#23/25 [6] Vols Rout [11] Miami (OH), 78-56, in First Round of NCAA Tournament

Friday, March 20

Philadelphia, PA

4:25 PM ET

University of Tennessee

23-11,11-7SEC

Miami (OH)

32-2,18-0MAC

Miami (OH)

Tennessee

#23/25 [6] Vols Rout [11] Miami (OH), 78-56, in First Round of NCAA Tournament

March 20, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Season Stats VIDEO: Rick Barnes, J.P. Estrella & Ja'Kobi Gillespie Postgame vs. Miami (OH) (3.20.26)

PHILADELPHIA – The sixth-seeded University of Tennessee men's basketball team opened its program-best eighth straight NCAA Tournament appearance with a commanding 78-56 victory over No. 11-seeded Miami (OH) at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

No. 23/25 Tennessee (23-11, 11-7) advanced to the Round of 32 for the fifth year in a row, tying a program record, and doubled the RedHawks' loss total on the year in a game it led by as many as 26. Senior guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie dropped a game-high 29 points, tied for the third-best total ever by a Volunteer in the NCAA Tournament, in the dominant win.

Miami (OH) (32-2, 18-0 MAC) hit a 3-pointer on each of its first two possessions to take an early four-point lead and, after its third long-range make on its fourth attempt, a 13-10 tally at the 16:18 mark. The Volunteers then countered with a 21-4 run over 7:55 to claim a 31-17 edge with 7:55 on the first-half timer, plus held the RedHawks without a point for 4:32

During a span of 6:22 in which it did not allow a made field goal, forcing five misses in a row, Tennessee pushed its margin to 16 points, 37-21, with 5:03 left in the frame. It upped the cushion all the way to 20, 43-23, with 2:41 on the timer, making it a 33-10 extended run over 12:51 of action.

The Volunteers ultimately took a 19-point advantage, 51-32, into the locker room. Gillespie scored 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including a 5-of-6 clip from deep. As a team, Tennessee went 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) beyond the arc, while the RedHawks made just one of their final 10 tries of the half to finish it 4-of-14 (28.6 percent).

Tennessee continued its onslaught early in the second session and used a 7-0 run over 2:45 to go up by a game-best 26 points, 62-36, with 11:45 remaining. That came during a 4:21 stretch in which it did not allow a point and forced five straight misses.

Miami (OH) cut the margin down to 17, 64-47, with 8:12 to go, but the Volunteers scored the next four points to go back ahead by 21 just 73 ticks later. The 32-win RedHawks never got closer than 18 the rest of the way and Tennessee earned a 22-point decision.

Gillespie finished 11-of-21 from the field, including 6-of-11 from deep to tie his career-best mark in long-range makes. He added a game-best nine assists, tied for the third-most of his career and for the seventh-most by a Volunteer in the NCAA Tournament. Gillespie, a First Team All-SEC honoree, also paced all players with three steals.

The Greeneville, Tenn., native is just the ninth player in history to tally 29 points, nine assists and three steals in an NCAA Tournament game, including the first in the SEC and the second in the last 30 seasons (1996-97 to 2025-26).

Redshirt sophomore forward J.P. Estrella recorded 14 points and a game-best 10 rebounds for his fifth collegiate double-double, plus notched a career-high two steals. Senior forward Felix Okpara totaled 12 points, making all five of his field goals and both his free throws.

Senior guard Peter Suder finished as the only RedHawk in double figures, as he accumulated 27 points in the setback. The MAC Player of the Year went 7-of-12 from the field, 4-of-7 on 3-pointers and 9-of-10 at the stripe.

The rest of the players on the Miami (OH) roster combined for 29 points on a 12-of-44 field-goal ledger, a 3-of-22 3-point tally and a 2-of-4 free-throw count.

The Volunteers registered a 42-25 edge in the rebounding column and a 40-16 cushion in paint points. They also shot 31-of-59 (52.2 percent) overall, including 9-of-20 (45.0 percent) from deep.

Up next for Tennessee is an NCAA Tournament second-round matchup Sunday against third-seeded Virginia, ranked No. 9/8, at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The game time and television network are still to be determined.

To keep up with the University of Tennessee men's basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.

TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES
• Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes now owns 859 victories in his career, still good for second place among all active Division I head coaches and for No. 10 all-time (min. 10 years in Division I).
• The Volunteers are now 32-28 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including 28-27 in regulation, 18-8 in the first round, 13-7 under Barnes, 1-0 in Pennsylvania and 1-0 against Miami (OH).
• Tennessee moved to 4-1 as a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament, as well as to 3-2 against No. 11 seeds, 18-4 versus double-digit seeds and 27-11 against lower seeds.
• Friday marked the eighth straight NCAA Tournament appearance—all as a top-six seed—for Tennessee, extending the program record.
• The Volunteers now own a five-year streak of reaching the Round of 32 for the second time ever, joining an equal mark from 1978-79 to 1982-83.
• Barnes' 13 NCAA Tournament wins at Tennessee are five more than any other coach in program history, while his eight appearances are two more.
• This is the 18th time in 30 trips to the NCAA Tournament that Barnes has led his team to the Round of 32, including the seventh in eight appearances at Tennessee.
• Barnes moved to 34-28 all-time in NCAA Tournament play as a head coach, still good for the sixth-most victories of any active Division I head coach and the second-most in the SEC.
• Tennessee is now 7-9 all-time in Pennsylvania, including 3-1 at neutral sites, with this its first postseason game in the state.
Tennessee improved to 5-2 in its all-time series with Miami (OH), including to 1-1 at neutral sites and 1-0 in the postseason, with this the teams' first meeting since Dec. 1, 1999.
• The Volunteers are now 16-5 versus current MAC schools, including 3-0 in NCAA Tournament competition.
• Barnes, meanwhile, improved to 5-1 against the current MAC membership, with this his first such contest as the head coach at Tennessee.
• The last time Miami (OH) lost to a non-MAC school was over 15 months ago, on Dec. 18, 2024, at Vermont, 75-67.
• The RedHawks' last loss by greater than four points was a 75-66 decision at Ohio on March 1, 2025, while their last setback by double digits was a 76-66 result on Feb. 18, 2025, at Eastern Michigan.
• Tennessee has logged double-digit offensive rebounds in 33 of 34 games this year, with 15-plus in 21 outings, 17-plus 13 times and 20-plus on seven occasions, with a high of 26.
• The Volunteers have grabbed at least 35 total boards in 30 of 34 contests, with 40-plus in 21, 42-plus in 18, 45-plus in 15 and 50-plus in six, with a top tally of 60.
• Through 34 outings thus far, Tennessee has amassed 13-plus assists on 29 occasions, with 17-plus in 19 games, 20-plus in eight and 23-plus in four.
• Across its 34 games this season, Tennessee has played just four (2-2) that did not feature a double-digit lead for either side.
• Tennessee, which registered its ninth 50-point half of the season, has now scored 50-plus points in a half 24 times in the past three years (2023-26) after doing so 11 total times in the prior four campaigns (2019-23) combined.
• The last time the Volunteers scored 50-plus points in a half in the NCAA Tournament was on March 17, 2022, when it tallied 54 before the break against Longwood in Indianapolis.
• Gillespie is now the fifth player in Tennessee history to register 70-plus steals in a campaign, with this the third time in five years it has happened, including the second in a row.
• The 71 steals for Gillespie put him in fourth place on the program's single-season leaderboard, as he eclipsed Zakai Zeigler's 70 last year.
• Gillespie now owns the eighth instance in program history of a Tennessee player attempting 500-plus field goals in a campaign.
• The 29 points for Gillespie matched Chaz Lanier (March 20, 2025, versus Wofford) for the third-most by a Tennessee player in NCAA Tournament history, trailing only the 37 by Dalton Knecht (March 31, 2024, versus Purdue) and the 36 by Ernie Grunfeld (March 13, 1976, versus VMI).
• This is the third straight year a Tennessee player has poured in 29-plus points in an NCAA Tournament game after it happened just once in the Volunteers' first 27 appearances.
• Gillespie is just the ninth Tennessee player—11th instance—with 25-plus points in the NCAA Tournament, joining Ernie Grunfeld (twice), Dalton Knecht (twice), Reggie Johnson, Chaz Lanier, Chris Lofton, Olivier Nkamhoua and Jarnell Stokes.
• This is the fourth year in a row a Volunteer—Gillespie follows Nkamhoua, Knecht and Lanier—has scored 25-plus points in NCAA Tournament action after it happened just seven times previously.
• Gillespie is also the 23rd Volunteer—36th occurrence—to compile 20-plus points in an NCAA Tournament affair.
• Over half of Gillespie's collegiate showings with 25-plus points—four of his seven—are this year with the Volunteers.
• In addition, of Gillespie's 28 performances with 20-plus points, half of them are during the 2025-26 season at Tennessee.
• Gillespie's six made 3-pointers, which came in his first eight attempts, tied the career high he recorded Nov. 24, 2025, in a matchup with Rutgers in Las Vegas.
• The 11 makes for Gillespie tied the second-highest figure of his career and marked his seventh time reaching double figures, including his third at Tennessee.
• The 22 first-half points for Gillespie put him one shy of his most in a frame this season, as he tallied 23 before the break in that same game versus Rutgers.
• The eight first-half made field goals by Gillespie matched his most in a stanza this year, both against the Scarlet Knights and Jan. 6 versus Texas, each before the intermission.
• Before Gillespie, just eight players have posted 29 points, nine assists and three steals in an NCAA Tournament game: Kansas State's Markquis Nowell (March 25, 2023, versus Florida Atlantic), Georgia Tech's Stephon Marbury (March 17, 1996, versus Boston College), UNLV's Anderson Hunt ( March 25, 1990, versus Loyola Marymount), UTEP's Tim Hardaway (March 17, 1989, versus LSU), Providence's Billy Donovan (March 12, 1987, versus UAB), Michigan State's Magic Johnson (March 24, 1979, versus Penn), Michigan's Rickey Green (March 13, 1977, versus Holy Cross) and Oral Roberts' Sam McCants (March 14, 1974, versus Louisville).
• The double-double by Estrella made him the 15th Volunteer—21st instance—to tally a double-double in an NCAA Tournament affair, including the 14th—18th occurrence—with rebounds.
• Estrella is now one of 17 players in Tennessee history—20 occurrences—to amass double-digit rebounds in an NCAA Tournament outing,
• Estrella posted the fifth double-double of his career, all of which have come this season, including his second in the last four games.
• Friday's contest also marked the fifth time Estrella has pulled down double-digit rebounds as a Volunteer.
• Additionally, Estrella had multiple steals for the first time as a collegian, logging two in the opening 12 minutes alone.
• Seven Volunteers made their NCAA Tournament debuts Friday: senior guard Amaree Abram, freshman forward Nate Ament, freshman forward DeWayne Brown II, sophomore guard Ethan Burg, freshman guard Amari Evans, freshman guard Troy Henderson and freshman guard Clarence Massamba.