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Final Score: Michigan 95, Tennessee 62.
Michigan came out early in the second half looking to put its foot down on Tennessee's throat, and the Wolverines were off to a promising start before Morez Johnson, Jr. and Yaxel Lendeborg got into some unnecessary drama on the court. Michigan clearly has the best roster in the nation. There is no team that poses so many match-up problems. When the Wolverines are playing this type of defense and able to push the ball off misses, this team is a juggernaut. Amazingly, Michigan is not even playing its best ball. This team is that talented. Yaxel Lendeborg dominated today's game, with 27 points on 10-for-19 shooting, and has seemingly made the conscious decision to start looking for his offense. That is a scary thought. With that said, Lendeborg needs to be a better leader on the court for the Wolverines. He too often looks down at its opponents, and he justifiably got punked on a nasty Ja'Kobie Gillespie dunk in the second half. It is okay to play with an edge and have some grace while doing it. Ultimately, Michigan has been able to overwhelm its tourney opponents with its defense and scoring bursts so far. With Arizona next, Michigan is going to need more emotional maturity as the Wildcats are as big and tough and will not be bullied. For Michigan to win the national championship, the Wolverines must maintain better composure, especially against teams that are at their level, Arizona and Duke (most likely). For Head Coach Dusty May, that has to be the teaching point this week heading to the Final Four. It's never been a question about Michigan's talent. The Wolverines don't always show ideal character when blowing teams out. How will they respond when the going gets tough in a tight Final Four or National Championship game that may come down to a few possessions? That is my one concern with the Wolverines, which need to lock in emotionally to win its first national title since 1989. Make the jump to see the game's final stats.
Halftime Score: Michigan 48, Tennessee 26.
At one point, Tennessee led 16-14, and then the Vols went cold and the Wolverines got rolling, going on a 21-0 run. Honestly, the Wolverines are not even playing their best basketball, that's how scary this team is when it gets on these runs. Ultimately, Tennessee never seems to have enough consistent offense when it matters deep in the NCAA Tournament. Yaxel Lendeborg has stepped up his offensive output since halftime of the Alabama game. He has 15 points at the break on 5-for-9 from the field. The Wolverines have already shot 19 free throws. Tennessee is shooting a miserable 23.7% (9/38) from the field, including 23.1% (3/13) from three. Michigan is shooting 51.7% (15/29) from the field and 41.7% (5/12) from three. For the Wolverines, the second half should be about sending a message to the remaining teams playing next weekend in the Final Four. Michigan needs to shoot for 100 points and get big men Aday Mara and Morez Johnson, Jr., going, as both have been a bit quiet in Chicago. For all intents and purposes, this game is over, though Michigan should aim to play a cleaner half as Arizona awaits on Saturday and the Wolverines are going to need to be more on point than they have been against Alabama and Tennessee. Michigan is vastly superior to these recent opponents, next weekend the competition level is going to ramp up.
Prediction: Michigan
Like Arizona, the Wolverines have seemed Final Four bound for quite some time. Even though Michigan did not play its most efficient and heady game against #4 Alabama on Friday night, the Wolverines are just too talented, complete and well-coached not to advance to Indianapolis. Defensive-minded Tennessee is a physical team that can throw big bodies at the Wolverines, match Michigan's muscle and rebound the basketball effectively. Expect this game to be a physical, chippy foul fest that will eventually turn toward the more offensively diverse Wolverines in the second half. Ultimately, Michigan will be too much and Tennessee will fall in the Elite Eight for the third straight season.
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