Tennessee Beats Duke, Advances To Sweet Sixteen

No one gave the Tennessee Volunteers a legitimate chance of beating Duke, but the Vols have pulled off the upset and are on to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Tennessee entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed, which reflects an impressive season. Many schools wish they had a season like the Vols, but the country was down on them. Some had them as a popular upset pick in round one, while the remaining few had them out against Duke in round two.

Fortunately for Tennessee, the games aren't played on paper or radio shows. The Volunteers came out with a revamped mindset, becoming the aggressor and bringing the action to the Blue Devils. Center Uros Plavsic picked up two early fouls that seemed unnecessary but delivered a message: we aren't intimidated.

Santiago Vescovi, Tennessee G

Forward Olivier Nkamhoua had the game of his life, logging 27 points and four rebounds. He was 10-12 from the field and was perfect on his three tries from three. The stats read like the Blue Devils escaped Orlando with a win, but Tennessee's three-point shooting was too much.

The Vols will now play the winner of Florida Atlantic and Fairleigh Dickinson. FAU pulled off a last-second upset over Memphis while Fairleigh Dickinson made history, becoming just the second No. 16 seed to win their first-round game.

March has been kind to the Vols thus far. It will only get harder from here. Nonetheless, Tennessee has already eclipsed the public's expectations. They hope to make the Final Four for the first time in program history, and they took an excellent step on Saturday.

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