DETROIT, Mich. — In the secondDETROIT, MI — Currently placed sixth and in second place Tennessee, rated 11th and third, opened the second half with a 21-4 surge, and The Vols defeated Creighton 82-75 in the late-night Midwest Regional Semifinal in Detroit on Friday, despite a valiant effort by the team.
After defeating Gonzaga 80-68 in the first game of the evening, top-seeded Purdue (32-4) will take on the Volunteers (27-8) in the Regional Final on Sunday. With a 25-10 record at the end of the season, Creighton has won more games than it has since finishing 25-10 in 2016–17.
In the last game of his incredible career, Baylor Scheierman led CU with 25 points and six rebounds. He and fellow senior Ryan Kalkbrenner (14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks) both participated in all but the last five seconds of play.
Initial Team All-American Tennessee’s top scorer, Dalton Knecht, added 26 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Zakai Zeigler ended with eighteen points, six assists, four rebounds, and six fouls while never leaving the court. Josiah-Jordan James finished with fifteen points to complete UT’s double-figure trio. From 11 to 24, the Volunteers made 41.8 percent of their field goals and 45.8 percent of their shots from downtown. In addition to outscoring CU 10-0 off turnovers, 18-5 in transition, and 15-4 off the bench, UT won the rebounding battle 36–34.
It was a good first half. With 5:06 remaining in the first half, Alexander’s thee-point play and Scheierman’s deep three-pointer helped square the game at 24 all. The next possession, Ashworth swished a three-pointer.
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