03/28/26 12:12:00
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03/28 00:10 CDT Ament scores 18 as Tennessee beats Iowa State 76-62 to advance
to third straight Elite Eight
Ament scores 18 as Tennessee beats Iowa State 76-62 to advance to third
straight Elite Eight
By ANDREW SELIGMAN
AP Sports Writer
CHICAGO (AP) --- Nate Ament scored 18 points, Ja'Kobi Gillespie finished with
16 and Tennessee beat Iowa State 76-62 on Friday night to advance to the Elite
Eight for the third straight year.
Coach Rick Barnes' team used a dominant effort on the glass and a strong second
half to put away Iowa State (29-8) and move within one win of its first Final
Four.
The sixth-seeded Volunteers (25-11) will meet top-seeded Michigan in the
Midwest Region final on Sunday. The Wolverines beat Alabama 90-77 behind a
dominant all-around performance by Yaxel Lendeborg.
Ament made three 3-pointers. Felix Okpara chipped in with 12 points and 10
rebounds. Jaylen Carey added 11 points and 10 boards, and the Volunteers
outrebounded the Cyclones 43-22.
Nate Heise and Tamin Lipsey each scored 18 points for Iowa State, but the
Cyclones clearly struggled without injured star Joshua Jefferson.
The All-America forward was hurt minutes into the Cyclones' March Madness
opener against Tennessee State and did not play in their lopsided win over
Kentucky. He averaged 16.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists.
Tennessee led 34-33 at halftime after Okpara hit two free throws in the closing
seconds and Lipsey missed a driving layup at the buzzer.
The Volunteers were up 44-39 when they went on a 13-4 run that Carey punctuated
with a three-point play off a tip-in. The 6-foot-8, 267-pound forward turned
toward the roaring Vols fans and flexed before hitting the free throw to make
it 57-43 with 11:47 remaining.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and
coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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