NCAA Tournament West Region Second Round
#8 Michigan Wolverines vs #9 Tennessee Volunteers
Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC
Friday, March 18, 2011, 12:40 pm Eastern, TV: truTV
Opening Line: Michigan -1
Current Line: Tennessee -2
Opening Total: 127
Current Total: 127 1/2
Money Line: Tennessee -130 / Michigan +110
This game seems like it should be in the Outback Bowl instead of the first round of the NCAA tournament. The #8 Michigan Wolverines take on the #9 Tennessee Volunteers. These two teams have a combined 27 losses. Michigan is 20-13 overall and finished in a four way tie for 4th in the Big Ten with a 9-9 record. Michigan had won 3 in a row before losing to Ohio St 68-61 in the Big Ten semifinals. Tennessee went 19-14 overall and finished 5th in the SEC East with an 8-8 record. Tennessee struggled down the stretch going 4-7 in their last 11, including an 85-74 loss to Florida in the SEC quarterfinals. The winner of this game will very likely play Duke in the second round unless Hampton were to upset the Blue Devils somehow.
Tennessee leads the all time series 5-4 against Michigan but the two teams haven’t played since 1985. Tennessee is 7-15 ATS as a favorite this season. The Volunteers are 12-23 ATS after a conference game the last 2 seasons. Michigan is 20-8 ATS in all games this season, including 14-5 with the total is between 120 and 130, 12-4 as an underdog, and 17-7 versus teams with winning records. Tennessee went 9-9 straight up against tournament teams this year. Michigan went 7-9 against Tournament teams.
Tennessee has no significant injuries right now. Junior guard Scotty Hopson averages 17.4 points to lead the team, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists a game. Forward Tobias Harris averages 15.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists a game. Guard Cameron Tatum averages 8.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists a game. Melvin Goins leads the team in assists with 2.8 a game and also leads the team in steals with 1.8 a game. Forward Brian Williams leads the team in rebounds with 7.7 a game. John Fields leads the team in blocks with 1.2 a game. Tennessee is outscoring opponents 71-67 on the season. The Vols are shooting 43.3% from the field and 30.4% from 3-point range. Tennessee opponents are shooting 41.5% from the field. The Vols make 68.3% of their free throws. Tennessee pulls down 38 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +4.1. They average 13.1 assists and 13.2 turnovers a game on defense. Tennessee forces 14.1 turnovers a game on defense. They average 7.5 steals and 3.7 blocks a game.
The Wolverines are healthy right now and have no significant injuries listed. Michigan is outscoring opponents 66-63 on the season. The Wolverines are very young as they have 3 freshmen in their starting line-up and only one senior on the entire roster. The Wolverines are shooting 44.4% from the field and 33.3% from 3-point range. Michigan opponents are shooting 42.8% from the field. Michigan makes 69.6% of their free throws. The Wolverines average 32 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of -1.9. They average 13.5 assists and 10.1 turnovers a game. Michigan forces 11.5 turnovers a game on defense. Michigan averages 4.7 steals and 2 blocks a game. Sophomore guard Darius Morris leads the team in scoring with 15.2, points, assists with 6.7 a game and steals with 1 a game. He also averages 3.9 rebounds a game. Freshman guard Tim Hardaway Jr. is reminding people of his famous father with his play this year. Hardaway is averaging 13.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists a game and 1 steal a game to tie for the team lead. Jordan Morgan averages 9.2 points and 5.5 rebounds a game. Zach Novak is scoring 8.7 points and leads the team in rebounding with 5.7 a game and 1.6 assists a game.
It is somewhat amazing that these two teams are seeded 8 and 9 in the West Region. It is more an indication of the strength of the two conferences rather than the two teams themselves. These are two flawed teams that will most likely get slaughtered by Duke in the third round. Michigan has been playing better recently than Tennessee going 9-4 down the stretch.
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