Two-seed Tennessee advanced to the Elite Eight with a win over three-seed Creighton in the Sweet 16 round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Friday night in Detroit, Michigan.
The Vols defeated the Blue Jays by a score of 82-75 to advance to their second Elite Eight in program history and their first in the Rick Barnes era. Tennessee has a stout matchup on the horizon, though, with 1-seed Purdue looming on Sunday afternoon at 2:20 p.m. ET with a spot in the Final Four on the line.
Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht led the team with 24 points while Zakai Zeigler added 18 of his own. Josiah-Jordan James rounded out Tennessee’s top trio of scorers with 17 points on the night. With senior guard Santiago Vescovi out for the game with an illness, Jahmai Mashack was thrust into the starting role and finished with the second-highest plus/minus (+12) on the team.
Creighton led Tennessee by one point at halftime, but the Vols’ offense orchestrated an 18-0 run in the second half to give Tennessee the room they needed to get to the finish line. Knecht scored or assisted on 16 of the 18 points during the Vols’ five-minute game-changing run.
After the game, Tennessee had Zeigler, Mashack, and James meet with the media next to head coach Rick Barnes to discuss the outcome of the game. The players talked about the ins and outs of the on-court matchup, lineup changes on short notice, and much more.
More from RTI: Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes Talks Win Over Creighton in the Sweet 16
More from RTI: Social Media Reacts to Tennessee Advancing to the Elite Eight With a Win Over Creighton
Check out Tennessee’s postgame players interview from Friday night (Saturday morning) in Detroit below:
