The Michigan Wolverines got off to a slow start in their 2nd round meeting with the Tennessee Volunteers. Down 23-17 with 6 minutes to go it appeared the Wolverines might be in for a long day. Little did the Volunteers know, Michigan was just getting started.
A 12-2 run at the end of the first half gave the Wolverines a 33-29 lead at halftime, while a 19-2 run to start the second half propelled the Wolverines to a 52-31 lead and an easy trip to the 3rd Round where they will likely face Duke.
In what likely will be Bruce Pearl’s final game as head coach at Tennessee, the Volunteers simply gave up in the second half being outscored 42-16. How bad was it for Tennessee? Their leading scorer – Tobias Harris – scored 19 points, all in the first half. After going 6-6 from the field in the first 20 minutes, Tobias was 0-5 in the second.
Michigan ended the day shooting 51.6% from the field and out-rebounded the Volunteers 35-24. The Wolverines had 20 assists compared to Tennessee’s 10 while forcing Tennessee into 18 turnovers.
Zack Novak led the Wolverines with 14 points and 10 rebounds while Darius Morris added 8 points and 9 assists.