It is difficult to beat the same team three times during the same season in university basketball.
This old adage was put to the test in Sweet 16 when Tennessee n ° 2 entered its match Sweet 16 against the seeded n ° 3, the Kentucky, seeking to avenge two previous defeats.
The Wildcats pulled a 12 out of 24 of the three-point beach in the two previous meetings, winning a 78-73 victory on January 28 and a 75-64 victory on February 11 to give volunteers two of their seven defeats.
It was clearly a focal point on Friday evening, because the volunteers did a much better job to continue the Wildcats of the perimeter, limiting them to only 6 out of 15 beyond the arc.
The volunteers built an advance of 43-28 at halftime and continued victory in the second half, with the leader of the veterans Zakai Zeigler (18 points, 10 assists) by recording a double-double, while Chaz Lanier (17 points) and Felix Okpara (11 rebounds, 7 offensive rebounds) also had a major impact.
All well considered, it was a solid first season at the helm of the Kentucky head coach Mark Pope, when he was forced to rebuild the alignment from zero following the departure of John Calipari.
For thefts, they have now made consecutive appearances to Elite Eit and seated a victory far from their first trip in the Final Four.
