NCAA Tournament Live Blog: Tennessee Tops Ohio State, Reaches Elite Eight for First Time

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Mar 26, 2010

NCAA Tournament Live Blog: Tennessee Tops Ohio State, Reaches Elite Eight for First Time Final, Tennessee 76-73: A great game. Ohio State had the lead for most of the game, but it never felt like the Buckeyes were in control.

In the end, Ohio State was done in by poor defensive rebounding as the Vols had 18 offensive rebounds, which proved to be too much for the Buckeyes to overcome.

Another tournament upset as a No. 6 seed advances to the Elite Eight. Tennessee will face the winner of Michigan State-Northern Iowa matchup on Sunday.

Final Tennessee 76-73: It's over, and the Vols are moving on. Ohio State got off one shot, a corner trey by Evan Turner. But that was contested and not a very good look.

Second half, 0:12, Tennessee 76-73: Bobby Maze knocks down pressure free throws. Can Ohio State tie it up, down three with 12.9 second to play?

Second half, 0:12, Tennessee 74-73: Furious action. Several Volunteer players are grabbing their shorts as a teammate goes to the line. No matter what, Ohio State will have a chance to at least tie it on it's final possession.

Second half, 1:06, Tennessee 72-70: Chism with a terrific finish when it looked like he was too far under the basket. The Vols have two straight steals.

Second half, 2:09, 70-70: All tied up with two minutes to play. I'm guessing Turner does not give the ball up once he gets it.

Second half, 2:26, Tennessee 68-67: Ohio State grabs a huge defensive board and converts on the offensive end. Then they force a ten-second violation with it's defensive pressure. The Buckeyes are finishing strong.

Second half, 3:26, Tennessee 68-65: Tennessee owns a 46-20 advantage in points in the paint. Impressive. Turner is back, and has hit two free throws.

Second half, 3:39, Tennessee 68-63: Tennessee is still searching for it's first-ever trip to the Elite Eight. It is less than four mintes away. Can the Vols hang on?

Second half, 3:50, Tennessee 68-63: Ohio State has missed two straight 3s. Turner did not take either shot. I cannot remember the last time he took a shot. Tennessee has been doing a great job of pounding the ball down low and driving to the basket. Chism now has 18 points and 11 boards.

Second half, 5:07, Tennessee 64-63: Chism now with 16. More importantly, Turner has not taken a shot in several minutes.

Second half, 6:10, Tennessee 62-61: The Vols show their athleticism with two loud dunks, plus another dunk followed by two loud screams.

Second half, 7:02, 59-59: The appropriately names Scotty Hopson makes a strong move on the baseline and finishes with a flush. We are all tied at 59.

Second half, 7:44, Ohio State 57-56: Can Tennessee find a way to quiet Evan Turner? We know he is going to have the ball in his hands most of the time down the stretch. The Vols should force him to give up the rock and make others beat them.

Second half, 7:59, Ohio State 57-56: Again, it's Turner on one end and Chism on the other. These two are not discouraged by the bright lights.

Second half, 9:21, Ohio State 56-52: If I had the first overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, I would take John Wall. If I had the second pick, I would take Turner. He is a matchup nightmare.

Second half, 9:42, Ohio State 56-51: The stars come out in the Tourney, and Ohio State's Evan Turner is a star. He now has 24 for the Buckeyes.

Second half, 11:12, Ohio State 51-49: A quick rest for Chism, as he is back on the floor for Tennessee, still without his headband.

Second half, 11:49, Ohio State 51-49: If someone rang a bell every time Tennessee grabbed an offensive board, I would be deaf by now. The Vols now have 16 offensive boards, many of which have resulted in easy put-backs. On the other side, Evan Turner is really starting to heat up. He has 19 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Second half, 11:58, Ohio State 51-49: Wayne Chism is going out. He has been very impressive early in this second half. He now has a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Second half, 13:05, Ohio State 51-49: The stars are starting to take over. Turner now has 19 and Chism has 10 points and 9 boards. Can Tennessee advance to the Elite Eight for the first time ever?

Second half, 14:45, Ohio State 51-45: Wayne Chism is playing without the headband. You know he's fired up when he gets rid of the head gear.

Second half, 15:56, Ohio State 49-43: Ohio State continues to shoot extremely well, picking up where it left off in the first half. The Buckeyes are now 7-for-13 from beyond the arc. They have also forced the Vols into 10 turnovers. Besides their trouble on the glass, the only other problem is that David Lighty has three fouls. Lighty is still on the floor.

Second half, 17:03, Ohio State 49-43: Turner is feeling good, and has 16 points now. You do not want to let him get going, but it may be too late for that. Now the Vols might need to commit two guys to stopping him.

Second half, 18:56, Ohio State 44-41: Tennessee opened the second half with an offensive board and a score. (I'm not going to say anything.)

Second half, 19:52, Ohio State 42-39: We are underway in the second half. I just read over this blog and it looks like I am harping on Ohio State's rebounding too much — but I am not. The fact is if the Buckeyes can control their defensive glass, they will win this game, period.

End of first half, Ohio State 42-39: The Buckeyes ended the half very well. They ran a good, patient offense and shot the ball lights out in the first 20 minutes.

