Duke vs. Tennessee final score, results: Volunteers eliminate Blue Devils behind Olivier Nkamhoua's second half explosion

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Sam Jarden
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Jon Scheyer's first season as Duke head coach came to an end on Saturday at the hands of the Tennessee Volunteers.

It was a tough, physical defensive battle in the first half. Duke's star freshman Kyle Filipowski took an elbow to the face from Uros Plavsic and suffered a cut under his left eye as a result. He soldiered on despite the injury, helping the Blue Devils build an early lead.

But a 14-2 run to end the first half turned the tide in favor of the Vols. In the second half, senior forward Olivier Nkamhoua was unstoppable. He took over the game down the stretch and almost singlehandedly dragged his team to victory with 17 of Tennessee's last 19 points. He finished the game with 27 points, tying his career high. 

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It's the first time Tennessee has reached the Sweet Sixteen since 2019, and just the second time under head coach Rick Barnes. 

With 1-seed Purdue sent packing in stunning fashion by Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday night, the East region now looks wide open. The 4-seeded Volunteers will face the winner of 9-seeded FAU vs. 16-seeded FDU for a chance to play in the Elite Eight. 

MORE: Watch 2023 March Madness games live with Sling TV

Here's everything you may have missed from Tennessee's second round win over Duke in the 2023 NCAA Tournament:

Duke vs. Tennessee score

  1 2 F
Duke 21 31 52
Tennessee 27 38 65

Duke vs. Tennessee live updates, highlights from 2023 March Madness

(All times Eastern)

5:08 p.m. — There's absolutely no doubt who the player of the game was. Olivier Nkamhoua was simply unbelievable in that second half. He scored 17 of the Vols' last 19 points and finished the game with 27 points and 5 rebounds. A stunning performance by the big man.  

5:03 p.m. FINAL — It's over! The Volunteers eliminate the Blue Devils and bring Jon Scheyer's first season as Duke head coach to an end. Tennessee is on to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2019!

5:00 p.m. — OH WOW NKAMHOUA. A huge one-handed putback slam restores Tennessee's 11-point lead! Filipowski misses a three-point attempt on the other end, and the Volunteers are on the cusp of victory now. After Nkamhoua makes a pair of free throws, it's 65-52 Tennessee with 47 seconds left on the clock. 

4:58 p.m. — The Blue Devils foul Jamai Mashack, and he makes one of two free throws. Roach answers with a two-point bucket on the other end, but Mashack is fouled again and he makes one of two again to make it 61-52. 

4:55 p.m. — Vescovi hustles for an important block on Roach, but Filipowski lays in a bucket on the ensuing inbound pass to make it 59-50 with 2:33 left on the clock.

4:48 p.m. — OLIVIER. NKAMHOUA. The Finnish senior drains ANOTHER three to give Tennessee an 11-point lead! He has been simply unstoppable in the second half, and he's up to 23 points on the day. With 3:52 on the clock, it's 59-48 in favor of the Vols. 

4:46 p.m. — Things are really heating up now. Both teams are trading buckets, and Nkamhoua continues to light it up out there. He hits another perfect turnaround jumper to take his tally to 17 points for the day. He's also scored the last 10 points for the Vols. It's 56-48 Tennessee with less than five minutes remaining.

4:39 p.m. — Nkamhoua continues to fill it up. He hits a nice turnaround jumper, then follows it up with a three-pointer to stretch the Volunteers' lead to nine points. But once again, Duke finds an answer on the other end with a Filipowski bucket. Tennessee can't pull away, but Duke can't quite close the gap either. It's 51-44 Tennessee with 7:24 left on the clock. 

4:35 p.m. — Jullian Phillips slams home a putback dunk, but Proctor answers on the other end with a three-pointer. After a beautiful spin move and finish by Filipowski, it's 46-42 Vols. This is setting up to be a great finish. 

4:30 p.m. — Vescovi is starting to catch fire here! He connects on another three with Proctor right in his face. But Duke answers with a bucket from Grandison on the other end. It's 44-37 Vols with less than 12 minutes remaining. 

4:29 p.m. — Looks like Roach will check back in here. That's a calculated gamble by Jon Scheyer to risk playing his star despite his four fouls.

4:26 p.m. — Vescovi buries a three to extend Tennessee's lead to 41-33. The senior from Uruguay has been brilliant in this one, with 11 points and 4 assists so far. This is a dangerous situation for Duke now, especially with the team's leading scorer sitting on the bench with four fouls. They need to get something going here. 

4:18 p.m. — What a move there by Proctor! He had his defender on skates and got a helpful roll for a beautiful bucket that cuts the lead to just two. But on the other end, Nkamhoua elevates for a beautiful finish plus the foul! That foul was on Roach, his fourth. He'll probably have to be relegated to the bench for a bit by Jon Scheyer. It's 35-31 Tennessee with Nkamhoua heading to the line for a free throw.

4:13 p.m. — The second half starts with a barrage of three-pointers, two for Tennessee from Josiah-Jordan James and Nkamhoua, and one for Duke from Roach. Roach delivers another two-point bucket as well, but it looks like he may have just rolled his ankle. He limps it off for a bit, and it looks like he'll be fine to continue. It's 33-26 Vols a few minutes into the second half.

