2022 NCAA Tournament Second Round: No. 3 Tennessee Volunteers vs. No. 11 Michigan Wolverines
How to Watch:
- Date: Saturday, March 19
- Time: 5:15 p.m. ET
- Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN
- TV: CBS
- Live Stream: NCAA.com
Tale of the Tape:
| No. 3 TEN | STAT | No. 11 MICH |
| SEC | Conference | Big Ten |
| 27-7 | Record | 18-14 |
| 73.2 (130th) | Points Per Game | 73.0 (134th) |
| 62.8 | Points Allowed Per Game | 69.9 |
| 0.647 (3rd) | RPI | 0.5768 (49th) |
| 5th | Strength of Schedule | 5th |
| Automatic Bid | Bid | At-Large Bid |
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Tennessee leaders:
- Kennedy Chandler, G, FR: 13.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 4.6 APG, 2.1 SPG, 37.2% 3PT
- Santiago Vescovi, G, JR: 13.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.6 SPG, 39.6% 3PT
Michigan leaders:
- Hunter Dickinson, C, SO. – 18.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.4 BPG
- Eli Brooks, G, SR. – 12.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.2 SPG, 38.9% 3PT
Odds, Lines, and Past Performance:
- TEN Moneyline: -225
- MICH Moneyline: +205
- Spread: TEN -6
- Over/Under: 136
- ATS Record: TEN 21-13, MICH 14-18
- Over/Under Record: TEN 15-19, MICH 20-12
Odds courtesy of Draftkings. For the latest odds, click here.
The Pick:
- On paper, the Volunteers are one of the best teams in the tournament. They are the 7th-ranked team by KenPom, feature the 3rd-best defense by efficiency rankings, and just ran through the SEC tournament. Plus, they’re in their fourth straight NCAA Tournament, so they shouldn’t be rattled by anything they’ll experience.
- This could be a slower game with the Volunteers playing at the 172nd adjusted tempo and the Wolverines at the 218th tempo. However, the Volunteers put up good point totals despite the slow pace because they’re one of the better three-point shooting teams in the country, shooting at a 35.9% clip from behind the arc (60th in D1) on 24.4 attempts per game. They kept that up in round one, shooting an absurd 58.3% (14-24). If they do that again, they are going to be near impossible to beat.
- Which is why the Wolverines will try to slow the game down and make it more of a grind. They allow the 14th-fewest rebounds to opponents and will have a size advantage, which was on display in round one when they outrebounded Colorado State 36-25. That could be a problem for Tennessee, whose leading rebounder in round one was 6’6″ guard Josiah-Jordan James. He likely won’t be as successful against 7’1″ Dickinson and 6’10” forward Moussa Diabate.
- They also used their size to bully Colorado State inside, leading to 22 free throw attempts, which they converted into 19 points on 86.4% shooting.
- Michigan also had a great game from freshman point guard Frankie Collins, who finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists filling in for starter Devante’ Jones (concussion). However, the Michigan offense was also sloppy throughout the game, turning the ball over 15 times, which could be a factor if Jones can’t play (he’s currently a game-time decision).
