Tri-State Morning Tip-Off
Tennessee 78 UK 75
After getting swept by UK in the regular season, the third time was the charm for Tennessee, who is Elite 8 bound for a second consecutive season. The Vols pounced on the Cats early, out hustling and outplaying the UK. The Vols dominated the glass in building a 19 point lead in the first half. UK was held 20 points under their season scoring average. Their 65 points matched their fewest in a game this season. A gutty Lamont Butler (18 points) narrowed Tennessee’s lead to 60-48 on a three-pointer with a little more than 9:00 left. But Felix Okpara’s putback dunk, Chaz Lanier’s steal and Zakai Zeigler’s three-pointer produced five UT points in :05 and the Wildcats were done. UK finishes 24-12 in coach Mark Pope’s first season.
Houston 62 Purdue 60
Boilermaker heartbreak. Milos Uzan’s give-and-get layup off an inbounds pass with 0.9 left gave the top-seeded Cougars a 62-60 victory. The Cougars made only one other basket over the final 8:00, blew a 10-point lead and then missed two more shots in the final :05. A replay review with 2.2 left confirmed Houston possession when the ball rolled out of bounds after the second miss. That’s when Houston coach Kelvin Sampson drew up the winning play. Fletcher Loyer scored 16 points, Trey Kaufman-Renn had 14 and Braden Smith added seven points and 15 assists for fourth-seeded Purdue (24-12). Smith assisted on all 11 second-half baskets. Purdue is now 0-9 all-time against No. 1 seeds. Houston takes a 16 game winning streak into Sunday’s matchup with Tennessee in Sunday's Elite Eight.