Coach Rick Barnes’ team used a dominant effort on the glass and a strong second half to defeat Iowa State (29-8) and move within one victory of its first Final four.
Advertisement
The sixth-seeded Volunteers (25-11) will face top-seeded Michigan in the Midwest Region final on Sunday. He Wolverines beat Alabama 90-77 behind a dominant performance from Yaxel Lendeborg.
Ament scored three three-pointers. Felix Okpara contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds. Jaylen Carey added 11 points and 10 rebounds, and the Volunteers outrebounded the Cyclones 43-22.
Nate Heise and Tamin Lipsey each scored 18 points for Iowa State, but the Cyclones clearly struggled without injured star Joshua Jefferson.
The All-America forward was injured minutes into the Cyclones’ March Madness opener against Tennessee State and did not play in their lopsided beat kentucky. He averaged 16.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists.
Advertisement
Tennessee led 34-33 at halftime after Okpara made two free throws in the final seconds and Lipsey missed a layup at the buzzer.
The Volunteers were up 44-39 when they went on a 13-4 run that Carey punctuated with a three-point play after a tip-in. The 6-foot-8, 267-pound forward turned toward the roaring Vols fans and flexed before sinking the free throw to make the score 57-43 with 11:47 remaining.