Tennessee is heading back to the Elite Eight as defense clamps down in 78-65 win over Kentucky

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Tennessee is heading back to the Elite Eight as defense clamps down in 78-65 win over Kentucky

2025-03-29 13:37 Last Updated At：13:41

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Those two regular-season losses to Kentucky don't mean anything to Tennessee now.

The Volunteers avenged them in convincing fashion on the big stage of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night, posting a no-doubt 78-65 victory that sent them to a second consecutive Elite Eight.

Zakai Zeigler had 18 points and 10 assists, and Tennessee outhustled and outplayed Kentucky on both ends of the court. The second-seeded Vols (30-7) beat their border rival in the first all-Southeastern Conference Sweet 16 matchup since 1986 and will play No. 1 seed Houston (33-4) on Sunday in the Midwest Region final.

“We really wanted to set the tone and show them who we were,” Zeigler said. “The first two times we played them at their place and our place. We knew regardless of what happened, we were going to go out and play Tennessee basketball on the offensive and defensive end, and I feel like we did that great tonight.”

No one enjoyed the show at Lucas Oil Stadium more than Peyton Manning, who was back in the town where he spent 13 years and won a Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts. The Vols' most famous sports alum was in a bright orange ballcap seated behind the bench as Tennessee ran off with the win in the “House Peyton Built.”

Lamont Butler scored 18 points to lead first-year coach Mark Pope's third-seeded Wildcats (24-12), who were held 20 points under their season scoring average. Their 65 points matched their fewest in a game this season.

“It’s hard to talk about basketball right now,” Pope said. “Congratulations to Tennessee. They played really hard and really well. I have a ton of respect for coach (Rick) Barnes. Mostly, we’re just sad that this is over.”

The Vols did what they failed to do in their first two meetings with Kentucky, when they lost 78-73 at home and 75-64 in Lexington. They've been one of the best in the nation at defending the 3-pointer, yet the Wildcats shot 12 of 24 on 3s in each of those games.

It was apparent early the Vols weren’t going to let the Wildcats put up 3s at will again. Kentucky finished 6 of 15 from distance.

The Vols were in full control by the middle of the first half, using relentless defense and attacking the glass to generate offense and build a 19-point lead.

They scored 13 second-chance points off nine offensive rebounds on their way to a 43-28 lead at the half, only the second time Kentucky has been held under 30 points in a first half this season. Barnes is now 15-0 in the NCAA Tournament when up by 10 or more at halftime.

The Vols picked up where they left off at the start the second half, forcing a shot-clock violation and an airball 3 by Koby Brea on Kentucky's first two possessions. Their effort on the boards continued, too. They finished with 19 points on 14 offensive rebounds.

The Vols all but finished off the victory with under nine minutes to play after Butler cut the lead to 12. Felix Okpara chased down his missed shot and dunked it, and Lanier made a steal and passed to Ziegler. The 5-foot-9 Zeigler hit a 3 from the wing and then looked up and held a stare at the 6-10 Brandon Garrison, who was the nearest defender.

“It felt like we were playing Tennessee basketball, playing aggressive, playing smart all-around,” Okpara said.

Kentucky: The Wildcats maxed out — some would say overachieved — in Pope's first season. They returned no production from a year ago. Pope brought in nine transfers and they led Kentucky to the second weekend of the tournament for the first time since 2019.

Tennessee: The Vols are one win away from reaching the Final Four for the first time. While they've built a reputation as one of the nation's top defensive teams, their offense can't be overlooked. They shot 51% from the field against Kentucky and are getting big contributions from sixth man Gainey.

This was the fourth time in 11 years the Wildcats took a big loss in Indianapolis.

In 2015, they took a 38-0 record into their Final Four matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium and lost 71-64 to Wisconsin. They began the 2018-19 season with a 118-84 loss to Duke in a top-five matchup at nearby Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and three years later they lost their NCAA Tournament opener to No. 15 seed Saint Peter's 85-79 in overtime at Gainbridge.

The Vols are having lots of fun in Indianapolis, on and off the court. Los Angeles Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht, who played at Tennessee, got the team into a Gainbridge Fieldhouse suite to watch Wednesday's game against the Indiana Pacers. And then they had Manning — there's a statue of him outside Lucas Oil Stadium — cheering them on.

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.

South Korea’s Constitutional Court will rule Friday on Yoon's impeachment

2025-04-01 10:25 Last Updated At：10:32

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s Constitutional Court will rule Friday on whether to formally dismiss or reinstate impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol — a decision that either way will likely deepen domestic divisions.

The court has been deliberating Yoon’s political fate after he was impeached in December over his brief imposition of martial law that has triggered a massive political crisis.

Millions of people have rallied around the country to support or denounce Yoon. Police said they’ll mobilize all available personnel to preserve order and respond to acts of vandalism, arson and assault.

The Constitutional Court said in a brief statement Tuesday that it would issue its ruling at 11 a.m. Friday and that it will be broadcast live.

The opposition-controlled liberal National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon soon after he imposed martial law Dec. 3. In addition to the Constitutional Court's ruling on his impeachment, Yoon was indicted in January on criminal rebellion charges.

If the Constitutional Court removes Yoon from office, South Korea must hold an election within two months for a new president. If the court overturns his impeachment, Yoon would immediately return to his presidential duties.

At the heart of the matter is Yoon’s decision to send hundreds of troops and police officers to the National Assembly after imposing martial law. Yoon has insisted that he aimed to maintain order, but some military and military officials testified Yoon ordered them to drag out lawmakers to frustrate a floor vote on his decree and detain his political opponents.

Yoon argues that he didn’t intend to maintain martial law for long, and he only wanted to highlight what he called the “wickedness” of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, which obstructed his agenda, impeached senior officials and slashed his budget bill. During his martial law announcement, he called the assembly “a den of criminals” and “anti-state forces.”

By law, a president has the right to declare martial law in wartime or other emergency situations, but the Democratic Party and its supporters say South Korea wasn’t in such a situation.

The impeachment motion accused Yoon of suppressing National Assembly activities, attempting to detain politicians and others and undermining peace in violation of the constitution and other laws. Yoon has said he had no intention of disrupting National Assembly operations and detaining anyone.

Martial law lasted only six hours because lawmakers managed to enter the assembly and vote to strike down his decree unanimously. No violence erupted, but live TV footage showing armed soldiers arriving at the assembly invoked painful memories of past military-backed dictatorships. It was the first time for South Korea to be placed under martial law since 1980.

Earlier public surveys showed a majority of South Koreans supported Yoon’s impeachment. But after his impeachment, pro-Yoon rallies have grown sharply, with many conservatives fed up with what they call the Democratic Party’s excessive offensive on the already embattled Yoon administration.

Yoon was released from prison March 8, after a Seoul district court cancelled his arrest and allowed him to stand his criminal trial without being detained. Ten top military and police officials have also been arrested and indicted over their roles in the martial law enactment.