No. 1 Michigan (33–3) and No. 4 Alabama (25–9) collide tonight in Chicago with an Elite Eight berth on the line. The Sweet 16 matchup at the United Center is set for today, with tipoff at 7:35 p.m. ET (6:35 p.m. CT). Michigan walks in as a double-digit favorite and will be without guard L.J. Cason; Alabama is reportedly missing Aden Holloway. Around the Detroit area, the question is simple: can Michigan's size mute the Tide's long-range firepower.
The matchup is listed on the Midwest Regional schedule at the United Center, and it will be televised on TBS/truTV with streaming on HBO Max, according to TechRadar. Michigan earned its spot by pulling away from Saint Louis in the second round, 95–72, behind 25 points from Yaxel Lendeborg, a win that pushed the Wolverines to 33–3 on the season, per Wikipedia.
Detroit News panel favors Michigan
On paper, the local media is not exactly torn. In a predictions roundup, Detroit News writers all leaned Michigan. Bob Wojnowski called it 93–82, James Hawkins went 90–84, Connor Earegood took 84–78 and John Niyo landed on 91–84, all of them picking the Wolverines to move on. The panel highlighted Michigan's frontcourt edge and Alabama's perimeter punch, including a recent Tide outing with 19 made three pointers, as the matchup's central tension, according to The Detroit News.
What to watch
Michigan's frontline of Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara is the trio to track. Bob Wojnowski writes that the Wolverines' bigs should control the paint, a comforting thought for fans who like their basketball played inside out. Alabama's answer is volume from deep, and plenty of it, but the Detroit News panel also pointed to the Tide's issues with defensive turnover rate and defensive rebounding as cracks Michigan can attack, per The Detroit News.
Bottom line
If Michigan owns the glass and chokes off Alabama's transition looks, that size advantage is set up to matter in a big way. Do that, and the Wolverines will be well-positioned to punch their ticket to the Elite Eight on March 29 at the United Center, per the venue schedule. For local viewers, the game will air on TBS/truTV with streaming on HBO Max, and those who want every last prediction and score pick can find the full breakdown in the Detroit News roundup referenced above.
