With a trip to the Elite 8 on the line, Midwest Region opponents Michigan (No. 2 seed) and Tennessee (No. 11) will square off Friday night from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for what many believe will be one of the most entertaining games of the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament. The Sweet 16 round opened Thursday night and now that No. 11 Dayton (South Region), No. 1 Florida (South), No. 1 Arizona (West) and No. 2 Wisconsin (West) have already solidified their respective spots in the final 8, the Wolverines and Volunteers hope to become the first Friday entry into the prestigious round.
The Wolverines return to the Sweet 16 for the second-consecutive season and despite falling short of the ultimate goal by losing to the Louisville Cardinals in last year’s NCAA Championship Game, Michigan head coach John Beilein is excited about his team’s chances to move forward once again. Though he doesn’t pay much attention to the overall landscape of the NCAA bracket, the former West Virginia leader knew full well that if his squad reached this point, a tough opponent would be waiting, no matter how the early parts of the postseason event played out.
“I’m not a big bracket guy,” Beilein, who is in his seventh season with the Wolverines, said this week. “I look at who we’re going to play and I knew that if we won that we would be playing Texas or Arizona State. And that’s all I knew. And we had to get out of that game and I figured out who we’d play. But I’ve been watching [Tennessee coach] Cuonzo (Martin) and this team develop over these years and it’s really, it’s got such great experience on it, it’s something that is frankly so important to the success right now. My guys have done this before. So I think that part allows them to just focus on the game. This is not something they’re dreading, all the media attention. They’ve been through it. They survived it.”
While Beilein and the Wolverines make their final preparations before the Friday night showdown, Tennessee head coach Cuonzo Martin will be figuring out how to slow UM star Glenn Robinson III. The 42-year-old Martin was a teammate and roommate of GR III’s dad Glenn Robinson Sr. at Purdue University so he had a front row seat to the current Michigan stars early growth. Though he’s looking forward to matching up against the talented scorer, Martin says his team will be ready to go because of the unity they have with one another.
“I'm happy for him and it will be fun playing against him," Martin said of Robinson. "Of course, we'd like to get the win, but I'm happy to see where he's come, how far he's come as a basketball player. He's a great kid. And I think our particular group has a love for each other and they want to be successful as a team. I think that's why you see the results you see. But you also have to have talent to do that and you also have to have the guys embrace what you're trying to do as a coach and not give up.”
No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 11 Tennessee: DATE, TIME & VIEWING INFO
DATE: Friday, March 28
TIME: 7:15pm, ET
TV COVERAGE: CBS
LIVE STREAM: CLICK HERE
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.