DETROIT — Dalton Knecht had 24 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals as Tennessee defeated Creighton 82-75 in the Midwest Regional semifinals on Friday night, moving it one step closer to reaching its first Final Four. I got closer.
Zakai Zeigler added 18 points and six assists for the second-seeded Volante.
Last year, when Tennessee lost in the regional semifinals for the second straight year, Knecht was at Northern Colorado and Zeigler was sidelined with a torn knee ligament.
The Vols (27-8), led by coach Rick Barnes, are matching the longest NCAA Tournament run in school history and hope to advance above the 2010 team that lost by one point to Michigan State in the Elite Eight. I believe.
Tennessee will play top-seeded Purdue, which defeated Gonzaga on Friday night, on Sunday for the Midwest Regional title and a spot in the Final Four that eluded both schools.
The third-seeded Blue Jays (25-10) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years, but fell one win short of making it to the regional final for the first time last year.
Baylor Scheierman, a third-team All-America wing, scored 25 points and some of his teammates struggled against a long, athletic team that defended from the logo to the rim.
Stephen Ashworth scored 16 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner added 14 points for the Blue Jays, who fought well.
Tennessee went on a breathtaking 18-0 run early in the second half to take a 55-39 lead, but Creighton coach Greg McDermott wanted to wait for the television to shut down to stem the tide. As a result, he was forced to take two timeouts.
Sweet 16 victory. USA TODAY Sports (via Reuters Con)
Scheierman ended the drought with a 3-pointer and then completed a 3-point play during a 9-0 run to pull the Blue Jays within three points with 6:04 remaining.
Knecht hit two 3-pointers to restore a six-point lead, and Zeigler set up Tobe Awaka’s 3-point play to give the Vols a 71-64 lead with 1:39 remaining.
Tennessee survived the first weekend of the tournament by beating Texas by four points after opening with a win over St. Peter’s, with Knecht totaling 41 points in those games.
The Blue Jays routed Akron and defeated Oregon in double overtime to advance to the second weekend of the tournament.
In the Sweet 16, Scheierman scored 15 points in the first half, and his second assist came on a lob by Kalkbrenner to give the Blue Jays a 35-34 lead.
Knecht showed his true potential with a key burst early in the second half.
The 6-foot-6 wing, who transferred from Northern Colorado after playing at Northeastern Junior College, became the first former junior college player to receive All-American recognition since Larry Johnson in 1991.
Knecht scored 10 points in the first half of a close game with eight lead changes, three ties, and both teams leading by at least four points.
The Vols were a pain on defense, playing chest-to-chest 40 feet from the basket and forcing a team that averages more than 10 turnovers to lose the ball four times in the first five minutes.
Tennessee scored eight points off those turnovers and took advantage.
Perhaps for good measure, neither team had much breathing room on the court or on the scoreboard.
