No. 4 Tennessee beats No. 5 Duke 65-52 behind Nkamhoua's 27 points

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Olivier Nkamhoua tied his career high with 27 points, including 13 straight for Tennessee during a decisive span in the second half, and the fourth-seeded Volunteers beat Duke to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019.

Tennessee (25-10) ended Duke’s 10-game winning streak and sent first-year coach Jon Scheyer, charged with replacing Mike Krzyzewski, home after two NCAA Tournament games. These Vols used a brand of “bully ball” to send the fifth-seeded Blue Devils (27-9) packing.

Tennessee advanced to face Florida Atlantic or Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday in the East Region semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Duke didn’t handle Tennessee’s physical style very well. The Volunteers set the tone early, clearly wanting to push around Kyle Filipowski and get hands in the faces of guards Jeremy Roach and Tyrese Proctor. Filipowski took an elbow to his face and ended up with a small cut under his left eye.

Proctor led Duke with 16 points. Roach and Filipowski chipped in 13 apiece.