Michigan Basketball vs Tennessee: Prediction, Odds, TV Channel and Live Stream

Michigan basketball will take on Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday and here’s a look at the odds, a prediction, and how to watch. 

Michigan basketball pulled off an impressive turnaround on Thursday, falling behind by as many as 15 points but still beating Colorado State by 12.

It was a really solid offensive performance for the Wolverines, one that was spearheaded by Frankie Collins who had 14 points starting in place of DeVante Jones.

The fact that Jones missed the first NCAA Tournament game was a cruel twist because that’s the reason Jones came to Michigan — was to play in March Madness.

Juwan Howard said on Friday that he would be a game-time decision. However, Jones practiced with the team and there is hope he’ll be able to start against third-seeded Tennessee.

The Vols are as hot as any team in the country, winning 13 of their last 14 games. They have also won eight in a row. Tennessee does it with deadly 3-point shooting and some of the best defense in college basketball.

Tennessee is active on the offensive end and Michigan’s communication on defense, which wasn’t always great this season, is going to have to be top-notch.

The good news is that Michigan basketball held a top-20 Colorado State offense to under a point per possession and the Rams also run a lot of different actions away from the ball.

Michigan also hasn’t won back-to-back games in over a month. That’s what it will need to do on Saturday to reach a fifth consecutive Sweet 16 and here’s a look at the odds, as well as our prediciton and how to watch, as well as stream Michigan vs Tennessee.

Michigan Basketball vs Tennessee odds

While Michigan basketball was the favorite in the first round against Colorado State, Tennessee is one of the most underrated teams in the field, even as a three seed and the Vols are a 6.5-point favorite according to the latest odds from WynnBET. The over/under is 136 and the money line is -300 for Tennessee and +225 for Michigan.

Michigan Basketball vs Tennessee prediction

In our three keys for Michigan, we talked about how Hunter Dickinson needs to get going and that’s basically always true for the Wolverines. But Tennessee is really good at guarding post-ups and if that proves to be true on Saturday, the Wolverines could struggle.

As we have seen this season, Michigan mostly generates shots by running the offense through Dickinson, ball screens, or other sets designed by the coaching staff.

Many of those plays work — how many times have we seen a designed open 3-pointer for Caleb Houstan only to see him miss — but Dickinson is going to have to win the battle inside. Michigan also can’t wait until the second half to hit 3-pointers.

If Jones is able to go, I expect a great effort from him. This is his first and probably only trip to the NCAA Tournament, so I believe he’ll make the most of it.

But, Michigan’s defense has been too unreliable this season and so has the 3-point shot. Now, if Houstan, Terrance Williams, and others make some shots from the perimeter, coupled with big games from Jones and Dickinson, Michigan can pull the upset.

It just seems like a lot has to go right and Tennessee’s defense is just too good. They will slow down Dickinson enough to win the game 75-68.

What channel is the Michigan basketball game on?

Michigan basketball will play Tennessee on CBS at  05:15 PM EST/02:15 PM PST.

Michigan basketball vs Wisconsin Live Stream

Today’s Michigan basketball game can be live-streamed on Fubo TV.