DAYTON, OHIO — Once ranked fourth in the nation, Tennessee faltered from midseason right through a first-round exit from the NCAA Tournament.
Jobey Thomas scored Charlotte's last six points, including four free throws in the final 25 seconds, as the 49ers beat Tennessee 70-63 Friday in the first round of the Midwest Regional.
The game might have been the last at Tennessee for coach Jerry Green, whose job reportedly is in jeopardy despite 20-win seasons and trips to the NCAA Tournament in each of his four seasons.
The Volunteers won 16 of their first 17 games rising to No. 4 in the polls before losing eight of the next 10. They lost in the quarterfinals of last week's SEC tournament.
"I think this is as unusual a season as I've ever spent in my 30-some odd years in coaching because almost everybody was playing well early then we hit a streak where we get an injury and a few people not playing well," said Green, a former Kansas assistant. "Then we get it back together and really think we've got it in line. There have been some inconsistencies as we've gone along."
Foul trouble and foul shooting were the deciding factors. The Vols (22-11) had three starters finish with four fouls each. At the line, they hit seven of 18 shots.
Ninth-seeded Charlotte (22-10) will make its fourth trip to the second round in five years when it plays top-seeded Illinois, a 96-54 victor over Northwestern State.
Vincent Yarbrough led the Vols with 12 points. Thomas and Rodney White each scored 12 points for the 49ers, tournament champs of Conference USA. The victory was Charlotte's sixth in a row.
Illinois 96, Northwestern State 54
Dayton, Ohio Illinois (25-7) ran to a 10-0 lead in the opening 100 seconds, dazzling the Demons (19-13), who won the play-in game. Marcus Griffin scored 16, leading six players in double figures for Illinois.
Arizona 101,
Eastern Illinois 76
Kansas City, Mo. Gilbert Arenas scored 21 points for the Wildcats (24-7), who had five players in double figures.
Butler 79,
Wake Forest 63
Kansas City, Mo. Wake Forest (19-11) had the lowest-scoring half in any NCAA Tournament game since the introduction of the shot clock in 1985-86, going only 3-of-25 from the field. Wake fell behing 25-3 and trailed 43-10 at halftime. Brandon Miller led the way with 18 points as Butler (24-7) picked up its first tournament triumph since 1962.
Mississippi 72, Iona 70
Kansas City, Mo. With 1.8 seconds to go, Rahim Lockhart stripped Iona's Courtney Fields of the ball in the lane and Jason Holmes then hit a free throw, lifting Ole Miss (26-7) over the Gaels (22-11). Emmanuel Wade had a career-high 19 points for the Rebels.
Notre Dame 83, Xavier 71
Kansas City, Mo. Matt Carroll scored 21 points and David Graves was 7-of-7 from the field as Notre Dame won its first tournament game since 1990. Graves scored 20 points and Troy Murphy added 19. Notre Dame (20-9) moves on to Sunday's second round against Ole Miss.
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