PROVIDENCE, R.I. --- Coach Bruce Pearl of Tennessee cleared his bench at the end of the game, a victory over No. 14 seed Ohio and a berth in the Midwest Regional semifinals secure.
It was time to reward the guys who helped the Volunteers get there.
J.P. Prince scored 18 points and Scotty Hopson had 17 to lead sixth-seeded Tennessee to an 83-68 victory over Ohio on Saturday and give the Vols their third Sweet 16 berth in four years. The other starters pitched in, too: Brian Williams and Wayne Chism had 12 rebounds apiece, and Bobby Maze had nine assists.
But Pearl wanted them to share the celebration with the reserves who filled in after a New Year's Day gun, drug and alcohol bust left Tennessee with only six scholarship players.
"There's no question, Josh Bone and Renaldo Woolridge, Skylar McBee -- those guys all played a lot in a stretch of games," Pearl said. "We're a team, we're a family, and those guys got us through. ... We don't get here to this game if Melvin Goins doesn't step up to San Diego State, and Cameron Tatum, I thought, played well. And so it's a team."
Tennessee (27-8) will play the winner of today's Ohio State-Georgia Tech game in St. Louis. The Vols have never gotten past the third round, including losses to Ohio State and Louisville under Pearl in 2007 and '08.
"I've been there twice already and came up short twice," Chism said. "I'm happy to be back on that stage again, and I just can't wait to get there."
Tommy Freeman scored 23 points for Ohio, which was the lowest seed to get out of the first round. But he didn't get enough help from Armon Bassett and D.J. Cooper, the guards who starred in the first-round victory over third-seeded Georgetown before combining for 23 points on 7 of 23 shooting against Tennessee.
Tennessee also dominated inside, outscoring the Mid-American Conference champions 58-12 in the paint.
"Right now," Ohio coach John Groce said, "I'm not thinking about the MAC Tournament run right now or the win against Georgetown. I'm thinking about what we could have done better to play better."
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