Tennessee was certainly not projected to be playing in the Sweet 16 after only making it into the tournament by way of a play-in game, but the Vols have blown away their first two opponents and will now face off against Michigan for a spot in the Elite 8. The Volunteers have the SEC on their shoulders as they are one of three teams in conference still alive in the tournament.
Tennessee's season has been a work in progress, but the Volunteers pulled together a 24-12 record thanks to key out-of-conference wins. They are picking the right time to start surging. The Volunteers have dominated in three games in March, winning by a margin of 13, 19 and 20 points. Their defense has been dominating, allowing just 61.1 points from their opponents.
Michigan is back in the tournament after reaching the Final Four last season. They won the Big Ten title outright, the first title in 28 years, earning the Wolverines a No. 2 seed in the tournament. The team is aiming to earn back-to-back Final Four appearances. Beating Tennessee would earn the team a game against either Kentucky or Louisville, the last two national championship teams.
Michigan's offense intends to test a Tennessee defense that has kept opponents to just 41 percent shooting. They have held 11 straight teams to fewer than 70 points. Five of those teams failed to even score 50 points. However, Michigan could break that. The team finished second in the Big 10 in field goal percentage (47.5) and third in scoring (74.0). Big Ten player of the year Nik Stauskas has put up an average of 17.4 points per game. Stauskas along with Glen Robinson intend to carry Michigan in this game while Tennessee is hopeful to keep their success going.
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