The feeling around the University of Tennessee is doubly as sweet this week, with both the men’s and women’s basketball programs advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
The Vols advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season, a first for the program. The Lady Vols advanced for the 37th time in the 43 years of the tournament, the first under first-year head coach Kim Caldwell.
The second-seed Vols (29-7) play No. 3 Kentucky Friday at 6:39 p.m. CDT (TBS/TruTV) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in the Midwest Region. If they advance, they would play the winner of the No. 1 Houston-No. 4 Purdue game in the Elite Eight Sunday.
“Honestly, as soon as I signed with Tennessee, I knew that was something I wanted to do,” says UT senior guard Jahmai Mashack of making deep runs in the postseason. “I’ve been winning all my career. It’s not something that is new to me.
“I’m not saying that to be cocky. I’m saying that because I put in the work. I had to scrap for everything I’d get. Just knowing the Sweet 16 was a possibility that I wanted to get to, I wanted to do it, and I knew this team was gonna be able to do it.”
The No. 5 Lady Vols play No. 1 Texas in the Sweet 16 in Birmingham, Alabama Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CDT (ABC). If they win, they will face either No. 2 TCU or No. 3 Notre Dame in an Elite Eight matchup Monday.
“I’m happy for them. I’m happy to see how excited they are,” Caldwell said after the Lady Vols beat No. 4 Ohio State 82-67 in the second round on the Buckeyes’ home court. “I guess at some point in time, I told them if we make it to the Sweet 16, they can wear whatever shoes they want, and they remembered that. They were telling me that when there was still time on the clock.”
First dance with the Cats
Kentucky beat SEC rival Tennessee twice during the regular season. Although the programs have met 185 times since the first NCAA Tournament in 1938-39, this will be their first meeting in the NCAA Tournament.
Tennessee and Kentucky are part of a tournament-record seven SEC men’s teams that reached the Sweet 16, exceeding the previous high of six from the ACC in 2016. The 16-team SEC set a tournament record with 14 teams selected for the event.
The Vols defeated Wofford 77-62 in the first round and No. 7 UCLA 67-58 in the second at Rupp Arena in Lexington to reach 29 wins for only the third time ever, the second under Barnes (2018-19).
As has been the case most of the season, the Vols depended on stingy defense and the scoring of fifth-year senior transfer Chaz Lanier to secure their tournament wins.
Lanier is making the most of his only season at UT. The Nashville native broke the single-season 3-point record in UT’s win against UCLA. Lanier has 120 3-pointers to overtake the previous record of 118 held by Chris Lofton. Through the first two rounds, Lanier has scored 49 points and hit 10 3-pointers.
“It’s just a blessing,” Lanier says. “I want to shout out my teammates as well. They’re always setting good screens and passing the ball on the money for me. So without them I wouldn’t be making the shots.”
Mashack and fellow senior guard Zakai Zeigler are the first teammates to ever be named among the four finalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award. Zeigler has a program-record 260 assists this season, matching Ole Miss’ Sean Tuohy for the most in a single season in SEC history. He holds the UT career record for assists (731).
Barnes is leading a team to the Sweet 16 for the 10th time in his coaching career, including the fourth in seven NCAA Tournament appearances at Tennessee.
“It goes back to leadership with our players. They deserve all the credit,” Barnes says. “They want to be coached, they know what we as a coaching staff expect from them every day and they know we’re going to try to be as consistent as we can doing our jobs and we want them to do that.
“It’s just a great testament to these guys that they really do like each other. They care, and they love our fan base.”
Lady Vols back on track
After losing three of their final four games, the Lady Vols looked rejuvenated to open the postseason. In a frenetic game that featured big runs by both squads, the Lady Vols forced 23 turnovers and hit 10 3-pointers to beat the Buckeyes and reach the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years after falling short last season.
“It means a lot for the program and the people that are here right now with Coach Kim coming in for her first year and the people that stayed and the transfers that came in,” UT senior guard Jewel Spear says. “It just talks a lot about the culture that we established from Day One and that everybody is playing a part in what we’re doing right now.”
While the Lady Vols have plenty of Final Four appearances in their decorated history, the Vols are still chasing the elusive milestone. Barnes and the Vols have come close several times before, only to fall short before the second weekend of the tournament ends.
Should they finally break through and reach the Final Four, Barnes knows the Vols will have earned their status among the all-time best at UT.
“These guys want to represent our university in the right way,” Barnes says. “Obviously I’ve got the best coaching staff in the country, but it goes to the players. They’re the ones that grind it every day.”