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Tennessee's Barnes: Schofield wanted teammate to play in his place

Gregory Shamus / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Tennessee survived a scare against Iowa, escaping with an 83-77 OT win in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Volunteers advanced to their first Sweet 16 since 2014, winning even with star guard Admiral Schofield on the bench during the latter stages of the game, including the extra frame. Head coach Rick Barnes explained postgame that Schofield made the decision to sit out.

"He didn't want to play," Barnes said, according to CBS Sports' Kyle Boone. "He kept saying 'keep Kyle (Alexander) in the game.' That was his decision. He told me to leave Kyle in the game."

Barnes added that his players supported Schofield, and the coach decided not to go against their wishes.

"Lamonte Turner kept saying the same thing too," Barnes said. "Said we had to have Kyle in the game. I trust my players, and we went with it."

Alexander split a pair of free throws and added a rebound in overtime to finish with eight points, nine boards, and one block. Schofield tied teammate Grant Williams with a game-high 19 points to go along with five boards and two steals.

Schofield finished second on the team in scoring (16.3 points per game) and third in rebounding (6.1) during the regular season. The 21-year-old is a finalist for the Julius Erving Award annually given to the nation's top small forward.

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