Tennessee hands Duke early March Madness exit to clinch Sweet 16 berth at MSG

Olivier Nkamhoua tied his vocation precocious with 27 points, including 13 consecutive for Tennessee during a decisive span successful the 2nd half, and the fourth-seeded Volunteers bushed Duke 65-52 connected Saturday to beforehand to the Sweet 16 for the archetypal clip since 2019.

Tennessee (25-10) ended Duke’s 10-game winning streak and sent first-year manager Jon Scheyer, charged with replacing Mike Krzyzewski, location aft conscionable 2 NCAA Tournament games. Not definite Coach K could person done immoderate antithetic to combat these Vols, who utilized a marque of “bully ball” to nonstop the fifth-seeded Blue Devils (27-9) packing.

Nkamhoua enactment an exclamation people connected Tennessee’s triumph with an emphatic slam with 1:15 remaining. It prompted Vols fans to commencement chanting and sent galore Duke fans toward the exits.

Tennessee precocious to look Florida Atlantic oregon Fairleigh Dickinson connected Thursday astatine Madison Square Garden successful New York City.

The triumph punches Tennessee’s summons to the Sweet 16.Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Duke didn’t grip Tennessee’s carnal benignant precise good each afternoon. The Volunteers acceptable the code early, intelligibly wanting to propulsion astir Kyle Filipowski and get hands successful the faces of guards Jeremy Roach and Tyrese Proctor.

Vols large antheral Uros Plavsic picked up 2 violative fouls successful the archetypal 4 minutes, some going against Filipowski. Duke’s 7-footer aboriginal took an elbow to his look and ended up with a tiny chopped nether his near eye.

Proctor struggled to inbound the shot respective times, getting a five-second call, turning it implicit erstwhile and astir giving it up again. Roach had adjacent much issues, finishing the archetypal fractional with 3 fouls and 4 turnovers.

Duke prima Kyle Filipowski sustained a chopped nether his oculus during the game.AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack

The Vols, meanwhile, took overmuch amended attraction of the shot than they did successful their first-round triumph against Louisiana-Lafayette. They turned it implicit conscionable 9 times, their fewest since constituent defender Zakai Zeigler sustained a season-ending genu wounded past month.

Proctor led Duke with 16 points. Roach and Filipowski chipped successful 13 apiece.