Duke beats Tennessee 65-52 in second round, as Volunteers move to first Sweet 16 since 2019
Duke was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament in the second round, after losing 65-52 to Tennessee in a second-round matchup.
Olivier Nkamhoua tied his career high with 27 points, including 13 straight for Tennessee in a decisive second-half span, and the fourth-seeded Volunteers beat Duke on Saturday to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019 .
Tennessee (25-10) ended Duke’s 10-game winning streak and sent first-year coach Jon Scheyer, charged with replacing Mike Krzyzewski, home after just two NCAA Tournament games.
Nkamhoua put an exclamation point on Tennessee’s victory with a slam dunk with 1:15 left. This prompted Vols fans to start chanting and sent many Duke fans heading for the exits.
Tennessee advances to face either Florida Atlantic or Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The Tennessee Volunteers advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2019
Tennessee forward Jonas Aidoo (0) reacts in front of Duke center Kyle Filipowski
Tyrese Proctor #5 of the Duke Blue Devils shoots the ball over Olivier Nkamhou
Duke was condemned to a second-round exit under first-year head coach Jon Scheyer
Duke couldn’t handle Tennessee’s physical style all afternoon. The Volunteers set the tone early, clearly wanting to push Kyle Filipowski and get in the faces of guards Jeremy Roach and Tyrese Proctor.
Vols big man Uros Plavsic picked up two offensive fouls in the first four minutes, both on Filipowski. Duke’s 7-footer later took an elbow to his face and ended up with a small cut under his left eye.
The Blue Devils trailed by six at halftime and were unable to take control of the game despite cutting the Volunteers’ lead to two in the second half.
Proctor struggled to get the ball in several times, got a five-second call, turned it over once and almost gave it away again. Roach had more issues, finishing the first half with three fouls and four turnovers.
Meanwhile, the Vols took better care of the ball than they did in their first-round victory over Louisiana-Lafayette. They turned it over just nine times, the fewest since point guard Zakai Zeigler suffered a season-ending knee injury last month.
Proctor led Duke with 16 points. Roach and Filipowski each chipped in 13.
