It's hard to believe how quick the turnaround can be at the NCAA Tournament, but in just over 24 hours, the Michigan basketball team will face the Tennessee Volunteers for a berth in the Final Four.
The Vols are no strangers to the Elite 8. This will be their straight trip to the regional final, losing to the No. 1 in their region in consecutive seasons (Purdue and Houston).
Michigan is in the elite for the first time since 2021, when the Wolverines fell short against UCLA. To get here, Tennessee has ridden the hot hand of point guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie, who is averaging 22 points per game. He's also made 11 3-point attempts, while shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc.
The Vols are also one of the best offensive rebounding teams in college basketball, as well as being a much stronger defensive team (11th via Kenpom's adjusted defensive rating) than the first three teams Michigan basketball has faced.
Opening odds for Michigan vs. Tennessee in the Elite 8
The sixth-seeded Vols still have their work cut out for them, at least in the view of Vegas oddsmakers, as Michigan has opened as a 7.5-point favorite. The over/under is 146.5.
That means the experts are expecting a lower-scoring game. Michigan has scored at least 90 points in each of its first three NCAA Tournament games, but none of the opponents were nearly as good as Tennessee on the defensive end.
The Vols are also radically different from Alabama. Tennessee ranks 309th in 3-point attempts per game and 186th in 3-point percentage. They also have a much bigger lineup, and surrender the fewest defensive rebounding of any team in college basketball.
Friday wasn't a game for Aday Mara. This one will be. He will need to play well. Morez Johnson will need to play better, too. Hopefully, he got his misses out of the way after three blown layups.
Yaxel Lendeborg has been off the charts, though. Michigan basketball fans also can't say enough good things about Trey McKenney, Roddy Gayle, and Elliot Cadeau.
This game will be a dogfight. There are only eight teams left, but the experts see Michigan heading to the Final Four.