Tennessee is ‘unstoppable’ during 18-0 run that dooms Creighton, puts 2-seed Volunteers into Elite Eight

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DETROIT — There were 24 seconds left on the shot clock, and all five Creighton players were back on defense. Tennessee didn’t have a numbers advantage, but it had momentum, and it had Dalton Knecht.

The Volunteers’ All-American guard took one dribble toward the basket from the right wing and promptly drew a crowd of defenders. As a swarm of Bluejays approached, he swung a quick pass to Josiah-Jordan James in the corner. Before Creighton guard Trey Alexander could complete his closeout, James launched.

His shot hit nothing but net, capping off an 18-0 run that defined Tennessee’s 92-87 win over Creighton in the Sweet 16 on Friday. In many ways, the spurt defined the Volunteers’ season.

Six days after hitting just 3 of 25 attempts from beyond the arc in an ugly, defense-oriented win over No. 7 seed Texas in the second round, the No. 2 seed Volunteers’ electric, game-changing spurt against Creighton illustrated the chameleon-esque identity which has made this group just the second in school history to reach an Elite Eight. Awaiting Sunday is a Midwest Regional final showdown with No. 1 seed Purdue.

“I think it just shows how versatile we are,” Knecht said of the contrasting styles that have challenged his team in its last two victories. “We can play defense when our shots aren’t falling and make it a physical, gritty game. We can also speed it up and play our type of basketball where we’re in transition, shooting 3-pointers, spacing the floor out and just going out and hooping and playing our type of basketball.”

Known for the last four seasons almost exclusively for their defense — a recipe that plateaued with a Sweet 16 appearance last season — the Volunteers can now win in other ways, and that versatility has them on the doorstep of the program’s first-ever Final Four appearance.

The signs were there from the beginning. 

Tennessee’s season began exactly five months before Friday night’s…

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Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/tennessee-is-unstoppable-during-18-0-run-that-dooms-creighton-puts-2-seed-volunteers-into-elite-eight/

Author : David Cobb

Publish date : 2024-03-30 08:13:04

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