Michigan Basketball: 3 takeaways from gritty win over Tennessee
By Nick Popio
2. The Big Ten gauntlet helped Michigan get to the Sweet 16
Wins over Purdue, Michigan State, Indiana, Iowa, and Ohio State got Michigan into the tournament and have guided them to another sweet 16 appearance.
Tennessee was streaking into the contest with eight straight victories. They were getting consideration as a legitimate threat to make it to the Final Four coming out of the SEC.
They looked the part in Thursday’s dominant win over the Lancers too. Very few had Michigan advancing beyond the second round of 32, but the Wolverines had other ideas. Minus their starting point guard and the fact they were due for a loss if they had followed their previous 11 game course, then Michigan would be going home right now.
Michigan basketball is heading to the Sweet Sixteen for the 5th straight NCAA Tournament, something no Big Ten program has ever accomplished. #MarchMadness
— andrewhfine (@andrewhfine) March 20, 2022
The maize and blue showed the country that the Big Ten is the premier conference in America. They’re 8-3 through the first three days of the tournament and have six squads left dancing. For Michigan, they were the eighth-best team in the division and an 11 seed that wasn’t expected to make it this far.