How about that! The old man knows something.
Rick Barnes, 68, had the feeling that famous-name Duke, one of the hottest teams in the country, might not be tough enough to tangle with Tennessee. He was right.
The start was bruising and a wee bit bloody, sort of knock-down-and-drag-out. It settled into what looked like a street fight. Uros Plavsic was penalized for being in the middle of it.
The Volunteers played defense as if it really mattered. The very young Blue Devils, five-star freshmen starters, brilliant talents, had never been so physically challenged. They did not flee but they lost, 65-52. That was the very official end of a 10-game winning streak. Duke had blasted Oral Roberts on Thursday. The Atlantic Coast Conference champions had won 18 of 19.
Olivier Nkamhoua had 27 points in the 65-52 win over Duke on March 18 in Orlando. Nkamhoua hit three of four threes, seven of nine two-point shots and four of five free throws. (Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics)
Senior Vol Olivier Nkamhoua poured in 27 points for Tennessee on one of the best shooting afternoons of his life. Coaching was a factor. Duke went to a zone after back-to-back three-pointers from Santiago Vescovi. Barnes immediately dispatched Olivier to the soft spot in the middle of the zone. He applied the knockout.
Great game: Nkamhoua hit three of four threes, seven of nine two-point shots and four of five free throws. It was stunning.
The victory was meaningful. Tennessee now advances to the Sweet 16 in downtown New York, Madison Square Garden, against the winner of Florida Atlantic versus Fairleigh Dickinson.
“We’re really proud of our team, obviously,” said Barnes.
He recognized the effort that went into preparation. He recognized how the Vols stayed unified despite the string of injuries and some criticism from discouraged fans who thought the season was over.
“I know these guys have an extreme amount of pride and belief in each other, and they’ve worked hard to get here. They wanted to win this two-game tournament. We obviously beat an outstanding team.
“Olivier played great basketball; certainly, Santi did what he does every game. Just a total team effort, so proud after what we’ve gone through the last month. I’ll tell you what, no team is more deserving.”
Plavsic ignited the combat. He decked two Dukies with flying elbows. Both times officials reran the video before deciding it was just rugged basketball instead of deliberate hostility.
Vol defense was outstanding but the team missed six consecutive shots and eight of nine. Duke gained a 19-13 lead. For a little while, it was Vescovi against the world. He hit a three and a pair of free throws. Jonas Aidoo led a 9-0 run that left Duke down 27-21 at intermission.
Aidoo, a Durham, N.C., native, was a key factor on both ends in the first half. He had eight points, four rebounds and a couple of blocks. His long arms made it difficult for Duke to run in-bounds plays.
Tennessee had 12 points off Duke’s 11 turnovers.
In the second half, two more Vescovi threes caused the Blue Devils to try the zone defense. Nkamhoua destroyed it.
Tennessee played what was near enough to a complete game. The Blue Devils hit two of 11 threes in the second half. The Vols hit six of 11. Tennessee won the rebound battle. Tennessee defense broke up most set plays. The condensed summation was full-grown men against young men. Some of them will soon be going pro. They are good. Tyrese Proctor scored 16. Kyle Filipowski and Jeremy Roach had 13 each.
Alas, 52 points was Duke’s low output this season.
Nkamhoua was asked if maturity and experience versus youthful ability dictated a get-tough game plan.
“That’s what we do. We’re a tough, hard-nosed team,” said Olivier. “That’s how we play everybody. But knowing that they had a lot of freshmen, we knew that if we apply more pressure and be physical, then they would have to deal with it.
“What we were saying before the game was we were going to bring them into the mud with us and make them play a tough, hard-nosed game and see if they were ready for it.
“We prepare for a dogfight every game, so when we get people playing our game – you always want people to play your game – you want to get people playing at your pace. It just guarantees that we’re going to be in our element. We play through defense and then we figure it out on the offensive end.”
Nkamhoua recalled something he said previously.
“I said that people got to be ready for us. It’s not going to be just one hit; it’s going to be continuous hits.”
Olivier was confident coming into this game.
“We love the smoke. We love to play tough teams. And we relish the opportunity to play in these big and bigger games. The bigger the lights, the brighter the lights, the more excited we are. We’re not shying away from the moment.”
Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com.