The outbreak of COVID-19 has taken over the sports world with the professional sports in suspension and the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament. So, Sixers Wire will bring back some of the best moments of March Madness for the current Philadelphia 76ers.
Wednesday’s edition focuses on Josh Richardson and his Tennessee Volunteers. While Richardson’s Vols were not high seeds like other schools, they still had a pretty solid run. They entered the NCAA Tournament as an 11 seed and were relegated to the First Four as they began their run with a matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes.
March 19, 2014
This game was a real battle from the beginning. Both teams exchanged their hits at each other early as Iowa held a 29-26 advantage at halftime. The Volunteers then used a combination of Richardson, Jordan McRae, and Jarnell Stokes–all three went to the NBA–to rally back and force overtime. Tennessee then held Iowa to exactly one single point in the extra session to go on to win 78-65 and advance to the Round of 64.
McRae led the Volunteers with 20 points, Stokes had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Richardson had 17 points and eight rebounds. They trailed by as many as 11 in this one, but coach Cuonzo Martin made sure his team kept their heads in it and made sure they stayed ready to go.
I told our guys we’ve been through everything this season, keep your composure down the stretch. Find ways to win the ball game.
The Volunteers will now move on to face the 6 seed Massachusetts Minutemen. They have a lot of momentum as they have won six of their past seven games heading into the matchup with UMass. [lawrence-related id=28196,28190,28183]