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The Tennessee Volunteers, a No. 2-seed, is set to take on No. 3-seed Creighton in the Sweet Sixteen of NCAA Tournament at 10:09 p.m. Friday.
Road to the Sweet 16
Tennessee defeated 7-seed Texas 62-58 to secure the Vols’ second consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearance. Team scoring leaders included Dalton Knecht with 18 points and Jonas Aidoo with 11 points. The game came down to the wire, but clutch free throws from the Volunteers down the stretch secured them a win.
delivered when it mattered most pic.twitter.com/Fv0qQUroWe
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) March 24, 2024
Creighton defeated 11-seed Oregon 86-73 in double overtime. The Ducks and the Bluejays went back and forth all game. As time expired in the second half, the game was tied at 62. In the first overtime, both teams scored nine points, sending the game into double overtime. Creighton dominated the second overtime after Oregon ran out of gas. Scoring leaders for the Bluejays included Steven Ashworth with 21 points, and Trey Alexander with 20 points.
THAT WAS SWEET#GoJays pic.twitter.com/pwhMbUkR2O
— Creighton Men’s Basketball (@BluejayMBB) March 24, 2024
Tonight’s Game
The winner of Friday’s matchup will move onto the Elite Eight. Tennessee will be relying on Knecht, who is averaging 21.1 points per game. Additionally, Aidoo leads the team on the boards, averaging 7.6 rebounds per game.
Creighton will be relying on Baylor Scheierman, who is averages 18.3 points per game. Additionally, Alexander is averaging 17.7 points per game, and Ryan Kalkbrenner averages 17.4 points per game. Scheierman and Kalkbrenner also lead the team on the glass, recording 9.1 and 7.6 rebounds per game, respectively.
Tennessee’s head coach coach Rick Barnes gave credit to the strength of Creighton’s team and how united they are.
Creighton’s head coach Greg McDermott noted the difficult task ahead of them with the talent that Tennessee has in terms of athletes and coaches.
Tennessee has a force of a defense, and Creighton’s offense utilizes their strength behind the 3-point line. Aidoo noted this as part of the Vols’ strategy for Friday.
Tip-off is at 10:09 p.m. at Little Caesars Arena.
