Tennessee is March Madness dancing to program-best 3rd straight Sweet 16 with 67-58 win over UCLA

By Canadian Press on March 22, 2025.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Chaz Lanier made 4 of 5 3-pointers and finished with 20 points, and No. 2 seed Tennessee advanced to a program-record third straight Sweet 16, beating seventh-seeded UCLA 67-58 in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night.

The Volunteers (29-7) will play either sixth-seeded Illinois or No. 3 seed Kentucky, who play Sunday in Milwaukee. The Midwest Region semifinals will be Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Lanier also set the Tennessee single-season record for 3s with 120, topping the 118 by Chris Lofton in 2007-08. Lofton was in the stands at Rupp Arena to witness Lanier’s performance.

Zakai Zeigler added 15 points for Tennessee, and Jordan Gainey had 13 points to help the Vols take a 19-point lead with 5:15 left.

UCLA (23-11) made its earliest exit from the tournament in the six-year tenure of coach Mick Cronin.

This was just the second meeting between these programs and first since 1977, a game won in a rout by UCLA in Atlanta. Tennessee took this round with smothering defense, holding UCLA to the fewest points the Bruins had scored in a loss this season.

UCLA last led 25-24.

Tennessee scored the final eight points of the first half and led 32-25. The Vols, with Zeigler and Mashack two of the four finalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award, held UCLA scoreless over the final 3:21 of the half.

Skyy Clark, limited to barely three minutes of play in the first half by foul trouble, finished with 18 points for UCLA. Tyler Bilodeau added 15.

Takeaways

UCLA: The Bruins came in with the Big Ten’s best scoring defense, holding opponents to 65.2 points a game. They committed just 11 turnovers compared to the Vols’ 18, giving them fewer than their opponent in 28 of 34 games this season.

Tennessee: The Vols led the Southeastern Conference by allowing just 63 points a game and limiting opponents to 38.4% shooting — fourth stingiest in the nation. They also led the SEC and were third in the country in defending 3s with teams shooting just 28.2% outside the arc. The Vols shot 11 of 22 from 3.

Key moment

The Vols opened the second half by outscoring UCLA 14-6. Cronin took a timeout with 14:11 left after Lanier hit his fourth 3, capping a 9-0 spurt for a 46-31 lead.

Up next

Tennessee is two wins away from the program’s first Final Four berth in a season where the Vols spent five weeks ranked No. 1 in the country. Cronin got UCLA back to the tournament after last year’s miss, with the Bruins turning in a good inaugural season in the Big Ten.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.

Teresa M. Walker, The Associated Press

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