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Expectations were high entering the 2013-14 basketball season and by most accounts, Tennessee underachieved—through February anyway. A team which was expected to make the Big Dance easily, was one of the last four teams invited to the NCAA Tournament. But the funny thing about a tournament sport is teams have a chance to change the way they are remembered—a chance to change history so to speak.
Ladies and gentlemen, this 2014 Tennessee basketball team has changed the way fans will remember them.
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Led by a career-high 26 points from Josh Richardson, No. 11 seed Tennessee defeated 14th-seeded Mercer by a score of 83-63 on Sunday night to advance to the Sweet 16. It will be the school’s eighth appearance in the Sweet 16 and its fourth in the last eight years.
Josh Richardson shot lights out, hitting nine of his 13 attempts while setting the tone on defense.
“He’s just a guy that his shots are falling so he stayed aggressive,” Cuonzo Martin said of Richardson. “But I do think sometimes he gets consumed with his challenges on the defensive side of the ball, shutting guys down. But he just made shots. He was assertive. He can score the ball. He can shoot pull ups, he can make free throws.”
On the inside, Jarnell Stokes was once again a man among boys. The junior scored 17 points and grabbed 18 rebounds while playing 38 minutes (the most of any Tennessee player). It was Stokes’ 22nd double-double this season. By comparison, Mercer had just 19 rebounds.
Jarnell Stokes is a BEAST! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/iCKBKXvUNZ
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 24, 2014
“As a team, we’ve been doing that all year,” Stokes said when asking about the team’s domination of the boards. “I feel like now that it’s in the NCAA tournament, it’s getting a lot more attention. We always feel like we control the boards. That’s one thing that I always go into the game trying to make my imprint on.”
Antonio Barton stepped up with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting and Jordan McRae added 14.
After jumping out to an 8-0 lead, Tennessee never trailed.
“They isn’t really no story here,” Jeronne Maymon responded when asked if Tennessee is a ‘Cinderella’. “We’re supposed to be here. We got one of the best teams in the nation. We just come out and play like it. We one of the 16 still standing.”
“For us to be one of 16 teams still playing in America, that’s awesome,” senior Jordan McRae said.
The Vols will face the Michigan in the Sweet 16. The Wolverines defeated Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2011.
Tennessee has been really impressive – Happy 4 @CuonzoMartin a quality guy /coach Vols will be a stern foe 4 UM! http://t.co/j9JkRLxLY8
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) March 24, 2014
TENNESSEE VS MERCER HIGHLIGHTS
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