March Madness: Michigan dominating Colorado State should scare Vols
On paper, neither the Michigan Wolverines or Colorado State Rams should have been a threat to Tennessee basketball in March Madness. As has been mentioned this whole tournament, defensive efficiency is the only factor in determining who can beat UT, and neither meets the minimum requirement of it.
Six of the Vols’ seven losses this regular season are to teams that were in the top 30 in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency ratings. The seventh was at the Alabama Crimson Tide when Rocky Top didn’t have John Fulkerson or Kennedy Chandler. Michigan nor Colorado State could even crack the top 70.
However, even with that stat, the Wolverines 75-63 win over the Rams should terrify the Vols for the March Madness Round of 32. Michigan is a tougher matchup for UT than CSU, it’s battle-tested, and it looked dominant in a way that’s much better than its new 18-14 record indicates.
In terms of matchups, despite the defensive efficiency stat, Michigan brings something to the table that the Vols haven’t seen much of this year. The Wolverines have a true seven-footer in Hunter Dickinson who is their go-to guy at 7’1″ 255 pounds.
Colorado State doesn’t have any legitimate weapons over 6’5″, so the Vols could have torched them down low. Dickinson, however, makes up a duo with freshman phenom 6’9″ power forward Moussa Diabate, who will be a one-and-done. Given Olivier Nkamhoua’s injuries and the youth in the Vols’ post game, this could be a big mismatch.
Michigan also brings more to the table than you might think. This team is very capable despite its record of beating top-notch programs. They beat the Purdue Boilermakers, Ohio State Buckeyes and Indiana Hoosiers on the road during the regular season. A team like that is more than capable of a deep run in March Madness.
Finally, Michigan didn’t just win this game, which was always expected. They dominated. Colorado State didn’t even look in their league, and this appears to be looking like the team that was ranked No. 6 in the nation when the season began.
Are they finally turning into that? Perhaps Juwan Howard’s return lit a fire in them. If so, the Vols could be in serious trouble. Remember, this is a team that made the Elite Eight just a year ago, and it’s hard to see them not being capable of doing the same thing this year, even if it’d be more of a Cinderella story.
Beyond Howard, Michigan has something to prove since most analysts believe they shouldn’t be playing in the tournament given their resume. Taking both of those things into account along with what they just did, Vol fans had better be careful.
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Crazy things can happen in March Madness, and Barnes has a bad history of being upset by lower seeds. Heck, the last time the Vols were a No. 3 seed, they were eliminated by a No. 11 seed in the second round. As a result, they should be as terrified of Michigan as possible. This game could end badly for them if they don’t do everything right.