Despite leading 44-19 late in the first half, the Tennessee Volunteers needed overtime to beat Iowa, narrowly avoiding the biggest collapse in NCAA Tournament history.
When CBS announced that Iowa-Tennessee would be the first game of the day, many assumed it would be a boring affair. The Volunteers tried to bury Iowa early, racing out to a 44-19 lead and entering the break up 48-29, but they did their best to enter the record books for the wrong reasons.
The Hawkeyes surged in the second half, tying the game at 71 in the final seconds before forcing overtime. Tennessee took over at that point, outscoring Iowa 12-6 in the extra session to escape Columbus with an 83-77 win to advance to the Sweet 16.
If Iowa had finished off the comeback, Tennessee would have found itself among the biggest choke artists in tournament history. The Hawkeyes’ 21-point halftime deficit would have been the largest comeback in March Madness history, and the 25-point lead Tennessee could have blown would have tied Iona’s infamous First Four flop against BYU in 2012.
Other famous March choke jobs include Duke’s 22 point comeback against Maryland in the 2001 Final Four and Texas A&M rallying from 12 down with 44 seconds left to beat Northern Iowa in double overtime in 2016.
The Volunteers may have moved on, but they will have to play a lot better in order to get to the Elite Eight. Next up for Tennessee is a showdown with Purdue and high-scoring guard Carsen Edwards, who poured in 42 points to help the Boilermakers eliminate the defending champions, Villanova, last night.