LAS VEGAS – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team rallied from an 11-point deficit midway through the first half to take down No. 3/2 Houston, 76-73, Tuesday evening in its second game of the Players Era Men’s Championship.
No. 17/16 Tennessee (7-0) claimed its 12th AP top-five win in the last 10 years under Rick Barnes behind a strong second-half defensive performance at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Senior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie made all nine of his free throws, including six in the final 35 seconds, and paced the victors with 22 points.
After Houston (6-1) went on an early 8-0 run in 47 seconds to go up by seven, the Volunteers responded with an 8-0 burst of their own in 1:43 to go in front, 11-10, with 15:13 on the first-half timer. However, the Cougars, who started 4-of-6 from deep, scored 17 of the next 22 points to gain a 27-16 edge at the 9:42 mark.
Tennessee, though, clawed its way back. Seven consecutive points late in the half made it a two-point game with 47 seconds to go before the break. Houston, which shot 50.0 percent (14-of-28) in the opening 20 minutes, scored the final basket of the session to take a 39-35 lead into the locker room.
Gillespie opened the second half with a three-point play just 29 seconds in to make it a one-point game. Tennessee went back in front with 12:32 left on a basket by redshirt sophomore forward J.P. Estrella, who then added a bucket to make it 49-46 with 11:16 remaining. Freshman forward Nate Ament added two free throws to extend the run to 10-0 in 5:47 and push the lead to five with 9:42 to play.
The Cougars snapped a 7:24 scoreless drought on a pair of free throws with 8:22 on the clock. After a Tennessee basket, Houston ended an 8:05 drought without a basket, as the Volunteers forced 11 straight misses during a 2-of-18 stretch for the reigning NCAA runner-up. Gillespie answered with a 3-pointer at the other end to give his team a game-high six-point lead, 56-50, just 53 ticks later.
Houston made five consecutive shots to get within one with 3:49 left and the two sides then exchanged 3-pointers to make it a 63-62 score with 2:35 to go. The Volunteers regained a four-point advantage 29 seconds later when senior forward Felix Okpara hit the first of two free throws and junior forward Jaylen Carey tipped in the second.
The teams then exchanged makes, the latter of which was a dunk by Carey with 75 seconds left. For the next eight possessions—four each way—in the final minute, Houston made a basket at one end and then Tennessee hit two free throws at the other. In addition to Gillespie’s six makes on as many tries, sophomore guard Bishop Boswell made his attempts.
The last field goal for the Cougars was a 3-pointer by freshman guard Kingston Flemings with seven ticks to go, but Gillespie calmly sank his final pair at the stripe two seconds later. Houston’s half-court heave at the buzzer felt then felt short and the Volunteers poured on to the court in jubilation.
Gillespie, who scored 20-plus points for the fourth time in the last six games, added four assists to co-lead the Volunteers. He also became the fourth Tennessee player in the last seven seasons (2019-26) to make nine-plus free throws without a miss.
Carey had a season-high 13 points off the bench, finishing 6-of-11 from the floor, and added a team-best seven rebounds. Boswell scored a career-high 10 points, connecting on all four of his field-goal attempts, while adding three assists, a game-leading three steals and one block. The three steals tied his career best, set one day prior, and the block doubled his career total.
Ament, who co-led Tennessee with four assists and grabbed five rebounds, and Okpara finished with nine points apiece.
Flemings led all scorers with 25 points for the Cougars. He shot 10-of-15 from the field, including 3-of-4 beyond the arc, and made both his free throws. Senior guard Milos Uzan added 17 points, but Tennessee held him to a 1-of-6 clip from long range. No other Cougar had even nine points in the contest.
The Volunteers shot 47.1 percent (24-of-51) from the floor against KenPom’s now-second-ranked defense in the nation. They had a 10-4 cushion in points off turnovers, despite both teams committing an equal nine giveaways, and a 24-11 margin in bench points.
With the win, Tennessee improved to 23-11 against AP top-15 foes since Dec. 22, 2021, including 8-6 against the top five. The team also improved to 39-28 in AP top-25 showdowns under Barnes, including 31-21 with both in the top 20. Its 31 AP top-25 wins over the last five seasons (2021-26) pace all Division I programs, while its 13 AP top-10 triumphs and eight AP top-five decisions co-lead the nation.
Additionally, the Volunteers now own 21 AP top-three wins in program history, six of which are in the last nine seasons (2018-26) under Barnes. Four of those six triumphs are on neutral floors.
Tennessee will play Kansas in the third place game at MGM Grand Garden Arena for its final outing of the Players Era Men’s Championship, live on TNT and HBO Max. Listen on 103.1FM WIKQ beginning with the Vol Network Tip Off Show at 6:30pm and Tip Off at 7pm.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
