Who won the michigan tennessee basketball game

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Eli Brooks returned for one final college season with the goal of helping Michigan reach the Final Four.

Defying expectations, the Wolverines are halfway there.

Brooks scored seven of his 23 points in the final 3 1/2 minutes and the 11th-seeded Wolverines booked the most surprising of their five straight Sweet 16 appearances, beating third-seeded Tennessee 78-68 on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

''I'm just trying to live in the moment right now and cherish the time we have with the people in my life right now at Michigan and enjoy the process of going through this tournament again and having that chance of getting our last goal,'' said Brooks, a fifth-year senior.

Michigan's five straight trips to the regional semifinals is the second-longest streak in the nation behind Gonzaga's. The Bulldogs beat Memphis on Sunday night to make their seventh consecutive Sweet 16.

It wasn't clear late in the season whether the Wolverines would be in the tournament, much less have a chance for a deep run.

Hardly a conventional Cinderella given its resources and pedigree, Michigan (19-14) has the worst record of any team left in the field and did the bare minimum to secure an at-large berth. The Wolverines hadn't won two straight games since mid-February.

Still, coach Juwan Howard's squad has plenty of talent and elevated its play down the stretch against the Southeastern Conference champion Vols, who led by six points with 8 1/2 minutes left before going cold. Howard himself had to learn some lessons about composure when he was suspended for five games late in the season for hitting a Wisconsin assistant during a postgame handshake line.

Next up for the Wolverines is either second-seeded Villanova or longtime rival Ohio State, the No. 7 seed, on Thursday in the South Region semifinals at San Antonio, Texas.

''Making it to the Sweet 16 is, as literal as it is, sweet because nobody believed in us,'' said sophomore big man Hunter Dickinson, who led Michigan with 27 points and 11 rebounds. ''Everybody thought we shouldn't be in the tournament and now people that were hating on us are going home and about to watch us next week.''

Brooks broke Tennessee's heart with his late, looping, improvised hook shot.

''He's everything when it comes to being a Michigan man, what he's done on the floor, what he's done off the floor, with his development, growing as a man, being able to adjust to different cultures,'' Howard said. ''It's going to be tough to replace a guy like that. He's irreplaceable.''

Kennedy Chandler had 19 points and Josiah-Jordan James had 13 for Tennessee (27-8), which had a seven-game winning streak snapped. Two days after shooting a school tourney record 60% from the field, the Vols shot 41.8% and came up short again in the postseason. Tennessee lost to Oregon State in the first round last year, also at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

This year, the arena was filled to the rafters with an orange hue and Vols fans repeatedly belted out the lyrics to ''Rocky Top'' during timeouts - a stark contrast from 2021 when attendance was limited to about 25% of capacity because of COVID-19 restrictions. The energy made a difference.

''We had bigger expectations, but credit to Michigan - they played better basketball for 40 minutes,'' James said. ''It definitely hurts. It's not a good feeling being up here right now on the losing end.''

Michigan controlled most of the first half until the Vols used a late 13-4 run to take a 37-32 halftime lead. Tennessee played with the lead for most of the second half until Michigan went on a 14-5 run.

The Wolverines twice tied the score on tip-ins from Terrance Williams II. And then Brooks swung the game.

His three-point play with 3:21 to go made it 65-62. Chandler's jumper cut the deficit to 66-64, but James missed a 3-pointer and Brooks answered with his old-school hook before Michigan closed it out at the free-throw line.

BIG PICTURE

Michigan: The Wolverines played better than their seeding in Indianapolis, beating Colorado State with a backup point guard before topping the SEC champs. Now, Howard has his team thinking about adding a national championship banner to Crisler Arena.

Tennessee: Coach Rick Barnes' team appeared to be peaking before the tournament, which will make this loss difficult to accept.

HURT AGAIN

Michigan starting point guard DeVante' Jones, who missed Thursday's first-round game, returned Saturday only to depart again after a collision with teammate Moussa Diabate.

STAT PACK

Michigan: Brooks had five assists and Dickinson had four. Dickinson also drew eight fouls. ... Diabate finished with 13 points and six rebounds. ... Jones played 11 1/2 minutes. ... Michigan had 15 turnovers, compared with seven for Tennessee.

Tennessee: Chandler had nine assists and four rebounds. ... Uros Plavisc scored nine points and grabbed nine rebounds. ... Tennessee was 2 of 18 on 3-pointers and was outscored 13-7 on second-chance points.

HE SAID IT

''It's very frustrating. Whether you lose on the first day, the second day, like we did today, or you lose in the semifinals, it's the same feeling,'' Barnes said. ''I've been frustrated a lot in my career, but I'm also very thankful that I've been able to be here.''

UP NEXT

Michigan will try to win its third game in a row for the first time since late January.

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Final: Michigan 76, Tennessee 68

Wolverines close on a 22-8 run to win back-to-back games for the first time in over a month. Michigan is headed back to the Sweet 16. Hunter Dickinson finished with 27 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 11 rebounds, Eli Brooks had 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting and Moussa Diabate added 13 points and six rebounds.

