Tennessee advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament on Wednesday night with a 78-65 overtime win against Iowa.
The Volunteers will play No. 6 seed Massachusetts on Friday in the Midwest region.
With less than a minute left in the second half, Tennessee senior forward Jeronne Maymon completed a three-point play to put the Volunteers up 64-62. But the Hawkeyes tied the game with 22 seconds remaining when senior guard Roy Devyn Marble hit a fadeaway shot from the elbow. Tennessee got a good look at the buzzer to win the game in regulation but came up just short.
That miss didn’t derail the team’s confidence, though, as the Volunteers dominated the overtime period by outscoring Iowa 14-1 to secure the victory. Senior guard Jordan McRae led Tennessee with 20 points on 6-for-15 shooting. Tennessee overcame a poor shooting night by attempting 15 more free throws than Iowa. The Volunteers finished 25-for-30 from the foul line.
It was a stressful day for Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery. His 13-year-old son underwent thyroid surgery Wednesday morning at an Iowa hospital. McCaffery spent time with his son before joining the Hawkeyes in Dayton for their game against Tennessee.
After the game ended, Tennessee players hugged McCaffery and wished him and his family well.
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