DAYTON, Ohio (AP) - Ahead nearly the entire game, Iowa couldn’t finish it off in regulation. Then, the Hawkeyes couldn’t make a shot in overtime.
This NCAA tournament loss is going to sting for a long time.
With forward Jarnell Stokes using his 280 pounds to dominate inside and a highly regarded defense finally locking in, Tennessee pulled off the first amazing comeback of the NCAA tournament on Wednesday night.
Stokes opened overtime with a three-point play that put Tennessee ahead to stay, and the Volunteers’ defense shut down Iowa in overtime for a 78-65 victory, finishing off the First Four with an exclamation point.
“I don’t think we ran out of gas,” said Adam Woodbury, who led Iowa with 16 points. “We made some key mistakes down the stretch and that hurt us.”
Tennessee didn’t lead until Antonio Barton’s 3-pointer put the Vols up 59-57 with 3:05 left regulation. There were five lead changes before Tennessee’s Jordan McRae missed a jumper missed at the buzzer, leaving it tied at 64.
Stokes’ three-point play in overtime was the key moment in his 18-point, 13-rebound performance, putting the Volunteers ahead to stay. It was his 20th double-double this season, the most by a Volunteer since Bernard King had 22 of them in 1976-77.
Tennessee’s highly regarded defense took it from there, holding Iowa (21-13) to one free throw the rest of the way. The Hawkeyes missed all eight of their shots from the field in overtime.
It was a tough ending to a long and stressful day for Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. He started in Iowa with his teenage son, Patrick, who had surgery to remove a thyroid tumor. His assistant coaches led the Hawkeyes through a meeting and their final practice, and McCaffery was back by game time.
Coach Cuonzo Martin and the Volunteers wished him well after the game.
“Their players hugged me and told me they were thinking of me,” McCaffery said. “I was really impressed with their guys and the program Cuonzo has built there.”
McCaffery said test results on the tumor are expected as early as Friday or as late as Monday. His son remained in a hospital overnight but could be discharged on Thursday.
The Vols (22-12) head to Raleigh, N.C., where they’ll play sixth-seeded Massachusetts on Friday in the Midwest Regional. They left Dayton with a lot of momentum - six wins in their last seven games.
“We did a tremendous job toward the end of fighting back,” said McRae, who had 20 points. “We did a great job on our defense. For us to hold them like we did was a great job.”
Iowa got a subpar performance from its leading scorer. Roy Devyn Marble was only 3 of 15 from the field for seven points, matching his season low.
The Hawkeyes were struggling as they headed into their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2006, losing six of their previous seven games. Defense was the biggest problem, often letting them down in the second half.
They opened the game in promising fashion, switching from man-to-man to zone to half-court traps. It worked. They got off to a 16-4 lead and were still ahead 29-26 at halftime.
They kept swatting away the Volunteers’ runs until the last few minutes of regulation.
Marble’s basket tied it at 64, and he was guarding McCrae when he missed his fade-away shot at the buzzer sending it to overtime.
Tennessee got an at-large bid by closing the season with a defensive flourish. The Volunteers won five straight before losing to No. 1 Florida 56-49 in the Southeastern Conference tournament. They gave up 61.1 points per game, second only to Florida in the SEC, and allowed an average of only 47.4 points in the last four games.
In overtime, that defense decided it.
___
Follow Joe Kay on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjoekay
Please read our comment policy before commenting.