Their only shortcoming is their offensive rebounding, that is really the only thing keeping Tennessee alive. If Ohio State can find a way to control the defensive glass, it will have a good chance to win this one. If not, the Vols are more than capable of pulling off another Tournament upset.

First half, 0:02, Ohio State 42-39: Ohio State ends the first half in a 1-3-1 zone. Turner knocked down a jumper to end the half, giving him 10 points.

First half, 1:10, Ohio State 40-37: More great offense by Ohio State. Evan Turner is OSU's best player, but several Buckeyes are capable scorers. As a team they are now 6-of-11 from beyond thh arc. (And Evan Turner has not taken a 3.)

First half, 2:20, Ohio State 35-34: This seems like a very fast first half. The Buckeyes are ahead because they are shooting lights out. They are shooting better than 50 percent both inside and outside the arc.

First half, 2:52, Ohio State 35-32: Ohio State's offense is playing well, but its defense is less than stellar. OSU needs to do a better job on the defensive glass. Ohio State leads, but Tennessee looks like the team with more energy.

First half, 5:08, Tennessee 27-25: Evan Turner just had another turnover — his third. He needs to control the ball better than that.

First half, 6:48, Tennessee 25-23: Melvin Goins with a great steal, he just picked Turner's pocket in the backcourt. Tennessee could not convert the turnover into points.

First half, 7:39, Tennessee 23-21: A break in the action, and the stats tell the story of this one so far. The Vols have turned the ball over six times, but they have seven offensive rebounds. The Vols have already used nine players, so effort plays (like rebounds) could be a factor later as well.

First half, 8:13, Tennessee 23-21: The Buckeyes are getting hammered on the offensive glass. Tennessee's initial defense is good, but that is not going to be enough. They have slid into a 2-3 zone, which is not going to help.

First half, 9:22, Tennessee 21-19: Even against the man-to-man defense, Tennessee is killing Ohio State on the offensive glass. The Vols already have six offensive boards.

First half, 11:13, Tennessee 17-16: CBS may take you away, but we will be here all game. Ohio State just banged a 3-pointer while you were gone. The Buckeyes really needed that one.

First half, 11:44, Tennessee 17-13: This Tennessee team does not have as much depth as it had the previous few seasons. Because of that, they do not press as much. But Bruce Pearl still loves to trap and try to get steals. You better not try to throw the skip pass because the Vols will get that.

First half, 11:56, Tennessee 17-13: Turnover, transition basket and a foul. That's Volunteer basketball.

First half, 13:10, Ohio State 13-12: Just as I say that, Ohio State switches to a man-to-man defense. Good move.

First half, 13:43, Ohio State 13-10: Tennessee looks like it is finally figuring out how to attack this zone. The Vols are working for better shots and doing a great job on the offensive boards.

First half, 14:53, Ohio State 13-9: Dallas Lauderdale at the line for Ohio State. The big man has a pretty ugly shot. It looks very mechanical.

First half, 15:43, Ohio State 13-7: The Buckeyes trap and force Tennessee to call a timeout. This is a good time to mention that Ohio State's top five players play the vast majority of the game. It will be much easier on them if it's zone is effective.

First half, 15:43, Ohio State 13-7: The one problem with playing a zone is that it can be difficult to defensive rebound. Ohio State has seen that bite them as Tennessee already has three offensive rebounds on only six missed shots.

First half, 15:43, Ohio State 13-7: Ohio State has started out as well as it could have hoped. They are 6-for-7 from the floor and their zone is giving Tennessee fits.

First half, 17:26, Ohio State 7-4: Goaltending on Ohio State. A good call, but Evan Turner really elevated to get that one.

First half, 18:24, Ohio State 5-2: Underway in St. Louis. The Buckeyes start out hitting their first two shots.

7:05 p.m.: The NCAA Tournament kicks off again in just a few minutes. First up is No. 2 Ohio State and No. 6 Tennessee in the Midwest Region. The Volunteers are looking to reach the Elite Eight for the first time ever. (It's easy to forget that Tennessee did not have a great history in men's basketball before Bruce Pearl showed up.)

8 a.m.: With the Midwest's No. 1, No. 3, and No. 4 seeds (Kansas, Georgetown and Maryland) all having lost, Ohio State's path to the Final Four looks much easier. But before the Buckeyes can set their sights on a trip to Indianapolis, they must first take care of business against a tough Tennessee team.

Ohio State has rolled into the Sweet 16 behind the play of All-American candidate Evan Turner. After defeating No. 15 UC Santa Barbara in the first round, the Buckeyes used an up-tempo game to beat a very physical Georgia Tech team in the second round.

Tennessee snuck by No. 11 San Diego State in the first round before an easy second-round victory over No. 14 Ohio. The Volunteers will find the competition much more difficult in this one.

Even after Tennessee kicked star forward Tyler Smith off the team, Bruce Pearl's squad still managed to defeat both Kansas and Kentucky this year. The Vols love to play fast and loose. Ohio State will need to control the style of the game. The Buckeyes can play at a fast pace, but they cannot get careless with the ball.

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