Tennessee upsets Iowa State for third straight Elite Eight trip

Chicago – The tennessee The teams that reached the Elite Eight in 2024 and 2025 featured mainstays like Zakai Ziegler. The current team is made up of 11 newcomers, a new team with familiar goals.

Coach Rick Barnes thought that if all the new pieces fit into place, the Vols could accomplish great things.

“I remember the first day, in our meeting with Coach Barnes, he said we could win a national championship,” the forward said. jaylen careyTransferring from Vanderbilt. “We have the team to do it.”

Tennessee now has a chance after blowout win iowa state 76–62 at the United Center over Barnes to reach their third consecutive Elite Eight. The sixth-seeded Vols will face the No. 1 seed michigan A chance to claim the Midwest Regional on Sunday and reach the event’s first Final Four.

“We have some unfinished business,” the forward said felix okparaOne of the few Tennessee holdovers from the 2024-25 team.

Okpara, Carey and the Vols’ front line battled against the Cyclones during an impressive second half, both literally and figuratively, as the 267-pound Carey pointed to the crowd when Iowa State was forced to call a timeout with 12:57 left. Tennessee held massive leads in total rebounds (43-22), offensive rebounds (16-8) and points in the paint (42-30).

Carey and Okpara both recorded double-doubles, and four other Vols had four rebounds.

“Last year, we had no post presence,” Barnes said. “We knew at some point we had to get it again. I can’t say enough about Felix’s improvement, his development.”

How influential was Tennessee on the glass?

“We were fighting for every rebound and when we got it we were just breathless,” the Iowa State forward said. milan momsilovic Expressed condolences.

Tennessee’s internal struggles were highlighted in last year’s 69-50 Elite Eight loss to Houston, in which it held a 42-35 rebounding edge and held the Vols to 29 percent shooting. Okpara, who had nine rebounds in that loss, said that Tennessee “felt like we should have won that game,” but the Vols scored only 15 points in the first half.

They feel better equipped to take on Michigan’s huge front line this year and ultimately reach a program milestone. Before Barnes’ arrival, Tennessee had only made one Elite Eight, in 2010.

Barnes is looking for his first Final Four since guiding Texas in 2003.

Athletic director Danny White said, “Last year, I told Rick, ‘You’re turning Tennessee basketball into a blue blood,’ but that was three straight Sweet 16s, two straight Elite Eights.” “And now four straight Sweet 16s and three straight Elite Eights. It’s phenomenal. It’s fun to be around.”

Iowa State feels the loss of All-America forward joshua jeffersonWho worked to heal his left ankle sprain leading up to tip-off but ultimately could not play. An emotional Jefferson told reporters he was no closer to returning and had just started jogging but was still feeling pain. He didn’t think he would have been ready Sunday if Iowa State had advanced.

“It’s a really tough situation to deal with,” Cyclones coach TJ Otzelbarger said. “We did everything we could to get him there, get him ready to play, and it wasn’t enough. He’s a fierce competitor.”

ESPN’s Pete Thamel contributed to this report.