LAS VEGAS – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team rallied from an 11-point deficit midway through the first half to take down No. 3/2 Houston, 76-73, Tuesday evening in its second game of the Players Era Men’s Championship.
No. 17/16 Tennessee (7-0) claimed its 12th AP top-five win in the last 10 years under Rick Barnes behind a strong second-half defensive performance at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Senior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie made all nine of his free throws, including six in the final 35 seconds, and paced the victors with 22 points.
After Houston (6-1) went on an early 8-0 run in 47 seconds to go up by seven, the Volunteers responded with an 8-0 burst of their own in 1:43 to go in front, 11-10, with 15:13 on the first-half timer. However, the Cougars, who started 4-of-6 from deep, scored 17 of the next 22 points to gain a 27-16 edge at the 9:42 mark.
Tennessee, though, clawed its way back. Seven consecutive points late in the half made it a two-point game with 47 seconds to go before the break. Houston, which shot 50.0 percent (14-of-28) in the opening 20 minutes, scored the final basket of the session to take a 39-35 lead into the locker room.
Gillespie opened the second half with a three-point play just 29 seconds in to make it a one-point game. Tennessee went back in front with 12:32 left on a basket by redshirt sophomore forward J.P. Estrella, who then added a bucket to make it 49-46 with 11:16 remaining. Freshman forward Nate Ament added two free throws to extend the run to 10-0 in 5:47 and push the lead to five with 9:42 to play.
The Cougars snapped a 7:24 scoreless drought on a pair of free throws with 8:22 on the clock. After a Tennessee basket, Houston ended an 8:05 drought without a basket, as the Volunteers forced 11 straight misses during a 2-of-18 stretch for the reigning NCAA runner-up. Gillespie answered with a 3-pointer at the other end to give his team a game-high six-point lead, 56-50, just 53 ticks later.
Houston made five consecutive shots to get within one with 3:49 left and the two sides then exchanged 3-pointers to make it a 63-62 score with 2:35 to go. The Volunteers regained a four-point advantage 29 seconds later when senior forward Felix Okpara hit the first of two free throws and junior forward Jaylen Carey tipped in the second.
The teams then exchanged makes, the latter of which was a dunk by Carey with 75 seconds left. For the next eight possessions—four each way—in the final minute, Houston made a basket at one end and then Tennessee hit two free throws at the other. In addition to Gillespie’s six makes on as many tries, sophomore guard Bishop Boswell made his attempts.
The last field goal for the Cougars was a 3-pointer by freshman guard Kingston Flemings with seven ticks to go, but Gillespie calmly sank his final pair at the stripe two seconds later. Houston’s half-court heave at the buzzer felt then felt short and the Volunteers poured on to the court in jubilation.
Gillespie, who scored 20-plus points for the fourth time in the last six games, added four assists to co-lead the Volunteers. He also became the fourth Tennessee player in the last seven seasons (2019-26) to make nine-plus free throws without a miss.
Carey had a season-high 13 points off the bench, finishing 6-of-11 from the floor, and added a team-best seven rebounds. Boswell scored a career-high 10 points, connecting on all four of his field-goal attempts, while adding three assists, a game-leading three steals and one block.
Ament, who co-led Tennessee with four assists and grabbed five rebounds, and Okpara finished with nine points apiece.
Flemings led all scorers with 25 points for the Cougars. He shot 10-of-15 from the field, including 3-of-4 beyond the arc, and made both his free throws. Senior guard Milos Uzan added 17 points, but Tennessee held him to a 1-of-6 clip from long range. No other Cougar had even nine points in the contest.
The Volunteers shot 47.1 percent (24-of-51) from the floor against KenPom’s now-second-ranked defense in the nation. They had a 10-4 cushion in points off turnovers, despite both teams committing an equal nine giveaways, and a 24-11 margin in bench points.
With the win, Tennessee improved to 23-11 against AP top-15 foes since Dec. 22, 2021, including 8-6 against the top five. The team also improved to 46-34 in AP top-25 showdowns under Barnes, including 39-28 with both in the top 20. Its 31 AP top-25 wins over the last five seasons (2021-26) pace all Division I programs, while its 13 AP top-10 triumphs and eight AP top-five decisions co-lead the nation.
