Admiration is mutual as Michigan, Tennessee meet in Elite Eight

CHICAGO — Michigan's Dusty May looked at the highlights of his most recent meeting against Tennessee, back when he was coaching Florida Atlantic. The Owls beat Tennessee in the Sweet 16 three years ago as part of a stunning run to the Final Four. This time, May leads Michigan (34-3) into an Elite Eight matchup against the Volunteers (25-11) on Sunday. "It's shocking how physical they are in a good way, how hard they play, how active they are with their hands," May said. "It's very difficult to throw a direct pass anywhere on the court because of their effort. Obviously, their size, athleticism factors into that. "So, yeah, it was a good reminder to watch that edit because some things definitely popped back into my head to be aware of." It's fair to say May is a fan of Tennessee coach Rick Barnes. And Barnes feels the same way about him. "There are so many guys that are talked about that could have been great basketball coaches," Barnes said. "You get that chance and obviously, Dusty did a great job. Then he gets one of the great jobs in the country. He believes in what he believes in. You watch his teams play, there's a definite trait there that you understand what is important to him. It's a winning formula. He stays with it." The top seed in the Midwest Region, Michigan has its sights set on its ninth trip to the Final Four and first since losing to Villanova in the 2018 championship game under John Beilein. With All-American Yaxel Lendeborg leading the way, the Wolverines set a program record for single-season wins. They dominated the Big Ten during the regular season, only to lose to Purdue in the conference tournament final two weeks ago at United Center. Michigan regrouped in the NCAA tournament by beating Howard, Saint Louis and Alabama, scoring at least 90 points in each game. Now, the Wolverines hope to celebrate in Chicago. Sixth-seeded Tennessee beat Iowa State 76-62 on Friday to advance to the regional finals for the third straight year. The Volunteers have never been to a Final Four, though Barnes has. He got there with Texas in 2003. Tennessee lost to Houston last year and to Purdue in 2024. The Volunteers' only other Elite Eight was under Bruce Pearl in 2010. "It's definitely an added motivation," guard Bishop Boswell said. "I'm hungry for it. Last year, I was here and we were able to get to the Elite Eight thanks to the senior guys. We weren't able to get it done. To see their faces, it hurt absolutely last year, watching the ceremony and everything of that nature and just seeing we weren't able to get to that point." Barnes ranks second among active Division I coaches with 861 wins in 39 seasons. He has led teams to five conference regular-season championships and 30 NCAA Tournaments. But when it comes to the biggest prize of all, well, his resume has a glaring omission. "Do I wish we could have won national championships and all that?" he said. "All I can tell you is we just stay in the arena. We'll keep fighting as long as we can. Again, I'm proud of every team we've ever had in this tournament." Base on the seeding, history is not on Tennessee's side. The most recent 6 seed to advance to a Final Four was none other than Michigan with the Fab Five in 1993. That team beat Temple in the regional finals and Kentucky before losing to North Carolina in a tight championship game best remembered for Chris Webber calling a timeout when the Wolverines had none remaining. The only other No. 6 seeds to advance to a Final Four were Providence in 1987 and Kansas a year later en route to the title. By comparison, six No. 8 and six No. 11 seeds have advanced past the regionals. No team seeded lower than 11th has reached the Final Four. It wouldn't have been hard to understand had Tennessee's Nate Ament decided to shut it down for the rest of the year after spraining his right ankle late in the season. After all, the 6-foot-10 freshman is expected to be a first-round draft pick this spring. "I just had more to give," he said. "I wasn't ready for my season to be over, but I also wanted to empty the tank out for the team so we would be in the best position to win." Ament was injured against Alabama. He returned for Tennessee's Southeastern Conference Tournament opener and scored 27 points in a comeback win over Auburn. He has averaged 14.6 points in five games since coming back. Former roommates Roddy Gayle Jr. and Felix Okpara will be on opposite sides. They were teammates for two years at Ohio State and lived together as freshmen during the 2022-23 year. Gayle is now at Michigan, Okpara with Tennessee. "We were roommates," Gayle said. "I pretty much spent all day, every day with him. We just built a special bond together. So it's obviously fun to play against somebody you essentially grew up with for those two years."