Michigan are set to face Tennessee in the Elite Eight. Only one of the teams playing on Sunday has never been to the Final Four: Tennessee. The sixth-seeded Volunteers will have to topple No. 1 seed Michigan to make history.
A Clash of Styles
The game features two of the nation’s most relentless rebounding teams, defined by their physicality, size and nonstop pursuit of the ball on both ends. For Tennessee, shot-making determines everything. The Volunteers are 24-3 when they make at least 43 percent of their attempts from the field, but just 1-8 when they fall below that mark.
Michigan rarely allows it. Only eight teams all season have managed to shoot better than 43 percent against the maize and blue. The Wolverines enter Sunday ranked No. 2 in defensive efficiency.
Players to Watch
Michigan’s guards can be suspect at times. Tennessee will need its best game from senior Ja’Kobi Gillespie. The Volunteers also have to find a way to slow down All-American Yaxel Lendeborg.
Lendeborg has recorded two straight 20+ point games, including a 23-point, 12-rebound double-double against Alabama in the Sweet 16.
Road to the Elite Eight
Both teams have taken nearly identical paths to the Elite Eight. Each stumbled a bit in the opening round despite being heavy favourites, responded with a double-digit win in the round of 32, and then survived a tight Sweet 16 battle.
The winner will advance to take on No. 1 Arizona in next Saturday’s Final Four.
All four of the teams playing on Sunday have been a familiar fixture in the Elite Eight in recent years. Arizona are in their first Final Four in 25 years, while Illinois are back for the first time since 2005. Both of those programmes finished as the national runner-up that season.