Nate Ament scored 18 points and Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 16 as sixth-seeded Tennessee defeated second-seeded Iowa State 76-62 on Friday night in an NCAA Tournament Midwest Region semifinal.
Tennessee (25-11) will meet top-seeded Michigan in Sunday’s regional final, the Volunteers’ third straight trip to the Elite Eight under coach Rick Barnes. Big men Felix Okpara (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Carey (11 points, 10 rebounds) both had double-doubles.
Nate Heise and Tamin Lipsey paced the short-handed Cyclones (29-8) with 18 points apiece. Iowa State second-team All-America forward Joshua Jefferson missed the game with a sprained left ankle he sustained early in the Cyclones’ tournament-opening romp against Tennessee State.
Tennessee’s 43-22 rebounding margin included a 16-8 edge on the offensive boards. The Vols led 34-33 at halftime behind 10 points and eight rebounds from Okpara. He hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds of the half to provide the Volunteers with the advantage.
No. 1 Michigan 90, No. 4 Alabama 77
Yaxel Lendeborg produced 23 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, boosting the top-seeded Wolverines to a victory against the Crimson Tide in an NCAA Tournament Midwest Region semifinal in Chicago.
Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney scored 17 points apiece as the Wolverines won for the ninth time in 10 games.
Alabama’s Labaron Philon Jr. led all scorers with 35 points. He went 6-for-14 from 3-point range as the Crimson Tide shot 29.8% from deep compared to 48.1% for the Wolverines.
EAST REGION
No. 1 Duke 80, No. 5 St. John’s 75
Isaiah Evans scored 25 points, Cameron Boozer added 22 points and 10 rebounds and the Blue Devils defeated the Red Storm to reach the East Region final in Washington.
Caleb Foster recovered from a right foot fracture to add 11 points — all after halftime — for Duke (35-2) in his first minutes since a March 7 home win over North Carolina to close the regular season.
Holding the nation’s longest active winning streak at 14 games, Duke will play No. 2 UConn in its third consecutive Elite Eight appearance under fourth-year coach Jon Scheyer. Zuby Ejiofor scored 17 points and Bryce Hopkins added 15 for the Red Storm (30-7), who led by as many as 10 early in the second half.
No. 2 UConn 67, No. 3 Michigan State 63
Tarris Reed Jr. scored 20 points, Alex Karaban added 17 and each proved crucial in the late exchanges as the Huskies defeated the Spartans and moved on to the East Region final in Washington.
Solo Ball added 12 points for UConn (32-5), which advanced despite giving back all of an early 19-point lead and getting outrebounded 39-30.
Carson Cooper scored 14 points for Michigan State (27-8), which lost three of its last five to close the season. Coen Carr and Jeremy Fears Jr. had 13 points each while Jaxon Kohler scored 12.
