Michigan basketball team blows out Tennessee, 75-45, in second round of NCAA tournament
Michigan guard Zack Novak reacts as the Wolverines pull away from Tennessee in second-round NCAA tournament action Friday. Michigan won, 75-45.
Lance King | Icon Sports Media
CHARLOTTE — Stu Douglass ran down the lane, took the behind-the-back pass from Darius Morris and for the first time in his memory this year, dunked the ball.
Michigan’s bench players rose from their seats — they had done a lot of that during the Wolverines’ 75-45 pasting of No. 9 Tennessee — and didn’t really know what to do.
They were, perhaps for the first time all day, more shocked than the Volunteers.
This was the definitive moment eighth-seeded Michigan enjoyed Friday afternoon in the Round of 64, a play that emphasized the realization the Wolverines were beating a team in the NCAA tournament by 30 points.
“We knew he could dunk wide open but I wasn’t expecting that when I threw the pass, thought he’d lay the ball up or something,” Morris said. “It was a spectacular play.”
Michigan, which played its way into the postseason by winning 9 of its final 13 games, hadn’t put together a performance like that all season.
Douglass’ dunk — merely capped a staggering second half for Michigan (21-13). Counting part of the first half, the Wolverines went on a 53-17 run to completely confound Tennessee (19-15).
The stretch took turned a close game into a route, the biggest one for Michigan in the NCAA tournament since 1989, when the Wolverines beat Virginia in the regional finals, 102-65.
How Michigan did it was even more impressive.
Junior guard Zack Novak hit three 3-pointers early in the second half to continue a first-half Wolverines rally that began with sophomore guard Matt Vogrich making a 3-pointer and then stealing the ball from Tennessee freshman Tobias Harris for a layup.
It gave Michigan a 24-23 lead — and the Wolverines never let Tennessee try to get any closer.
Michigan also switched from man-to-man defense to variations of the 2-3 and 1-3-1 zone. Tennessee had no idea what to do. The Volunteers, who had gone inside often to Harris in the first half when he scored all 19 of his points, shied away from him, choosing instead to shoot 3-pointers.
Which is exactly what Michigan wanted Tennessee to do.
“Slowly but surely we just kept pushing out the lead, getting good stops and limiting their offensive rebounds,” Douglass said. “We could feel it, and we just kept it going.”
This is where this particular Michigan win differs from the rest of the season. The Wolverines have had chances to blow teams out — specifically at home against Northwestern and Indiana. Mental lapses and poor free throw shooting let the opponents back in.
Not today. At one point, the Volunteers had four turnovers in five possessions, including two traveling calls.
“We just didn’t play with no heart out there,” Harris said. “I mean, Michigan came out, made shots and we just did a terrible job of trying to cover them, and on the offensive end we rushed too many shots and, you know, basically you just quit.”
Michigan advances to face the winner of top-seeded Duke on Sunday (time, TBA).
When the Wolverines finished, they had dismantled a Tennessee team that had been to six straight NCAA tournaments. They had run their offense almost to perfection, with Novak scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, leading five Michigan players in double figures.
They used backdoor passes to find Vogrich cutting. They made 6 of 11 3-pointers in the second half and made 64.3 percent of their shots after halftime. Michigan even had its walk-ons thinking they might get a chance to play in the tournament.
The rout left Michigan coach John Beilein, rarely willing to make grand comparisons, willing to take a leap.
As far as his tenure at Michigan, this might have been one of the best games the Wolverines have ever played.
“The first half was pretty good, believe it or not. We scored 33 points on a neutral court against a very good defensive team,” Beilein said. “I would say one of the most complete games we did, considering everything we were trying to accomplish this week.”
Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein
Comments
deagle
Sat, Mar 19, 2011 : 2:23 a.m.
Any preferences on whom Michigan plays after beating Duke?
15crown00
Sat, Mar 19, 2011 : 12:51 a.m.
well well u live to play another day.Good luck with Duke.You'll NEED It
rocco
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 11:25 p.m.
Post-Fab Five Documentary: Irony of ironies is that this Michigan team is more like the Duke team Jalen described than the Duke team itself. But, unfortunately, we are not the original Dukies. We play them on Sunday. We are probably as well coached as Duke and as competitive and gutsy as Duke. We're less experienced than Duke (although a few freshman will be key players for them). Duke recruits at such a higher level than UofM. We're like their JV team. All their players are skilled at all positions. I don't expect a close game. In the future, Michigan will have to recruit better to reach the highest standards in the game. Oh, and all the Dukies saw the Fab Five documentary, were offended by it, and will try to make a statement in Sunday's game.
Dusty
Sat, Mar 19, 2011 : 6:14 a.m.
Uh, ok. Beilein is a pretty good coach. But better than Coach K? That's crazy.
vi4mi4
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 10:41 p.m.
..Wolverines! keep ballin'.. Go Blue! v
NC Wolverine 20
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 10:31 p.m.
Odd historical footnote: Michigan is now the ONLY team ever in NCAA history to win a game w/o hitting a single free throw. Go Blue - Beat the Dookies!
sasmjjsly
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 10:13 p.m.
