Tennessee is March Madness dancing to program-best 3rd straight Sweet 16 with 67-58 win over UCLA

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) Chaz Lanier made 4 of 5 3-pointers and finished with 20 points, and No. 2 seed Tennessee Volunteers advanced to a program-record third straight Sweet 16, beating seventh-seeded UCLA Bruins 67-58 in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night.

The Volunteers (29-7) will play either sixth-seeded Illinois or No. 3 seed Kentucky, who play Sunday in Milwaukee. The Midwest Region semifinals will be Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Senior guard Jahmai Mashack said this kind of streak is what he wanted when he signed to play for coach Rick Barnes at Tennessee.

“I'm not saying that to be cocky,” Mashack said. “I'm saying that because I put in the work ... Just knowing that the Sweet 16 was a possibility that I wanted to get to, I wanted to do it and I knew this team was going to be able to do it.”

Lanier also set the Tennessee single-season record for 3s with 120, topping the 118 by Chris Lofton in 2007-08. Lofton was in the stands at Rupp Arena to witness Lanier's performance. Lanier called it a blessing and said the glory went to God. He hoped to talk with Lofton postgame.

“It's just a blessing," Lanier said of the record. “I want to shout out my teammates as well. They're always setting good screens for me and passing the ball on the money for me. So without them, I wouldn't be making the shots.”

Zakai Zeigler added 15 points for Tennessee, and Jordan Gainey had 13 points to help the Vols take a 19-point lead with 5:15 left.

UCLA (23-11) made its earliest exit from the tournament in the six-year tenure of coach Mick Cronin.

This was just the second meeting between these programs and first since 1977, a game won in a rout by UCLA in Atlanta. Tennessee took this round with smothering defense, holding UCLA to the fewest points the Bruins had scored in a loss this season.

Cronin said Tennessee’s experienced starting lineup, including a graduate transfer in Lanier and seniors in Zeigler, Mashack and Igor Milicic, was a huge advantage for Barnes and the Vols.

“Offensively, we weren't good enough,” Cronin said.

UCLA last led 25-24.

Tennessee scored the final eight points of the first half and led 32-25. The Vols, with Zeigler and Mashack two of the four finalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award, held UCLA scoreless over the final 3:21 of the half.

Skyy Clark, limited to barely three minutes of play in the first half by foul trouble, finished with 18 points for UCLA. Tyler Bilodeau added 15. Clark said he smacked himself on the head as he watched from the bench in the first half.

“Skyy not being able to play really threw us off for a long time,” Cronin said. “It messed the game up. We had a chance if that wouldn’t have happened, we might’ve had a lead at half.”

UCLA: The Bruins came in with the Big Ten's best scoring defense, holding opponents to 65.2 points a game. They committed just 11 turnovers compared to the Vols' 18, giving them fewer than their opponent in 28 of 34 games this season.

Tennessee: The Vols led the Southeastern Conference by allowing just 63 points a game and limiting opponents to 38.4% shooting - fourth stingiest in the nation. They also led the SEC and were third in the country in defending 3s with teams shooting just 28.2% outside the arc. The Vols shot 11 of 22 from 3.

The Vols opened the second half by outscoring UCLA 14-6. Cronin took a timeout with 14:11 left after Lanier hit his fourth 3, capping a 9-0 spurt for a 46-31 lead.

Tennessee is two wins away from the program's first Final Four berth in a season where the Vols spent five weeks ranked No. 1 in the country. Cronin got UCLA back to the tournament after last year's miss, with the Bruins turning in a good inaugural season in the Big Ten.

---

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.