulted in two free throws by Barton to seal the victory. Barton finished with 10 points.
Tennessee began the game 0-for-7 from the field and didn’t record its first field goal until guard Armani Moore’s jumper with 13:59 remaining in the first half. By then, Iowa (20-13) already owned an 8-0 lead behind four points each from Woodbury and forward Aaron White.
A 3-pointer by guard Josh Oglesby put Iowa ahead 16-4. The Hawkeyes went 3-for-7 from behind the arc while Tennessee was just 1-for-10.
The Volunteers shot 38 percent in the first half but managed to battle back to within three points, 29-26, at halftime.
The Hawkeyes were the aggressors on offense in the first half, scoring 12 of their points in transition.
NOTES: Iowa coach Fran McCaffery returned to Dayton on Wednesday afternoon following his 13-year-old son Patrick’s surgery to remove a thyroid tumor. The Hawkeyes coach issued a statement saying the surgery went well pending further tests. … The Hawkeyes won 20 games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2006. … Three teams that played in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas in November (Iowa, Tennessee, Xavier) competed in the First Four this week in Dayton. … UD Arena is the site where McCaffery-led Siena upset Ohio State in double-overtime in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. “The locker room we’re using is right next to the one we celebrated in that day,” McCaffery said. “Seems like it was yesterday.”
