CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It may have been the kind of game that ended Tennessee's season a year ago, but elite defense makes a difference
The 2-seed Vols' didn't establish an offensive rhythm for much of its NCAA Tournament Round of 32 clash with 7-seed Texas Saturday night at Spectrum Center but it wasn't the back-breaker for Tennessee that it has been in the past thanks to its patented defense.
The Vols were suffocating, keeping the Longhorns offense at bay for much of the game and when they were able to find some momentum, Tennessee came up with a stop, which was enough to win 62-58 and clinch a Sweet 16 berth for the second-straight season.
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Dalton Knecht struggled in the first half but finished with 18 points, everyone of them crucial in the Vols' efforts to staving off Texas down the stretch.
Jonas Aidoo scored 11 points and Josiah-Jordan James totaled 9 along with nine rebounds.
Tennessee (26-8) won the boards, 42-36 and limited Texas (21-13) to just 36.4% shooting from the field and 30.4% from three-point range.
Tyrese Hunter led the Longhorns with 13 points while Dylan Disu scored 12 and Max Abmas tallied 10.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Points were hard to come by early. Texas drew first blood with a Disu 3-pointer and James answered with a layup before both teams went more than three minutes without a basket.
Aidoo ended the drought with a dunk to give Tennessee its first lead before the media break.
Though Aidoo's score didn't fix all of the Vols' early shooting woes, their defense was making it hard on the Longhorns on the other end, forcing them without a field goal for six-plus minutes.
Meanwhile, Awaka, who saw early minutes was accounting for much of Tennessee's scoring and rebounding with six and four through the first eight minutes, respectively to put the Vols ahead 12-8.
Seconds after checking back into the game, Aidoo ignited a 6-0 run with a jumper. He then nabbed the ball on the defensive end and dished it to Gainey for a transition score and James hit a reverse layup to stretch the Vols' advantage to 16-8 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the half.
A Texas timeout after Tennessee went ahead by eight proved valuable. The Longhorns rattled off a run of their own, scoring six-straight to cut their deficit to one with less than seven minutes to go.
That run was the last semblance of offense for either team over the last five minutes of the half. The Vols sloughed through a three-minute drought and the Longhorns were even worse off, going without a field goal for nearly five.
Zeigler helped Tennessee break through with a corner 3-pointer and Knecht laid in just his second score to pave the way for a 28-19 lead at the intermission.
If there were any concerns that halftime would let off some of the steam the Vols' defense show in the first 20 minutes, Santiago Vescovi quelled them. He stepped in front of an inbounds pass and turned it into points on the other end to extend the lead to 32-21 early in the second half.
Tennessee appeared on the cusp of pulling away after Knecht pulled down a put-back dunk off of a Zeigler missed 3-pointer, but Texas took advantage of a Vols' scoreless stretch that covered almost three minutes.
The Longhorns pulled within four after a pair of Disu free throws with less than 10 minutes left in regulation. Zeigler drove in and laid the ball off the glass for a timely score that put Tennessee back up six at 43-37.
Knecht looked settled in when he provided the Vols' with an offensive jolt on another dunk but Abmas responded quickly with a deep three to pull Texas within three at 45-42 with seven minutes, 11 seconds on the clock.
Like he had all through Tennessee's SEC Championship run in the regular season, Knecht owned the second half. His 3-pointer with around five minutes left gave the Vols some separation, putting them up 50-42.
James helped hold off another Texas advance, draining a three and taking in a pass from Aidoo under the basket for a layup to lead 55-48. The Longhorns wouldn't go away, though.
A Knecht jumper was off and a Hunter rebound that went the other way led to points, trimming Tennessee's lead down to one possession again at 55-53 inside of two minutes.
Texas had two chances at the rim out of a late timeout and missed both and needed fouls to stop time from running out, but the Vols were able to close out at the free throw line in the closing seconds.
UP NEXT
Tennessee is back in the Sweet 16 for the second time in two seasons and the 10th time in program history.
The Vols will continue their quest for their first-ever Final Four in Detroit next weekend, facing the Round of 32 winner of 3-seed Creighton and 11-seed Oregon for a shot at the Elite Eight.
The Midwest Regional will take place March 29-31 at Little Caesar's Arena. A tip-off time and TV designation has not been announced.
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