Tennessee's 18-0 run vs. Creighton didn't define the Vols. Answering Creighton's run did.

DETROIT — Tennessee players sat in a timeout with three minutes, 54 seconds left late Friday night against Creighton and knew this was the crossroads. The inferno of an 18-0 run that built a 16-point lead was a cold, distant memory. The Bluejays had stormed back and trailed by just four. 

This was the moment, these final four minutes, where these Vols were going to prove themselves. 

“We just talked about how we were built for it,” Tennessee assistant coach Rod Clark said afterward, describing the huddle during the timeout, “and these are the times when we show how great we are.”

Tennessee, the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region, showed it with a three-point play from Tobe Awaka with 1:39 left and two Josiah-Jordan James free throws 27 seconds later, getting the lead back to nine and sucking the life out of No. 3 Creighton in the 82-75 Sweet 16 win at Little Caesars Arena. 

“I think at this time of the year,” Clark said, “the 18-0 run was explosive. It was fun, it was great. Obviously it was good to see the ball go in like that. 

“But I think that the definition of this team is (Creighton) crawling back, it being a close game with three-plus minutes left … and for us to close that game like that, I think it was another example of how resilient and tough we are.”

‘You don’t rise to the occasion, you fall to the level of your preparation’

The 18-0 run started with a pair of Dalton Knecht free throws with 18:49 left in the second half. It didn’t stop until James hit a corner three at the 13:59 mark. 

Knecht had a pair of layups, James scored five points, Jahmai Mashack had four more and Zakai Zeigler hit a three. Tennessee fans roared as just a second ever Elite Eight appearance got closer and closer, feeling more real with each made shot.

“We was just going out there and hooping,” Knecht said. 

“Just confidence,” Jordan Gainey said. “Everyone was playing free.”

Creighton had finally had enough and called a timeout after the James three finished the 18-0 run. The Bluejays hit a three on the other side of the break, hit seven of their next 10 shots and were back within three with 6:04 to go after a 9-0 run of their own.

“We knew Creighton (was) a great offensive team,” Knecht said, “and we knew they were going to make their punch at the end. And we just knew we had to be ready for it. And just go out there and stay composed.”

Elite Eight: No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 1 Purdue, Sunday, 2:20 p.m. ET, CBS

Knecht provided his own punches with 3-pointers with 5:38 and 4:32 left, finishing with 26 points and six rebounds. James hit four free throws in the final minute, Zeigler had three and Knecht added the final two. 

Zeigler had 18 points in another 40-minute outing and added five assists and four rebounds. James scored 15 on just six shots from the field, going 3-for-5 from the 3-point line and 6-for-6 at the foul line. 

Tennessee got five straight stops after Creighton scored to get the deficit to four with 4:17 left, helping turn what was a three-point game at 4:45 into an eight-point lead with 19 seconds to go.

“You don’t rise to the occasion,” James said, “you fall to the level of your preparation. That’s something, if you come to watch us, 365 days of the year, those are the staples of our team, something we do each and every day.

“So on the biggest stage of college basketball, we’re going to fall back to our habits.”

The stage only gets bigger Sunday. No. 1 Purdue and No. 2 Tennessee in the Elite Eight (2:20 p.m. Eastern Time, CBS), with a spot in the Final Four on the line. 

“It’s something special,” Knecht said. “I mean, no one’s really done this in this program and we’re super excited to go out and make some history. It has been a goal of ours since the beginning of the season. It’s going to be something that we’re going to be ready to do.”

“We need every big play,” Clark added. “Anything that we can continue to show how resilient we are. We want all of those because it just helps us, propels us into the next round and gives us confidence to go out and fight again.”

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