Michigan shot 50 percent from the field, and overcame 15 turnovers. Big, big victory for a team so many had written off. Make sure you read Andrew’s game story.

Michigan 64, Tennessee 62, 3:21 2H:

Things have changed quickly. Terrance Williams with a couple of put-back baskets off the bench, and an Eli Brooks layup has put Michigan ahead (and heading to the free throw line) at the final media timeout. Vols have cooled offensively, and are settling for shots on the perimeter.

Tennessee 60, Michigan 54, 7:57 1H:

Wolverines haven’t scored in nearly three minutes, and continue to have a tough time defending the paint. If they don’t fix that quickly, the Vols appear primed to run away with this game. Kennedy Chandler’s up to 17 points, Josiah-Jordan James has 13.

Hunter Dickinson has 24, but he’s not getting much help on either end of the floor. Michigan needs someone to step up here down the stretch. Turnovers today: 13 for Michigan, 5 for Tennessee.

Tennessee 57, Michigan 54, 10:14 2H:

I count 11 lead changes so far this game, with many of them coming here in the second half. Lots of back-and-forth play among both teams. Michigan’s interior defense, though, needs some work. Vols guards are having their way around the basket, and scoring with ease.

Buckle up. These final 10 minutes are going to be a lot of fun.

Tennessee 45, Michigan 44, 15:03 2H:

Michigan came to play in the second half, especially Hunter Dickinson. He now leads all scorers with 21 points, nine of which came in the first four minutes here. Eli Brooks added another 3. Still, the Wolverines are giving up too many easy baskets. Activity has picked up, though, setting the stage for what should be a good ending.

Of note: DeVante’ Jones is “unlikely to return to the game,” MLive’s Andrew Kahn reports. The CBS broadcast contributed it to an “illness.”

Tennessee 37, Michigan 32, half:

Welp, that wasn’t a good way to end the half. Vols close on a 13-2 run thanks, in part, to four straight Michigan turnovers. Juwan Howard and co. will need to find a way to fix that in the second half. UT has 13 fast-break points to Michigan’s 2, a startling stat for a team that needs to run up-tempo to win this game.

Josiah-Jordan James has 10 points (on 4-of-7 shooting), Kennedy Chandler has 9, while Hunter Dickinson leads all scorers with 12. Moussa Diabate added 8 but he’s just 4 of 9 shooting and missed a couple of bunnies around the basket. If you’re wondering, Caleb Houston (0-2) is scoreless.

Michigan 30, Tennessee 29, 3:54 1H:

Turnovers continue to hurt the Wolverines, who now have 5 and allowed UT to turn a bad pass into a 3. Michigan had a 6-point lead on two separate occasions during the last spurt, only to watch the Vols scrap for offense. Josiah-Jordan James and Hunter Dickinson both have 10 points. U-M is 12 of 26 from the field (44 percent) but getting outrebounded by 3.

Michigan 22, Tennessee 20, 7:55 1H:

DeVante’ Jones is back, and with his right wrist taped up. But Michigan has cooled offensively and went more than three minutes without a basket. The Vols took a brief lead before Caleb Williams drained a 3 and Moussa Diabate answered a UT layup with an easy basket of his own.

U-M is now 4 for 8 from 3 in this game.

Michigan 17, Tennessee 12, 11:57 1H:

Still holding onto a lead, and Hunter Dickinson knocks down his second 3-point basket of the game. He’s up to 8 points. Michigan has three turnovers, and will need to do a better job of holding onto the basketball in this game.

Michigan 10, Tennessee 8, 15:38 1H:

The Wolverines got off to a fast start, racing out to an early 10-2 lead thanks to a pair of 3-point baskets from Eli Brooks and Hunter Dickinson. But Tennessee has found its rhythm in the mid-range game, with Josiah-Jordan James already scoring 6 points on 3-of-3 shooting.

And some bad news for Michigan: DeVante’ Jones has returned to the locker room, with CBS reporting some sort of wrist injury. We’ll update as we hear more.

Pregame: MLive’s men’s basketball beat writer, Andrew Kahn, just went live on Facebook from Indianapolis to help preview this evening’s matchup. Point guard DeVante’ Jones is on the court for warmups.

Watch here:

• Michigan’s starting lineup: PG DeVante’ Jones, SG Eli Brooks, SF Caleb Houstan, PF Moussa Diabate, C Hunter Dickinson.

... MLive’s Ryan Zuke checks in from Crisler Center, where the Michigan women’s basketball team handled business in the opening round of their NCAA tournament, beating American 74-39. Read the game story.

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Can Michigan basketball put together back-to-back wins?

The Wolverines will try to do so Saturday for the first time in over a month, and avoid elimination, against No. 3 seed Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The action is scheduled to tip off at 5:15 p.m. ET (UPDATE: Tip has been pushed back to 5:50 p.m. ET) from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, and you can catch it live on CBS.

HOW TO WATCH: TV channel, live stream for Michigan-Tennessee