U-M to Square Off with No. 3 Seed Tennessee in NCAA Second Round

» No. 11 seed Michigan advanced to the NCAA Second Round and will face No. 3 seed Tennessee.
» U-M advanced following a 75-63 win over No. 6 seed Colorado State.
» Including the second-round match-up, the last three meetings between U-M and Tennessee have been in the NCAA Tournament -- 2011 (W, 75-45, U-M) and 2014 (W, 73-71, U-M).
» In his first career start, and filling in for DeVante' Jones (concussion), Frankie Collins posted career bests for points (14) and rebounds (6).

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The University of Michigan men's basketball team, who earned a No. 11 seed for the NCAA Tournament, continues its NCAA postseason against No. 3 seed Tennessee on Saturday (March 19) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Tipoff against the Volunteers is set for 5:15 p.m. on the CBS with Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Jim Spanarkel (analyst) and Jamie Erdahl (sideline) on the call. If the Wolverines are victorious, they would advance to the Sweet 16 for the fifth straight year and head to San Antonio.

Quick Maize & Blue NCAA Notables

• The Wolverines have reached the Sweet 16 in four consecutive tournaments (2017, '18, '19, '21). Michigan is one of just two programs, along with Gonzaga, to reach four-straight Sweet 16s. Since 2013, the Maize and Blue has reached the Sweet 16 six times, tied for the most in the country with the Zags.
• U-M has reached the Elite Eight four times since 2013, tied for the most in the country with Duke, Gonzaga and Kentucky.
• Since 2013, Michigan has 21 NCAA Tournament wins, more than any other program. Gonzaga has 20 NCAA Tournament wins since 2013 while Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina and Villanova each have 18.
• Juwan Howard is the only coach and player to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. As a player with U-M, he and the rest of the Fab Five were the No. 1 seed in the West Region in the 1993 tournament. After guiding his Wolverines to the Big Ten regular-season title last season, his U-M squad earned the No. 1 seed in the East Region.

The No. 3 seed Tennessee Volunteers

• Michigan faces one of the hottest teams in the nation as No. 3 seed Tennessee has won its last eight straight games, including the SEC Tournament title -- the first since 1979.
• Tennessee stands at 27-7 overall and was 14-4 in SEC play, finishing as the regular season runner-up to Auburn (15-3).
• En route to the SEC Tourney crown, UT defeated Mississippi State (72-59, +13), Kentucky (69-62, +7) and Texas A&M (65-50, +15) in the championship game.
• In its opening NCAA first-round game vs. No. 14 seed Longwood, No. 3 seed Tennessee cruised to an 88-59 victory. Five Volunteers finished in double figures with Santiago Vescovi closing with 18 points and seven assists.
• Tennessee is led by a balanced attack as Kennedy Chandler leads the team with 13.8 points per game, while dishing a team-best 152 assists (4.6 apg). Santiago Vescovi is just behind as he has used a team-best 101 three-pointers to average 13.5 points per game. He gives UT two 100+ assist Volunteers as he has 109 (3.2 apg). Josiah-Jordan James is the third UT player in double figures with 10.2 per game, while he adds a team-best 6.0 rebounds.
• Almost 40 percent of Tennessee's offense comes via the long-range basket as the Volunteers made 303 this season, which is 25th nationally.
• It's not just its offensive firepower (73.6 ppg), Tennessee relies on a strong defense as the Volunteers have 309 steals (9.4 spg), which is slated as the eighth-best in the nation. The Volunteers also hold opponents to 40.0 percent shooting, 31.2 percent from long range and to 62.6 points per game

The All-Time Ledger: Michigan vs. Tennessee

• Michigan holds a 6-5 all-time record with Tennessee.
• Prior to two NCAA Tournament games in 2011 and 2014, the Wolverines and Volunteers played nine times -- five in Knoxville and four in Ann Arbor. Each team won its home game as Tennessee held the 5-4 advantage.
• Following a 26-year span, No. 8 seed U-M defeated No. 9 seed Tennessee, 75-45, in the West Region first round in Charlotte (Time Warner Cable Arena) in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. In a tight first half, U-M went into the break leading, 33-29. In the second half, the Wolverines shot 64.3 percent and scored 42 points, while UT was cold shooting 26.1 percent and managing just 16 points, as the Maize and Blue cruised to the 75-45 win. U-M had five double-figure Wolverines as Zack Novak led with 14 points and 10 rebounds. UT's Josh Tobias led with 19 points and five rebounds.
• Three years later in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, No. 2 seed U-M met up with No. 11 seed UT in the Sweet 16 in Indianapolis (Lucas Oil Stadium). As the Wolverines took a 45-34 first-half lead, the Volunteers chipped away in the second half and trailed by one with 14 seconds left. After a Caris LeVert turnover, Jordan Morgan drew an offensive charge on Jarnell Stokes with six seconds remaining. Nik Stauskas was fouled and made one of two free throws to give the Maize and Blue the win. U-M finished with four in double figures led by Morgan's 15, while UT's Jordan McRae had 24.

NCAA First Round: Michigan Rallies Past Colorado State

• Led by Hunter Dickinson's 21 points, on 8-of-10 shooting, No. 11 seed Michigan overcame a 15-point first-half deficit to rally past No. 6 seed Colorado State, 75-63, in the first round. The victory was U-M's 22nd in the tournament since 2013, more than any other team in the nation during that time frame.
• Dickinson added six rebounds and four blocks to his 21 points -- seven of which came in the final seven minutes of the game to preserve the Wolverines' comeback from a sluggish first half -- while Eli Brooks posted 16, seven rebounds and six assists.
• In his first career start, and filling in for DeVante' Jones (concussion), Frankie Collins was a spark plug with a career-high 14, career-best six rebounds and two assists in a career-high 31 minutes. Caleb Houstan chipped in 13, including multiple pivotal three-pointers as Michigan closed in on and overtook the lead.
• After trailing by as many as 15 points in the first half, the Rams nailed eight three-pointers and capitalized on nine Michigan turnovers, while the Wolverines did not hit a shot from deep until the second half. CSU carried a 36-29 lead into the half.
• In the second half, U-M went 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, while stifling the Rams on defense, holding them to a mere 27 percent from the field and 4-of-15 from deep. In the end, U-M outscored Colorado State by 19 (46-27) in the second half and rallied to win.

Up Next

(if win), Thursday, March 24 -- at NCAA South Region Sweet 16 (San Antonio, Texas)