#23/25 [6] Vols Reach Fourth Straight Sweet 16 with 79-72 Win over #9/8 [3] Virginia

Sunday, March 22

Philadelphia, PA

6:10 PM ET

University of Tennessee

24-11,11-7SEC

Virginia

30-6,15-3ACC

Tennessee

Virginia

#23/25 [6] Vols Reach Fourth Straight Sweet 16 with 79-72 Win over #9/8 [3] Virginia

March 22, 2026 | Men's Basketball

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PHILADELPHIA – The sixth-seeded University of Tennessee men's basketball team knocked off third-seeded Virginia, 79-72, Sunday evening in a top-25 clash at Xfinity Mobile Arena to claim its fourth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance.

No. 23/25 Tennessee (24-11, 11-7 SEC) got a team-high 21 points from senior guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie in a contest it trailed for just 3:07.

The Volunteers took an 8-3 lead after just 2:31 of action, but No. 9/8 Virginia (30-6, 15-3 ACC) quickly answered with 17 of the next 25 to go ahead by four, 20-16, with 11:51 on the timer. The Cavaliers capped the spurt by going 4-of-5 from deep over just 2:33 of action.

Tennessee responded by holding Virginia scoreless for 5:36 and forcing seven straight misses, posting a 12-0 run in 4:09. That gave the Volunteers a 28-20 edge with 6:34 left in the session. They went on to take a five-point lead, 36-31, into the intermission.

After allowing a 7-of-14 start, Tennessee limited the Cavaliers to just two makes on their next 16 field-goal attempts. Virginia hit its last two shots and entered the locker room at 11-of-32 (34.4 percent), including 6-of-16 (37.5 percent) from deep. Tennessee, meanwhile, had a 15-of-32 (46.9 percent) overall clip, a 5-of-11 (45.5 percent) figure beyond the arc and an 18-8 advantage in paint points.

Aided by a stretch of five consecutive makes from the floor, which concluded with a 3-pointer by senior guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee regained an eight-point margin, 54-46, with 12:53 remaining. The Volunteers stretched it to a game-best nine-point cushion, 57-48, just 2:22 after that.

The lead remained nine with under nine-and-a-half minutes to go, but the Cavaliers cut it down to three, 63-60, with 7:05 on the timer after connecting on five shots in a row, while Tennessee missed four straight at the other end. Sophomore guard Bishop Boswell doubled the Volunteers' lead 29 seconds later with his fourth 3-pointer of the night, doubling his career best.

Virginia upped its streak to seven consecutive makes and trimmed the margin to two, 66-64, with 5:36 to play. The Cavaliers missed their next shot, but grabbed the offensive rebound, got fouled and made two free throws to level the score, with 4:44 left, for the first time all half.

Redshirt sophomore forward J.P. Estrella put the Volunteers back in front 12 seconds later with a pair of free throws. After Virginia tied the score a half-minute later, Estrella responded with a baseline jumper to put Tennessee ahead, 70-68, with 3:37 to go.

The Cavaliers took their first lead of the second half on a 3-pointer by freshman forward Thijs De Ridder with 2:03 left. Freshman forward Nate Ament drilled two free throws just 26 seconds later to put the Volunteers back in front. Following a defensive stop, Boswell doubled the margin by splitting a pair of free throws with 46 ticks to go.

Tennessee then got another stop, after which Gillespie hit two shots at the line to make it 75-71 with 26 seconds left. The sequence then repeated, with the First Team All-SEC guard upping the lead to six with 13 ticks to play, capping a 7-0 run in 1:24.

Freshman guard Chance Mallory made a free throw to snap the Cavaliers' skid, but that was their final point of the night. Gillespie made two shots at the stripe to seal it and the Volunteers advanced to the regional semifinals.

Gillespie finished 6-of-14 from the field, 3-of-5 beyond the arc and a perfect 6-of-6 at the line. The Greeneville, Tenn., native added six assists in 38 minutes of action.

Ament totaled 16 points, 13 of which came in the second half, and went 7-of-8 at the line. Boswell finished with a co-career-high 13 points and a career-best nine assists, the latter mark leading all players. He also had zero turnovers in 35 minutes of court time.

Estrella and junior forward Jaylen Carey had 10 points apiece, with the former shooting 4-of-4 and the latter going 4-of-5. Senior forward Felix Okpara added seven points, a game-best eight rebounds and a game-high four blocks, the latter mark matching his season best.

De Ridder paced all scorers with 22 points for the Cavaliers, as he went 8-of-14 from the field, 4-of-6 beyond the arc and 2-of-4 at the line. He chipped in five rebounds and two assists, as well.

Graduate guard Malik Thomas had 12 points, while Mallory and graduate guard Jacari White both scored 10. The latter scored all of his points in the first half and Tennessee held him to a 3-of-12 clip overall, including a 2-of-9 ledger from deep.

Overall, Tennessee limited Virginia to a 27-of-69 (39.1 percent) ledger from the field. The Cavaliers made just one of their final 10 shots in the last five-and-a-half minutes. Meanwhile, the victors, who had 20 assists, shot 26-of-55 (47.3 percent), including 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) from long range, and had a 24-12 edge in bench points.

