PHILADELPHIA (AP) 鈥� Ja鈥橩obi Gillespie and Bishop Boswell are roommates on the road and the Tennessee standouts suggested they spend almost every moment 鈥� from the practice court to the weight room to social activities 鈥� together.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 get enough of each other,鈥� Gillespie said.
How does another March Madness weekend as roomies sound?
Gillespie scored 21 points, Boswell and Nate Ament made critical free throws down the stretch and sixth-seeded Tennessee advanced to its fourth straight Sweet 16, beating Virginia 79-72 in the on Sunday.
鈥淭hey fought through a lot of things that maybe we didn鈥檛 have to,” coach Rick Barnes said, 鈥渂ut they found a way to fight through it.鈥�
The Vols (24-11) will face in a in Chicago on Friday night.
A year after he helped Maryland reach the Sweet 16, Gillespie led the way for the Vols. Tennessee has been a consistent first-weekend winner under the 71-year-old Barnes, who has yet to lead the school to the Final Four.
Gillespie had 50 points in two games in Philly 鈥� he scored 29
鈥淚 know how talented he is,鈥� Boswell said. 鈥淎ny time I attack the gap and I see him open, I鈥檓 betting it鈥檚 going in.鈥�
Even from long, long range.
Against No. 3 seed Virginia, Gilespie made the shot of the game on a as the shot clock expired and followed that with a tremendous lob pass for an alley-oop to J.P. Estrella for a 62-53 lead.
鈥淚 was definitely lucky,鈥� Gilespie said of the 3.
Yet Virginia 鈥� coming off its first NCAA Tournament win since its 2019 national championship 鈥� pushed the Vols to the limit over the final minutes.
The Cavaliers (30-6) trailed by two points and seemingly wasted an opportunity when Jacari White shot two airballs on the same possession to give the Vols the ball with 2:12 left.
No worries.
The Vols threw away the inbound pass and Virginia had a chance to make some happy March memories. Dallin Hall drove the lane and kicked the ball out to an open Thijs De Ridder for a 3 that put the Cavaliers ahead 71-70 with 2:03 left. De Ridder led Virginia with 22 points.
This lead wouldn’t last 鈥� no last-shot heroics necessary.
Ament hit two free throws for a 72-71 lead and Boswell made 1 of 2.
Again, White had a shot at tying the game, only the miss a layup and have the ball go off Hall as it bounced out of bounds. After a review that upheld the original call, Tennessee had possession, and Gillespie made six free throws in the final 30 seconds as the Vols celebrated yet another trip to the tournament’s second weekend.
Although it was tough to tell for sure on the slow-motion replay, Hall conceded he knocked the ball out of bounds.
鈥淚 knew it hit me, barely,鈥� he said. 鈥淯nfortunately, it worked out the way it did. It was a super-fast play, but there was a lot of opportunities, and it never comes down to the one play.鈥�
Ament, a gifted 6-foot-10 freshman who was scoreless in the first round, scored 16 points. Boswell hit four 3-pointers and had 13 points and nine assists.
Virginia has an NCAA Tournament win to build on
The Cavaliers lost in the first round or the First Four in 2021, 2023 and 2024, and title-winning coach Tony Bennett abruptly retired before last season. Ryan Odom took over this season and quickly turned the program around.
White followed up his 26-point effort in the opener against Wright State with just 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting.
鈥淟ot of tears in there,鈥� Odom said. 鈥淟ot of gratitude. You just have to put things in their proper perspective, which is not easy to do in moments like that.鈥�
Up next
The Cyclones beat Tennessee in 1969 but they鈥檝e lost their last two against the Volunteers, the first during a tournament in December 1977 and the most recent on Jan. 27, 2018, during the Big 12-SEC Challenge.
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