Ja’Kobi Gillespie confessed, yes, he was trying to reach 30 points when he attacked the lane late in Tennessee‘s March Madness rout, only for somebody to smack his arm.
Gillespie’s wayward shot attempt turned into a lob and a basket for a teammate in a game where even little slipups resulted in points for the Volunteers.
Gillespie hit six 3-pointers and scored 29 points as sixth-seeded Tennessee ended a fabulous season for Miami (Ohio) with a 78-56 win Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
“When he starts making shots, he’s unstoppable to guard him,” Volunteers forward J.P. Estrella said. “When we get him in a flow, there’s nothing teams can really do about him.”
The Volunteers (23-11) shook off a rough end to the season — losing four of six games — and advanced to play third-seeded Virginia on Sunday in the Midwest Region.
Gillespie hit five 3s in the first half to help the Volunteers push ahead by 20 and squash any chance the 11th-seeded RedHawks (32-2) could carry over from their First Four win and pull off a signature victory.
The Volunteers did just about everything right and showed again why — no matter the seed — they are a perennial threat to go deep in March. Led by Gillespie, the Volunteers made 12 of 19 shots to start the game, including long 3s and 20 quick points in the paint.
Just to add one more gut punch to Miami, Ethan Burg hit a 3 at the first-half buzzer for a 51-32 lead.
“It took maybe our best half of the year to beat them today,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said.
About the only thing Gillespie didn’t do was score 30, which only two other Volunteers have done in the NCAA tournament. His misfired dunk turned into a lob to Felix Okpara.
“I was trying to dunk it,” Gillespie said with a laugh.
“He thought he was going to dunk it? He can’t dunk in traffic,” Barnes quipped.
Estrella had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Volunteers. Peter Suder was the lone Miami player in double digits with 27 points.
“This loss doesn’t take away what we have done all year,” Suder said.
Gillespie, who was 11-of-21 from the floor and 6-of-11 on 3s, is just one of many standouts enjoying March success in a new uniform thanks to the transfer portal. He started 36 games last season and averaged 14.7 points, shooting 40.7% from 3-point range, to help Maryland reach the Sweet 16.
Had Gillespie peeked at the scoreboard, he could have caught a Villanova update. Kevin Willard, last season’s Maryland coach, had the Wildcats in the tournament.
What has remained a constant in March is Tennessee winning. The Volunteers have been a top-six seed in all eight of their NCAA tournament appearances under Barnes. They are 8-3 overall in the past three tournaments.
The Volunteers are trying to break through and reach the Final Four after the past two tournaments ended with losses in the Elite Eight. Virginia is 8-6 in the series, with the last win coming in 2024.
Miami had a March highlight when it beat SMU in the First Four for its first NCAA tournament victory in 27 years. It went 31-0 during a captivating regular season — the only Division I team to go unbeaten in 2025-26 and the eighth in the past 50 years.
“When he starts making shots, he’s unstoppable to guard him. When we get him in a flow, there’s nothing teams can really do about him.”
J.P. Estrella on Vols teammate Ja’Kobi Gillespie
The RedHawks lost their MAC tournament opener and had to wait and see if their dazzling record was enough to get in the field because of a schedule that ranked 339th in overall strength and featured no Quadrant 1 games.
“Our team has had a heck of a journey,” coach Travis Steele said. “The quality of human beings that we have in our locker room, man, we’re everything that’s right about college athletics, in my opinion.”
Liam Quigley was the lone member of the Miami swim team who drove to Philadelphia to watch the game. The swimmers created some excitement late in the season when they started rooting on the basketball team in nothing but their Speedos, goggles and swim caps.
Their popularity exploded when they seized the stands behind the basket in the First Four and waved their arms to provide a nearly nude distraction on SMU’s free throw attempts.
Quigley, in red and white overalls, traveled from the First Four site in Dayton, Ohio, and had a seat near a nonswimmer RedHawks fan who painted his face and chest red.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
