Dalton Knecht scores 24, Tennessee beats Creighton 82-75 to pull within a win of first Final Four

DETROIT — Dalton Knecht had 24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals, and Tennessee moved within a victory of its first trip to the Final Four, beating Creighton 82-75 in a Midwest Region semifinal on Friday night.

Zakai Zeigler added 18 points and 6 assists for the second-seeded Volunteers. When Tennessee lost last year in the regional semifinals for the second straight season, Knecht was at Northern Colorado and Zeigler was out with a torn knee ligament.

Coach Rick Barnes' Vols (27-8) have matched the longest NCAA Tournament run in school history and hope to get farther than the 2010 team that lost by one point to Michigan State in the Elite Eight.

Tennessee will face top-seeded Purdue, which beat Gonzaga earlier Friday night, on Sunday for the Midwest Region title and a Final Four appearance that has been elusive for both schools.

The third-seeded Bluejays (25-10) reached the Sweet Sixteen for the third time in four years and fell a win short of equaling their first regional final appearance from last year.

Baylor Scheierman, a third-team All-America wing, had 25 points and some of his teammates struggled against a long and athletic team that plays defense from the logo to the rim.

Steven Ashworth finished with 16 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner had 14 for the Bluejays, who had plenty of fight.

Tennessee went on a breathtaking 18-0 run early in the second half — taking a 55-39 lead — that forced Creighton coach Greg McDermott to call two timeouts because he didn't want to wait for a TV stoppage to stem the tide.

Scheierman made a 3-pointer to end the drought and later had a three-point play during a 9-0 run that pulled the Bluejays within three points with 6:04 left.

Knecht made a pair of 3-pointers that restored six-point leads and Zeigler set up Tobe Awaka for a three-point play that put the Vols ahead 71-64 with 1:39 to go.

Tennessee survived the first weekend of the tournament, edging Texas by four points after opening with a rout of Saint Peter's, with Knecht combining for 41 points in those games. The Bluejays advanced to the second weekend of the tournament with a rout of Akron and a double-overtime win over Oregon.

Tennessee took advantage, scoring eight points off those turnovers.

Perhaps fittingly, both teams didn't get much breathing room on the court or scoreboard.