COLUMBUS, Ohio _ Not this again. A year and a week after having their season ended in the Round of 32, the Tennessee Volunteers were on the verge of another heartbreak. This one would have been worse.
Last year's one-point loss to Loyola-Chicago could be written off to magic dust and Cinderella destiny. This time, it would have been their own darned fault. They let a 25-point first-half lead over Iowa slip away and had to endure overtime. The ending was much sweeter this time, an 83-77 win.
"I feel like a fifth grader who just ate Skittles," said Grant Williams, who scored six points and passed for the other three as Tennessee opened the extra session with a 9-0 burst that never allowed the Hawkeyes back in.
Williams, a junior and SEC Player of the Year, took charge. "I definitely wanted the ball. I knew I had to be aggressive, but I also knew my teammates were going to hit shots," he said.
Probably his biggest play in the stretch was the feed he made after he was double-teamed with 1:21 gone in OT. He spotted Jordan Bone across the court, passed and watched Bone make the three-pointer that put the Volunteers ahead 76-71 and take firm control of momentum.
There was symmetry in that, too. It was Bone who missed the shot at the buzzer last March 17 that sent Loyola to the Sweet 16. Bone had missed a shot at the end of regulation again Sunday, but it didn't matter. This time, it is Tennessee (31-5) that is headed to the second weekend.
"I would say the biggest thing is we're more appreciative for the fact we had another opportunity to play in a game like this," said Tennessee senior Admiral Schofield, who tied Williams for game high with 19 points (and is the son of a former U.S. Navy officer). "For it to almost go similar to what it was last year, it's almost nerve-wracking because it was a lot of pain for us.
"This year, we worked even harder and put ourselves in great position to be here. So to be back here and be on the other side of it, it feels great," Schofield said. "We won't take it for granted but the biggest thing we learned is we can dominate."
For long stretches, Tennessee showed why it was No. 1 in the country for a portion of this season. It has many skills, including the rebounding of Kyle Alexander. The senior forward was so effective, coach Rick Barnes said, that Schofield insisted in sitting out the overtime so Alexander could stay in. "You realize the players have a feel probably better than anybody in the building," Barnes said.
Iowa (23-12) showed plenty of feeling in coming all the way back. Hawkeyes fans roared when freshman Joe Weiskamp made two free throws to tie it with 20.8 seconds left. Luka Garza said that at halftime, with Iowa trailing 49-28, "Our leaders were stepping up and talking to each other to make sure we weren't going to go down without a fight."
Over 45 minutes, though, the Volunteers just had too much. "They play defense. They share the ball. They have go-to guys. They shoot the ball well," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. "They're going to be a tough out."
And this year, they are not out before the Sweet 16.
