COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Tennessee avoided one of the biggest meltdowns in NCAA Tournament history Sunday, letting a 25-point lead slip away before two-time SEC player of the year Grant Williams scored 6 points in overtime for an 83-77 victory over Iowa. The Volunteers (31-5) made it back to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2016, though there were more tense moments than the Vols imagined after they ran off to a 44-19 lead in the opening half.

The biggest NCAA Tournament comeback? BYU’s 25-point rally past Iona in the First Four in 2012. Tenth-seeded Iowa (23-12) nearly pulled off another one, sending it overtime tied at 71 — the first overtime game in this year’s tournament.

Jordan Bohannon scored 18 for Iowa, which never led but managed to tie it twice after falling so far behind. The Hawkeyes wrapped up a turnaround season. They improved their win total by nine games and were second in the Big Ten in scoring in coach Fran McCaffrey’s ninth season. They were prone to give up a lot of points and lost three games by at least 20.
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Tennessee heads to Louisville to play third-seeded Purdue on Thursday. The Boilermakers beat defending champion Villanova 87-61 on Saturday behind Carsen Edwards’ career-high 42 points.