I stand corrected! I was not high on John Beilein this season. I openly called for him to be fired since I did not feel his "system" would work. BOY, WAS I WRONG!!! Congrats to the players and the GREAT UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN! Coach Beilein has officially won me over. It's finally good to see relevant college basketball return the the great State of Michigan. GO BLUE!!!
1bit
Sat, Mar 19, 2011 : 12:32 a.m.
I agree - I was pretty hard on them (him) earlier in what was year 4 and supposedly a "rebuilding" year. I was wrong. I wonder how much credit also should go to the new assistants. I haven't been this positive about Michigan basketball in a long time. Go Blue!
azwolverine
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 10:04 p.m.
Wow! Michigan came to play, for sure. They were not at all rattled by the fact they fell behind early, just as they haven't been rattled by falling behind in any game this season. Beilein maintains his undefeated record this season when havin 5+ days to prepare for an opponent. Hopefully 2 days will be enough to prepare for Duke, because they looked awfully good today, too. Here's to hoping for a good game and the Maize and Blue pulling a monumental upset. If they continue to play like they did today, they have a shot. Go Blue!
C-cubed
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 9:28 p.m.
I was there as an alum who lives in Charlotte. Two memories: Michigan fans being louder than the twice as many Volunteer fans. Right after the game, seeing Michigan fans trying to buy tickets for Sunday in the TW arena. Also, remember, on Sunday every Tarheel fans will pull for Michigan. Should be interesting.
baitm
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 9:13 p.m.
Congratulations blue. I'm proud of the way they play like a team. Take note football players. The team the team the team. Go blue.
Dusty
Sat, Mar 19, 2011 : 6:12 a.m.
Name one single me-first kid on our football team...
riverraisin
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 9:07 p.m.
Michigan... Thanks for screwing up my bracket. Really..I mean it! Thank You!!
andys
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 9 p.m.
Per ESPN stats: "Michigan's 75-45 win over Tennessee is the largest victory ever by an 8 seed in the Men's Basketball Championship, besting the previous record by 7 points. Of the 4 other 8 seeds to win a game by at least 20 points, 1998 Rhode Island and 2002 UCLA proceeded to knock off the region's top seed in the Round of 32." Bring on the Dookies! Go Blue Baby!!!!
Blu-dogg97
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 9:11 p.m.
..and they won by 30pts without hitting a free throw.. 0-1 ft..
Blu-dogg97
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 8:53 p.m.
That was a BIG win for this group of freshman, Super Nova & Stu..The bench was huge imo...my favorite was Stuuuey"s dunk..If you ever wanted to attend a John Beilein bb clinic ? You just did !! Sunday is a new day.. GO BLUE..
Dusty
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 7:33 p.m.
We took Kansas to OT when the team wasn't playing nearly this well, so Duke isn't an insurmountable task.
Hmm
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 7:23 p.m.
Now the real question is, who picked Big Blue to beat the Dookies in their brackets?
andys
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 8:47 p.m.
I picked UM to make the elite eight! I like the character of this team.
Dwayne
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 8:44 p.m.
I did, but I have to admit, it was a heart pick, with my head fighting it the whole way.
MjC
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 8:39 p.m.
This fan did!
lugemachine
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 7:23 p.m.
Perhaps the best thing about this win: The team that just dismantled a veteran SEC team is the second-youngest in the entire tournament. Next season will be very interesting. And it was great to see Tim Hardaway Sr. all decked out in his Michigan tee-shirt and hat... just a proud dad cheering on his son's team.
ShadowManager
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 7:21 p.m.
So, as long as Duke cooperates, we can have "The Uncle Tom Bowl" on Sunday...
Peter Jameson
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 7:18 p.m.
I like to stay optimistic about Michigan, but I really didn't see a blowout like this coming. Great job fellas!
Jonny Spirit
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 7:11 p.m.
Good Job Big Blue. Make Michigan Proud!!!
81wolverine
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 7:04 p.m.
That was the best half I've seen Michigan play all season - easily. Granted, Tennessee packed it in pretty much after we got ahead by double digits. But, THAT looked like a good NCAA tournament team out there. You know it's a MIchigan blowout when Stu Douglass jams it home! Duke will be an almost impossible task for this team, but hopefully we can make it a good game. Go Blue!
fjord
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 6:54 p.m.
Second round? So they're actually calling those play-in games the first round now? Sad.
macjont
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 8:34 p.m.
I'm looking for a 96 team tournament. 32 seeded into the weekend; the other 64 playing each other to match up against the seeded 32. It can be done easily, and then the complaining would be from school nos. 97, 98, 99 and 100.
Dwayne
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 8:02 p.m.
I am right there with you. A tournament where 8 teams play in the first round and 60 teams get a 'bye', that is a joke. We should call the first four games what they were, play-in games and we should refer to Michigan's win as what it was, a first round win (as spectacular as it was!). I have no problem allowing four additional teams an opportunity to play in the tournament, but that doesn't make it a 68 team tournament, it just changes the method used to field the 64-team tournament.
treetowncartel
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 7:55 p.m.
They need to whittle it back down to 64.
Greggy_D
Fri, Mar 18, 2011 : 7:04 p.m.
I agree 100%. I noticed this last night on the courtside electronic scoreboard.