CHICAGO -- This is it. No. 1 seed Michigan has been leveling up all season long for this moment. A trip to the Final Four is 40 good minutes of basketball away for a Wolverines' squad that has been so dominant for basically five consecutive months. But besting Tennessee is no small feat.
Michigan's triple-big lineup of Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson and Aday Mara has intimidated opponents all year. It won't scare Tennessee.
Rick Barnes' Volunteers are one of the biggest teams in the sport, too. Michigan starts three guys who are 6-foot-9 or taller. So does Tennessee with Nate Ament, JP Estrella and Felix Okpara. Plus, the Vols may have the best guard on the floor in sparkplug Ja'Kobi Gillespie, who is just wired with all the right credentials to be a March hero.
Something has to give.
CBS Sports will be with you throughout the entire way on Saturday with live updates, analysis and highlights as Michigan battles Tennessee in the Elite Eight. Keep it locked here as the Wolverines and the Volunteers clash with a trip to the Final Four on the line, and you can watch all the action on March Madness Live.
This officiating crew is off to a rough start in the opening stanza.
7-6 Vols at the first media timeout.
For Michigan: Keep Tennessee off the offensive glass
Tennessee is the best offensive rebounding team in the country. There's real questions about if Tennessee can score without those second-chance opportunities. If Michigan just limits Tennessee to a moderate amount of offensive boards, it's in good shape.
For Tennessee: Don't let Michigan run
Michigan is terrifying in transition. Tennessee's best bet is dragging this one into the mud.
Tennessee big man Felix Okpara and Ohio State guard Roddy Gayle Jr. grew up together at Ohio State, and they'll face off with a Final Four on the line.
"It's just a crazy moment; two guys from Ohio State, we're playing together in the Elite Eight for two different teams," Gayle told CBS Sports. "It's obviously fun to play against somebody that you essentially grew up with."