4:09 p.m. — The teams are back out for the second half. Tennessee will start with the ball first in this half. 

3:49 p.m. END OF FIRST HALF — A fantastic end to the half for the Vols! They close with a 14-2 run to take a 27-21 lead into halftime. A nice drive and finish by Aidoo with just seconds on the clock has given Tennessee its biggest lead of the game. Can Duke settle down and fight back in the second half? 

3:47 p.m. — Duke looks a little flustered here, and Tennessee is starting to take advantage. Tyreke Key drills a three, then Roach commits an offensive foul to turn it over. That's his third foul of the game. With a minute left in the first half, the Vols lead 25-21. 

3:40 p.m. — Proctor and Aidoo trade buckets to make it 21-20, Blue Devils. Filipowski then fouls Aidoo to take us to the under four timeout with just one point separating these teams. 

3:36 p.m. — Dereck Lively has been quiet so far, but he just came up with a huge block on defense to deny Plavsic. This is turning into the defensive battle many expected coming into the day. Duke leads 19-18. 

3:28 p.m. — Whitehead has been outstanding so far. After a block on one end, he cans a three on the other to give Duke a 17-13 lead. Filipowski then finishes with a tough layup to make it 19-13 Blue Devils — their biggest lead of the game so far.

3:24 p.m. — Duke has responded to the high-intensity Volunteers defense by starting to dominate the offensive glass. A Proctor rebound leads to a Roach three-pointer to tie things up at 13.

3:20 p.m. — The Vols have really clamped down defensively. Jonas Aidoo just swatted a Jacob Grandison floater attempt into the seats on an emphatic block. Still 13-10, Vols. 

3:16 p.m. — After a fantastic defensive possession by the Volunteers, they break quickly in transition and Julian Phillips throws down a big time alley-oop from Vescovi. That gives Tennessee a 13-10 lead with 12:37 left in the first half. Filipowski is checking back into the game despite his face injury. 

3:12 p.m. — Lots of elbows flying here already. Filipowski just took another big hit to the face, and moments later Tyrese Proctor gets swiped in the face by Santiago Vescovi — who is whistled for an offensive foul. Filipowski has a pretty serious cut under his left eye, so we'll have to monitor his status throughout the rest of the game.

3:04 p.m. — Nkamhoua hits a beautiful turnaround jumper over Filipowski. He's off to a good start with four points already on the afternoon. Duke holds an 8-7 lead with more than 15 minutes left in the first half. 

2:58 p.m. — Filipowski hits the deck after taking an elbow from Uros Plavsic, but no foul is called. It looked pretty unintentional from here. Tennessee gets on the board first with a Nkamhoua layup, but Jeremy Roach and Whitehead knock down three-pointers to make it 6-2 Blue Devils in the early going.

2:55 p.m. — I said just a few minutes ago there were no surprises with today's starting lineups. Well, turns out there actually is one. Mark Mitchell is a late scratch due to an injury, so he'll be replaced by freshman Dariq Whitehead. 

2:53 p.m. — Tip-off is just moments away in Orlando. Who will survive and advance to the Sweet Sixteen?

2:41 p.m. — Here's a look at our starting lineups for today. No big surprises here.

2:34 p.m. — For the winner of this game, the path to the Final Four got a whole lot easier with 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson's stunning upset of 1-seed Purdue last night. Whoever wins this game will now play the winner of FDU vs. FAU in the Sweet Sixteen.

2:25 p.m. — Two names to keep an eye on today are Duke's Kyle Filipowski and Tennessee's Olivier Nkamhoua. Whoever wins the inside battle will have a major edge in this game. 

2:22 p.m. — San Diego State just finished off a big win over Furman to clinch a spot in the Sweet Sixteen. Next up, the Blue Devils and the Volunteers will take the floor in Orlando. 

Duke vs. Tennessee start time

  • Date: Saturday, March 18
  • Time: 2:40 p.m. ET

Duke vs. Tennessee is scheduled to tip off at 2:40 p.m. ET. The second-round game will be played at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.

What channel is Duke vs. Tennessee on today?

  • TV channel: CBS
  • Live stream: NCAA March Madness Live

College basketball fans can watch Duke vs. Tennessee on CBS. Cord-cutters can stream the game with NCAA March Madness Live. 

March Madness schedule 2023

Saturday, March 18

Game Time (ET) TV
(5) San Diego State vs. (13) Furman 12:10 p.m. CBS
(4) Tennessee vs. (5) Duke 2:40 p.m. CBS
(1) Kansas vs. (8) Arkansas 5:15 p.m. CBS
(7) Missouri vs. (15) Princeton 6:10 p.m. TNT, Sling TV
(1) Houston vs. (9) Auburn 7:10 p.m. TBS, Sling TV
(2) Texas vs. (10) Penn State 7:45 p.m. CBS
(2) UCLA vs. (7) Northwestern 8:40 p.m. TNT, Sling TV
(1) Alabama vs. (8) Maryland 9:40 p.m. TBS, Sling TV
Author(s)
Sam Jarden Photo
Sam Jarden

Sam Jarden is a content producer at Sporting News.