NEW YORK − Tennessee basketball is in pursuit of an Elite Eight appearance.
The No. 4-seeded Vols (25-10) face No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic (33-3) on Thursday (9 p.m. ET, TBS)in the Sweet 16at Madison Square Garden.
Z:Zakai Zeigler: 'Zero doubt' Tennessee basketball would make Sweet 16 for reunion in NYC hometown
IDENTITY:'Grown-man' basketball: Tennessee sticking to its identity in Sweet 16 vs. Florida Atlantic
The Vols reached the Sweet 16 with a 65-52 win against No. 5 Duke on Saturday in Orlando, Florida, in their East Region game. It is the program's second Sweet 16 berth under Rick Barnes. UT reached the second weekend in 2019 before falling to Purdue in overtime shy of the Elite Eight. UT has reached only one Elite Eight in program history, in 2010.
Tennessee basketball score vs. Florida Atlantic in NCAA Tournament: Live updates
Postgame links
INSTANT ANALYSIS:Tennessee basketball crumbles in Sweet 16 vs underdog FAU in season-ending loss
GENTRY ESTES:Sifting through Tennessee basketball's bitter Sweet 16 loss vs. FAU
WAS IT RIGHT?Uros Plavsic called for Flagrant 1 foul during FAU's big 2nd half run vs. Tennessee basketball
Second half
FINAL: FAU 62, Tennessee 55. Vols season finishes in the Sweet 16.
43.9 seconds left: Nice putback by Nkamhoua after Mashack split two free throws. FAU 61, Tennessee 55.
2:37 left: Vescovi missed 3 turns into a fast break score for FAU. Owls lead 57-50.
3:37 left: Huge 3 from James to cut FAU lead to 55-50.
4:39 left: Vols with back-to-back buckets to cut Owls' lead to 6.
7:22 left: Vescovi misses a corner 3, carnage ensues, FAU has numbers on the other end and Alijah Martin hits a wide open 3. Timeout Vols. 15-2 run. This was the run this blog was concerned about earlier.
FAU 48, Tennessee 41. Owls are 5-9 from 3 in the second half. During the timeout, Uros Plavsic called for a flagrant 1.
8:43 left: FAU in the bonus. Davis hits both free throws, and the Owls lead 45-41. Vols have not called a timeout as the Owls have made this run. 12-2 run.
9:31 left: Forrest 3-pointer good. Owls lead 41-39.
10:28 left: Michael Forrest 3-pointer good. FAU within 1.
A lot of Tyreke Key and Jahmai Mashack on the offensive end of late for the Vols.
11:48 left: Tennessee 39, FAU 35. Neither side finding easy offense in this half.
Johnell Davis starting to get to the rim, with five points in the half.
13:34 left: Big rebound and putback by Jonas Aidoo. He has six points tonight after a very good game last round against Duke. Vols by 5.
15:48 left: Tennessee 33, FAU 29. Remember the Kentucky loss in Knoxville, when the Wildcats allowed Plavsic to work on the low block while selling out to defend the perimeter? FAU's plan seems to be the same thing. Plavsic leads the Vols with 9 field goal attempts. More Vescovi needed.
16:37 left: Another 3 from Vescovi. Tennessee 33, FAU 26.
17:25 left: Plavsic offensive foul for plowing over an FAU forward.
19:24 left: Big 3 from Vescovi to start the second half.
First half
HALFTIME: Plavsic's tip-in is well after the buzzer. Tennessee 27, FAU 22. Trying not to sound so pessimistic about a half the Vols controlled throughout, but FAU is getting good looks. Vols are cleaning up on the low block and off the offensive glass, but they'll need more in the second half to win.
Vols shot 31% in the first half, paced by Plavsic's 8 points and James' 7 points. FAU at 37.5%, 3-14 from 3. Owls guard Johnell Davis sat the final eight minutes of the first half with two fouls.
2:42 left: FAU's Nick Boyd hits a 3, only the third made 3-pointer for the Owls in the half. That's a good rate from the Vols perspective despite a lot of open misses by FAU. Tennessee leads 27-22.
5:41 left: Jonas Aidoo and-1. Vols by 7.
6:57 left: Tennessee 21, FAU 14. Vols defense has forced 9 FAU turnovers. Plavsic up to 8 points.
8:21 left: Plavsic and-1. He misses the free throw, but a very important six points for him in this first half. Tennessee 19, FAU 12.
11:12 left: Vols 17, FAU 10. UT 3-5 from 3, and has been fairly good moving the ball offensively. Vols have forced some FAU turnovers, but the Owls are two fouls away from the bonus and have struggled to hit open shots.
12:07 left: FAU with five turnovers already.
12:15 left: Jahmai Mashack will sit with two fouls. Vols 15, FAU 8.
15:25 left: Vescovi 27-foot 3-pointer is good! Vols by 4.
15:51 left: Tennessee 7, FAU 5 at the first media timeout. FAU to the line after a Plavsic foul on a dunk attempt. FAU has UT's defense spread out but missed a couple open shots. UT happy to get the ball to Plavsic and Nkamhoua on the low block.
17:40 left: Early on, it appears to be a battle between Tennessee's ability to grab offensive rebounds against FAU's ability to hit 3s.
19:39 left: Uros Plavsic gets the scoring going with a reverse layup.
20:00 left: Ready to go at MSG. Same starting lineup for the Vols from the last two NCAA Tournament games.
Pregame: It's going to be a minute
Kansas State and Michigan State are headed to overtime in the first Sweet 16 game of the day at Madison Square Garden.
That means UT-FAU will tip off sometime after 9 p.m. We'll let you know the exact time once K-State and Michigan State finish up.
UPDATE: Kansas State wins 98-93 in OT, moving onto the Elite Eight. The Wildcats will play the Tennessee-FAU winner.
Tennessee-FAU tip time is roughly set for 9:36 p.m. ET.
Mike Wilsoncovers University of Tennessee athletics.Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.comand follow him on Twitter@ByMikeWilson.If you enjoy Mike’s coverage,consider adigital subscriptionthat will allow you access to all of it.