Additionally, the Volunteers now own 21 AP top-three wins in program history, six of which are in the last nine seasons (2018-26) under Barnes. Four of those six triumphs are on neutral floors.
Tennessee will play a to-be-determined opponent at a to-be-determined time Wednesday at MGM Grand Garden Arena for its final outing of the Players Era Men’s Championship, live on TNT and HBO Max.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES
• Barnes now owns 843 victories in his career, remaining in sole possession of first place among all active Division I head coaches and in ninth place all-time (min. 10 years in Division I).
• The Volunteers, who played the Cougars for the second time in their past eight games dating to last season, are now 4-3 in the all-time series, with the first five meetings all in prior to 1996.
• The seven meetings between Tennessee and Houston have come at five different sites, while the two in 2025 the only ones not played in December.
• Tennessee upped its record to 33-32 all-time versus the current Big 12 membership, including 11-9 under Barnes, who is 169-100 against such foes in his career.
• The Volunteers moved to 14-10 in its 10 multi-team events in the Barnes era, including 7-9 in America and 5-5 in the continental U.S.
• Tennessee is now 17-13 in the Pacific Time Zone—does not include Alaska or Hawaii—in program history.
• The Volunteers improved to 3-3 all-time in the state of Nevada—all six games are in Las Vegas—with the prior trips in December 1977 (0-2) and December 1982 (1-1).
• Tennessee has at least one AP top-three victory in four of the last six seasons, as it earned one in 2021-22, two in 2022-23 and one in 2024-25.
• The Volunteers are the only team in the country with 31 AP top-25 wins over the last five seasons (2021-26).
• Tennessee’s eight AP top-five wins in the last five years (2021-26) match Arizona for the most of any team, while its 13 AP top-10 triumphs tie Connecticut for the top mark in that stretch.
• The Volunteers now possesses 36 AP top-five victories in program history, a third of which are in Barnes’ tenure.
• Tennessee has played just 19 games as a lower-ranked team over the last five seasons (2021-26) and is now 11-8 in those contests, including 11-7 in the past 18 such affairs.
• Tuesday marked the first time this season the Volunteers used fewer than 11 players in a contest, as just nine saw action.
• The Volunteers’ four-point deficit at the break not only marked their first time trailing at halftime this season, but their first time not leading by 12-plus points.
• Tennessee has produced 15-plus assists in all seven games this season, with Tuesday the first time it has not reached 18.
• The Volunteers last won a game they trailed at halftime on March 15, 2025, against Auburn in the SEC Tournament semifinals in Nashville, Tenn., coming back from a 33-32 deficit for a 70-65 victory.
• The last time Tennessee won a game after trailing by double digits was on Feb. 15, 2025, when it came back from down 16 to defeat Vanderbilt, 81-76.
• Flemings became the first player to score 25-plus points and/or make 10 field goals in a game against Tennessee since Jan. 11, 2025, when Texas’ Tre Johnson had 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting in Austin, Texas.
• Freshman forward/center Chris Cenac Jr., whom the Volunteers held to 2-of-8 shooting, led all players with 11 rebounds for Houston, becoming the first Tennessee foe to reach double digits since March 8, 2025, when South Carolina’s Nick Pringle had 14.
• Prior to Gillespie, the only Volunteers to go at least 9-of-9 at the free-throw line in the last seven seasons (2019-26) are Zakai Zeigler (9-of-9 on March 15, 2025, versus Auburn in the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.); Dalton Knecht (9-of-9 on Jan. 16, 2024, versus Florida); and Jaden Springer (10-of-10 on Feb. 24, 2021, at Vanderbilt).
• Gillespie scored 17-plus points for the 35th time in his career, including the sixth game in a row, and reached 20-plus for the 18th time.
• Carey, who also set a season high with his six made field goals, scored in double figures for the 21st time in his career, including the first in his opening season as a Volunteer.
• Boswell not only scored in double digits for the first time as a collegian, but doubled his prior career best in made field goals, as his prior high was a 2-of-3 showing on Nov. 8, 2025, against Northern Kentucky.
• Boswell played 32:28 in the victory, vastly surpassing his prior high in minutes, which was 22:05 in the same Nov. 8 matchup with the Norse.
