CHICAGO — Rick Barnes has been here before, on the brink of Final Four contention. The last two years, Tennessee basketball has fallen short.
The Vols face No. 1-seed Michigan for a third go at it. Initial lines suggest Tennessee won’t be in position to advance — with an opening betting line of a plus-7.5 point margin in favor of the Wolverines.
That is because of the way the Wolverines have attacked March. Michigan is coming off a 13-point win over Alabama, shooting 50% from the field and 48% from three on 13 makes. The 90-point outing happened to be their lowest-scoring output of the postseason, with 101 points against Howard and 95 points against St. Louis.
“Super dangerous offensively,” guard Bishop Boswell said. “I think they have a bunch of different pieces and guys that can come in off the bench and contribute, really shoot the ball. They’re a super dangerous in transition, especially Yaxel, just with his frame kind of getting downhill. We’ve got to be locked into transition defense and build walls, guarding as a unit.”
It’s a tough task for a Tennessee defense that has suffocated talented scoring offenses in March. The Vols haven’t allowed an opposing offense to shoot better than 40% from the floor since the SEC Tournament against Vanderbilt — who shot 40.4%. Additionally, Virginia is the only team to have shot better than 27% from three in the last five games against the Vols.
Tennessee
Guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie
Guard Bishop Boswell
Forward Nate Ament
Forward J.P Estrella
Center Felix Okpara
Michigan
Guard Elliot Cadeau
Guard Nimari Burnett
Center Aday Mara
Forward Morez Johnson Jr.
Forward Yaxel Lendeborg
How to watch Tennessee basketball
The Vols and Wolverines will square off on CBS at 2:15 p.m. ET as Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas and Evan Washburn will have the call.
Tennessee fans wanting to listen to the action can tune into Mike Keith and Chris Lofton on the radio call on the local Vol Network affiliate.
March guard play
The teams that make the deepest runs are often guided by elite guard play. That was the case for Walter Clayton Jr. and Florida’s national championship run a year ago.
It will remain a case for Michigan’s Elliot Cadeau and Tennessee’s Ja’Kobi Gillespie.
Cadeau is fresh off a 17-point, 7-assist, 5-rebound game against the Crimson Tide, where he turned the ball over once. In three NCAA Tournament games, he’s averaging 11.3 points and 7.7 assists per game while turning the ball over a total of four times.
Gillespie’s output has been as a scoring guard. He’s averaging 22 points per game over the first three, while Bishop Boswell has handled the ball with efficiency. Boswell has dished out 17 assists over the last two games while turning it over just once.
