Tennessee edged Ohio State 76-73 yesterday to send the school to its first Elite Eight ever.
The game was close throughout, with the largest lead for either team a 13-7 Ohio State edge early on. The Buckeyes lead more often than not, but Tennessee took the lead with just under six minutes to go and would keep it almost the entire rest of the way. Brian WIlliams put the Vols up for good with a tip-in at the 32 second mark, and J.P. Price blocked an Evan Turner three at the buzzer to preserve the win.
Wayne Chism was the most productive man in orange, scoring 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Prince had 14 points and a game-high six assists, while Williams had 11 rebounds to go along with his nine points. Turner had an amazing 31 points in the losing effort, but WIlliam Buford was his only teammate to get into double figures with 15 points.
This is not just the first Elite Eight appearance for Tennessee as a school, but also the first for head coach Bruce Pearl. It's been a remarkable run for this team after the arrests back in January. The reward for taking out one Big Ten team is the chance to play another. The 5-seed in the region Michigan State defeated Northern Iowa to make the Elite Eight matchup for the Vols. MSU is without its best player, Kalin Lucas, who tore his Achilles last week.