Michigan basketball

Michigan basketball, the No. 11 seed in the South region, beat No. 3 seed Tennessee, 76-68, in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Portions of the second half were breathless in a game featuring six ties and 12 lead changes. Michigan fans roared when Dickinson blocked an attempted layup, altered another shot after an offensive rebound by the Volunteers and then plunged to the floor in pursuit of a loose ball, ultimately producing a tie-up. When Dickinson swished a free throw-line jumper with 2:29 remaining in the half — an unusual shot type from an unusual location for the team's leading scorer — Michigan climbed in front, 32-31, to annoy the largely pro-Volunteers crowd. "Everybody thought we shouldn't be in the tournament. The cushion proved large enough to keep Tennessee at bay. The return of point guard DeVante’ Jones from a concussion that sidelined him against Colorado State gave U-M an emotional lift, and fans cheered when he took the floor for pregame warmups. That was the biggest key of winning the game." "We turned the ball over, things weren't going our way," Williams said. Super sub Terrance Williams II scored six of his nine points in the last five minutes to spark the final comeback from a 60-54 deficit. "That was the main focus," Brooks said. The ball belonged to Eli Brooks, the graduate student with more games in a maize and blue uniform than anyone in program history. Skin-tight defense against Jones, Brooks and freshman point guard Frankie Collins repeatedly pushed the starting position for Michigan near mid-court.

The 11-seed Michigan Wolverines took down 3-seed Tennessee, 76-68, to advance to the Sweet 16. Here are our five takeaways.

For a while, the Wolverines had five turnovers to Tennessee’s three, but by the end of the first half, Michigan had nine. After it looked like UT couldn’t be stopped, the maize and blue clamped down, thanks to a zone defense. The Vols entered Saturday’s game as the nation’s No. 2 defense according to KenPom and 18th in the country at creating turnovers. With just under 14 minutes left in the game, the Wolverines took the lead back, thanks to a Hunter Dickinson 3, his second make of the game. Under a minute to go, the four-point lead was still there, thanks to an Eli Brooks skyhook. He drove to the basket and was fouled, allowing the team to take a three-point lead. A regular inclusion in our game takeaways has been Michigan not doing well defending the 3. UT shot from beyond the arc 18 times, but managed two makes, an 11.1 percentage. But, in the first half, the Wolverines were the aggressors, jumping out to an early lead, and staying even in most of the aforementioned categories. But the maize and blue would have to continue on without DeVante’ Jones, who left the game with an undisclosed illness at the half. The Wolverines will face the winner of Sunday’s Ohio State vs. From there, Michigan held on and won, 76-68, and will head to its fifth-straight Sweet 16.