The Volunteers will now head to Chicago, where they take the United Center court Friday against second-seeded, sixth-ranked Iowa State in the Sweet 16. 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 860 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 33-28 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including 29-27 in regulation, 11-8 in the second round, 14-7 under Barnes, 2-0 in Pennsylvania and 2-2 against Virginia.
• Tennessee moved to 5-1 as a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament, as well as to 3-2 against No. 3 seeds, 15-20 versus single-digit seeds and 5-13 against higher seeds.
• Sunday marked the fifth straight NCAA Tournament Round of 32 appearance for Tennessee, tying the program record set from 1978-89 to 1982-83.
• The Volunteers now own a four-year streak of reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time ever, doubling the prior program best.
• The only schools in the country to make the Sweet 16 in (at least) each of the last four seasons are, as of now, Tennessee and Houston, while Alabama can join that group later tonight.
• Tennessee became the first team in the 64/68-team era (since 1985) to play a 30-win opponent in both the Round of 64 and the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.
• Barnes' 14 NCAA Tournament wins at Tennessee are six more than any other coach in program history, while his eight appearances are two more.
• This is the 11th time Barnes has led his team to the Sweet 16, including the fifth in eight NCAA Tournament appearances—all in the last seven events, since 2019—at Tennessee.
• Barnes improved to 35-29 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.
• The Volunteers are now 8-9 all-time in Pennsylvania, including 4-1 at neutral sites and 2-0 in postseason competition.
• Tennessee now sports a 7-8 all-time record against Virginia, including a 6-4 ledger in the last 10 games after starting 2-4 versus the Cavaliers.
• The two sides—they also played last season in Nassau, Bahamas—have now met at six different neutral sites, with Tennessee owning a 3-3 mark.
• The Volunteers improved to 128-102 all-time versus current ACC schools, including to 3-7 ledger in NCAA Tournament competition.
• Barnes is now 87-78 against the current ACC membership, including 17-6 with the Volunteers, with the latter mark featuring a 10-2 count the past five years (2021-26) and a 2-1 tally this season.
• The Cavaliers are now the second team Tennessee has played four times in the NCAA Tournament, joining Michigan (1-3).
• The Volunteers are now 3-0 versus AP top-11 teams this season, owning prior wins over third-ranked Houston (Nov. 25 in Las Vegas) and No. 11 Louisville (Dec. 16 at home).
• The Volunteers moved to 41-33 (.554) in AP top-25 clashes under Barnes, including 20-13 (.606) in their last 33 such games, since Dec. 9, 2023.
• Tennessee is now 49-48 (.505) versus AP top-25 foes in the Barnes era, including 33-21 (.611) in its past 54 such contests, dating to Jan. 22, 2022.
• The Volunteers improved to 43-38 (.531) against AP top-20 teams under Barnes' tutelage, including 29-15 (.659) in their last 44 such outings, extending to Jan. 22, 2022.
• Tennessee is now 32-29 (.525) when facing AP top-15 competition in the Barnes era, including 25-12 (.677) in its last 37 such affairs, since Dec. 22, 2021.
• The Volunteers moved to 19-17 (.528) versus AP top-10 foes under Barnes, including to 14-8 (.636) in their last 22 such games, since Dec. 22, 2021.
• Across the last six seasons (2020-26), the Volunteers have played just 28 games as a lower-ranked team and now own a 16-12 record, including a 6-5 ledger versus non-SEC teams.
• Tennessee has logged double-digit offensive rebounds in 34 of 35 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 31 of 35 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 30 occasions, with 17-plus in 20 games, 20-plus in nine and 23-plus in four.
• Across its 35 games this season, Tennessee has now played five (3-2) that did not feature a double-digit lead for either side.
• The two sides combined for just four turnovers in the first half and Tennessee committed just one, its lowest mark of the season.
• The last time five Volunteers scored in double figures was Jan. 13, 2026, in a double-overtime home victory over Texas A&M.
• Gillespie's 21 points pushed his total this year to 644, pushing him from No. 21 up to co-No. 16 on Tennessee's single-season leaderboard.
• Ament's seven free throws increased his total this year to 190, passing Allan Houston (189 in 1991-92) for third-most in a season in program history.
• The 13 points for Boswell matched the career best he has logged three prior times, all this season, with the most recent instance Feb. 24 at Missouri.
• Boswell, who opened the scoring with a 3-pointer just six seconds into the contest, went 3-of-4 from 3-point range in the first 16 minutes, already giving him three long-range makes for the first time as a collegian.
• The nine assists for Boswell, eight of which came in the first 30 minutes, set a new career best, eclipsing the eight he had Feb. 11, 2026, at Mississippi State.
• Boswell also reached five assists in the first 18 minutes alone, already giving him his sixth five-assist showing at Tennessee.
• Carey scored in double figures for the 33rd time in his career, including the 13th this season and the third in the last seven contests.
• Okpara's four blocks tied his season high, as he reached that number for the fourth time, with the most recent occurrence coming March 7 against Vanderbilt.