WATCH: Olivier Nkamhoua caps Tennessee's win over Duke with emphatic putback dunk
Tennessee is Sweet 16 bound after a 65-52 dismantling of Duke in the Round of 32. And the Volunteers capped off a trip to the second weekend with an emphatic Olivier Nkamhoua putback dunk.
With just more than a minute to play and Tennessee holding a nine-point lead over the Blue Devils, Josiah-Jordan James took a turnaround jumper from the baseline. He was a bit strong but Nkamhoua leapt to the open rebound and slammed it home.
“Jackhammer it in, Nkamhoua!” Kevin Harlan said on the CBS broadcast as the Volunteer faithful got raucous.
Nkamhoua, who averages a shade more than 10 points per game this season, poured in 27 points (highlight dunk included) to power Tennessee past Duke and into the Sweet 16. It ties his career high, after Nkamhoua poured in 27 against Texas nearly two months ago in the SEC-Big 12 challenge, a game that Tennessee won.
The second weekend of the NCAA Tournament has been a somewhat elusive place for Tennessee under head coach Rick Barnes. Since Barnes took charge in 2015, the Volunteers have been to one Sweet 16, in 2019. The other six years got no further than the Round of 32 — if into the NCAA Tournament at all.
But now thanks to Nkamhoua and some stout defense, Tennessee and Barnes will dance a little longer — and with injured teammate Zakai Ziegler. Ziegler tore his ACL in late February and recently had surgery. His first chance to watch the Volunteers in the postseason in person will be in the Sweet 16 in New York City.
“We love you, Z,” he said on the CBS broadcast after the win. “Let’s go to New York, baby.”
Once the Tennessee squad got to the locker room, Nkamhoua was mobbed by his teammates in celebration. A joyous scene for the Volunteers as they’re slated for some second weekend action.
“It’s what we do,” Nkamhoua said postgame. “We’ve been in these kinds of fights all year. We’ve lost some, we won some and we’ve weathered the storm all year.”
In the Sweet 16, by virtue of Fairleigh Dickinson’s upset over No. 1 seed Purdue, Tennessee will play either the Knights or Florida Atlantic, dodging any potential matchup with a No. 1 seed.
The Volunteers will wait another day to learn their Sweet 16 opponent, with plenty of time to bask in the win that has them dancing on.