In a way Michigan (21-13) caught a major break on Friday because it played a Tennessee team that clearly was distracted with the rumors of Coach Bruce Pearl’s tenuous job status. But still, Michigan’s 75-45 win was a shocker – it was the largest margin of victory ever in a No. 8 vs. No. 9 seed game. Michigan blew the game open in the second half and didn’t hit a single free throw in the game, becoming the first team to win an NCAA Tournament game without hitting one. The Wolverines made up for it by shooting 52 percent from the field and holding a 36-26 rebounding edge against the bigger Volunteers. Entering the game, Michigan generated just 15.8 percent of its points from free throws, which was the 4th-lowest percentage in Division I. This is a small, 3-point shooting team. It was Michigan’s first NCAA Tournament win since 1998.

Duke (31-4) wasn’t expected to have any trouble with Hampton and didn’t, winning 87-45. The already excellent Blue Devils got even better with the return of freshman point guard Kyrie Irving, who had been out since injuring his toe after just eight games. Irving played 20 minutes and had 14 points, not looking like he had missed a beat. The Blue Devils never trailed and shot 53 percent from the field. A win against Michigan would be the 900th in the career of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski – Bob Knight, Coach K’s mentor, holds the all-time record with 902.

Michigan is 8-19 all-time vs. Duke. The teams haven’t met since 2008.

Madness would not be betting on the NCAA Tournament at Bodog!