On night where shots weren't falling, Tennessee did what it does best
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The chants echoed to every corner of Spectrum Center.
Orange-clad fans—of the Tennessee variety—were calling on the Vols' defense out of a timeout after Texas cut their lead to two with just over a minute left in a do-or-die Round of 32 game.
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The stops had been there most of the night, but 2-seed Tennessee needed one more. Josiah-Jordan James matched Dylan Disu step-for-step before his potential game-tying shot missed. Tyrese Hunter grabbed the rebound, but Jonas Aidoo disrupted his shot.
Texas came up empty and the Vols held on to win, 62-58, keeping their season alive and punching their ticket to the Sweet 16 for the second-straight season behind the style of play they pride themselves most on.
"I think any team that relies on their offense, they're losing that game," Tennessee guard Jahmai Mashack said. "We can control what we do on defense. That what makes it so fun in a game like this. We know, no matter what that we're going to play defense and we're going to execute that part of it."
If there was a night that Tennessee needed to lean into that identity, it was this one.
The Vols' season was on the line and their offense was struggling. Tennessee (26-8) shot just 33% from the field and an abysmal 12% from three-point range.
Every stop counted, especially when Texas (21-14) clawed its way back into the game, pulling within a possession late in the second half. Tennessee's veterans had been there before.
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"We've been through the ringer. We've been through stuff like us," Mashack said. "We've been in big moments in big games. It's nothing new to us, man. This is what we do, man. What (makes) us a great team our tough love. We know how to get on to each other. That's what it takes, game-to-game. That was a crazy game that we just played, but we knew how to handle it. We knew how to stay in the moment, don't think about the future, don't get your feelings involved.
"We're going to get on each other for making mistakes. There were times we did, but we corrected it. We don't stay in that moment...That's what makes us a great team."
The Vols won the SEC Championship in the regular season in large part because of superstar guard Dalton Knecht, who entered Saturday averaging more than 21 points per game.
Knecht was held to 4 points on 1-of-8 shooting from the field in the first half but finished with a game-high 18, which included some critical shots at the free throw line down the stretch, but Tennessee is undoubtedly moving on because of its defense.
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Even when the shots weren't falling, the defense was a safety blanket. It provided a confidence for the Vols they knew would be there and it showed.
"Just keep taking our shots," Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler, who played every single minute of the game, said. "Because we know that we can get a stop at any time...On offense, we've just got to stay confident and move the ball, but on defense, everybody is just locked in."
Tennessee has made plenty of style points this season. There have been times where the offense looks like it has the kind of firepower that was missing in previous postseason runs that were ended early.
But if the Vols' current run ends in at least the program's first Final Four, their defense forged the path.
"Everybody from the start felt like we were going to win the game," Zeigler said. "We just had to be ourselves."
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