Despite furious comeback, Iowa falls to Tennessee in OT
After an abysmal first half in Columbus, it looked like Iowa’s season had ended. The last 20 minutes against Tennessee would be nothing more than formality, as the Hawkeyes trailed by 21 points entering the locker room.
Iowa refused to quit, though.
The Hawkeyes trailed by as many as 25 in the first half, but used a furious surge in the final 20 minutes to force overtime. They outscored the Volunteers 43-22 to make the score 71-71 and appeared to be carrying the momentum into overtime.
Tennessee scored the first seven points of the extra period and that proved to be enough to get the victory. Iowa was able to get the game back to within four points but didn’t have enough time to complete another comeback, and the Volunteers won 83-77.
All five of Iowa’s starters reached double figures on Sunday, led by Jordan Bohannon who scored 18 points. Isaiah Moss had 16 and Luka Garza added 13 points. Joe Wieskamp and Tyler Cook each scored 11.
Iowa’s Sweet Sixteen drought will continue for another year, as the Hawkeyes haven’t advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 1999.
The Hawkeyes ended the year with a 23-12 record and won its first NCAA Tournament game since 2016.