Tennessee is March Madness dancing to program-best 3rd straight Sweet 16 with 67-58 win over UCLA

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Chaz Lanier made 4 of 5 3-pointers and finished with 20 points, and No. 2 seed Tennessee advanced to a program-record third straight Sweet 16, beating seventh-seeded UCLA 67-58 in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night.

The Volunteers (29-7) will play either sixth-seeded Illinois or No. 3 seed Kentucky, who play Sunday in Milwaukee. The Midwest Region semifinals will be Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Senior guard Jahmai Mashack said this kind of streak is what he wanted when he signed to play for coach Rick Barnes at Tennessee.

“I’m not saying that to be cocky,” Mashack said. “I’m saying that because I put in the work … Just knowing that the Sweet 16 was a possibility that I wanted to get to, I wanted to do it and I knew this team was going to be able to do it.”

Lanier also set the Tennessee single-season record for 3s with 120, topping the 118 by Chris Lofton in 2007-08. Lofton was in the stands at Rupp Arena to witness Lanier’s performance. Lanier called it a blessing and said the glory went to God. He hoped to talk with Lofton postgame.

“It’s just a blessing,” Lanier said of the record. “I want to shout out my teammates as well. They’re always setting good screens for me and passing the ball on the money for me. So without them, I wouldn’t be making the shots.”

Zakai Zeigler added 15 points for Tennessee, and Jordan Gainey had 13 points to help the Vols take a 19-point lead with 5:15 left.

UCLA (23-11) made its earliest exit from the tournament in the six-year tenure of coach Mick Cronin.

This was just the second meeting between these programs and first since 1977, a game won in a rout by UCLA in Atlanta. Tennessee took this round with smothering defense, holding UCLA to the fewest points the Bruins had scored in a loss this season.

Cronin said Tennessee’s experienced starting lineup, including a graduate transfer in Lanier and seniors in Zeigler, Mashack and Igor Milicic, was a huge advantage for Barnes and the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/tennessee-march-madness-dancing-program-041737177.html

Author : TERESA M. WALKER

Publish date : 2025-03-23 04:17:00

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