Tennessee is moving on yet again, picking up their third win of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night in Chicago. The Volunteers dominated Iowa State nearly start to finish, crushing the Cyclones in the paint and holding sharpshooter Milan Momcilovic to just six points on 2-9 shooting.
Felix Okpara and Jaylen Carey grabbed ten boards a piece, while Nate Ament scored 18 points. Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 16 points, helping push the Volunteers to a 76-62 win.
Michigan handled Alabama just before that, surviving
a first-half push from the Crimson Tide to dominate the second half. Yaxel Lendeborg scored 23 points, connecting on 4-5 shots from three-point range. Michigan overwhelmed Alabama with 46 rebounds to the Tide’s 32.
Tennessee and Michigan move on to meet in the Elite Eight with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
Michigan has opened as a 7.5 point favorite in the matchup, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The total sits at 146.5. The Wolverines are the third favorite to win the National Championship, with +290 odds. They sit behind both Duke and Arizona. Tennessee is +2500.
The Wolverines quickly became the talk of the college basketball world with their dominant showing back in November back at the Players Era Tournament. Their throttling of both Auburn and Gonzaga quickly put them in the title conversation, and they’ve never wavered off of it. Michigan slipped up just one time in the Big Ten regular season, losing to Wisconsin on the road. They would go on to lose to a hot Purdue team in the Big Ten Championship to close the season.
Michigan has beaten Howard, Saint Louis and Alabama to get to this spot. Tennessee has moved past Miami-Ohio, Virginia and now Iowa State.
According to KenPom, Michigan is the most efficient team in the nation. Tennessee has moved up to 11th with their strong showing in the tournament. The Wolverines boast the top defense in the country.
Tip-off is set for 2:15 p.m. ET on CBS
