Michigan head coach Dusty May said that Alabama wanted a track meet in their Sweet 16 matchup on Friday, while he wanted his team to be in a street fight. The Wolverines wound up defeating the Crimson Tide with a 13-point win to advance to the Elite Eight.
So if Alabama wanted a track meet and Michigan wanted to turn that into a street fight, what does May think that Tennessee wants in its upcoming bout on Sunday afternoon?
“They want Armageddon,” May said during an interview on ESPN College GameDay. “It’s going to be a brawl. It’s literally going to be feudal warfare in the paint.”
In Tennessee’s Sweet 16 win over 2-seed Iowa State on Friday night, the Volunteers dominated the glass. Tennessee won the rebounding battle 43-22 and hauled in 16 offensive rebounds throughout the game. It helped Tennessee outscore Iowa State by 12 in the paint and led to 14 second chance points.
“Tennessee is throwback,” May said during the interview. “They’re No. 1 in the country in offensive rebounding. Out of 79 Power Five teams, they’re 65th in first-shot offensive efficiency and they’re an efficient offense as a whole. So this shows you how dangerous they are with their second, third, and fourth shots even.”
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Virginia and Iowa State were good opponents, but neither is on the level that Michigan is. The game against the Wolverines is going to prove to be a different animal for the Vols, which is evidenced by the betting line. Tennessee’s 7.5-point line is the most that UT has been an underdog in the betting markets this season. The last time Tennessee was a bigger underdog was back in 2020 in a game against Kentucky.
KenPom ranks Michigan as the best team in the country, with the top-rated defense and the fifth-ranked offense. The Wolverines are just the third team in Big Ten history to average 95 PPG through its first three NCAA Tournament games, which included a thrashing of Alabama on Friday night.
Michigan is led by star forward Yaxel Lendeborg, who is averaging 14.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game for the Wolverines. Lendebord is one of four players who are averaging double-digit scoring for Michigan, alongside forward Morez Johnson Jr. (13.2), center Aday Mara (11.9), and guard Elliot Cadeau (10.3).
(1) Michigan and (6) Tennessee will clash at 2:15 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon in Chicago’s United Center. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Basketball news, notes, and coverage.
