Tennessee Basketball Dominates Miami OH in March Madness Opener

The Tennessee Volunteers played in their first game of the March Madness tournament, as the next loss that they take will be the one that ends their season.

The Vols opened their March Madness slate against the Miami OH Redhawks. This is a team that had only one loss entering the tournament. This was a loss in the conference tournament against UMass. Following this loss, they would enter March Madness after defeating former Vol BJ Edwards and his team, SMU, even though Edwards was absent.

Tennessee Defeats Miami OH

Ja'Kobi Gillespi — Mar 20, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Ja'kobi Gillespie (0) dribbles as Miami (OH) RedHawks guard Trey Perry (1) defends during the second half during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Vols didn't just win the game on Friday against the Redhawks, but they dominated the contest as a whole. The Vols jumped out to a lead in the first half that they never gave up. The Vols were led by one of their best players, Ja'Kobi Gillespie, who finished with a total of 29 points. He was automatic from the three-point line, and has shown that he is the man to trust with the ball.

As for their other star, Nate Ament, he was absent for a large majority of this game in terms of the stats. He played solid defense, but never got his offense going, but a lot of that is due to the other players catching fire.

The final score of the contest was 78-56.

The Vols will play their second game of the event on Sunday. They will play against the Virginia Cavaliers, who are entering the weekend still in the tournament despite having some trouble late against the Wright State Raiders. This will be one of the most-watched games of the Round of 32.

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