Michigan Players, Coach Detail Why Vols Are Such a Tough Matchup

INDIANAPOLIS -- For 18 seasons, Reggie Miller wore the famed navy and gold pinstripes of the Indiana Pacers. Six of those seasons were spent inside Bankers

INDIANAPOLIS -- For 18 seasons, Reggie Miller wore the famed navy and gold pinstripes of the Indiana Pacers. 

Six of those seasons were spent inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse, now known as Gainbridge Fieldhouse -- where 3-seed Tennessee will face 11-seed Michigan on Saturday (5:15 ET, CBS) for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen. 

And the Vols will take the floor with a player whose movement has evoked comparisons to the Pacers legend. 

"He plays great without the ball," said Michigan coach Juwan Howard of Tennessee guard Santiago Vescovi. "Kind of reminds me of a guy like Reggie Miller. 

"He has to have great conditioning, and to see the way the defense is trailing -- that's elite level that says he is a high I.Q. player. He's a tough guard."

Vescovi is the Vols' key to movement on offense, but Tennessee's overall tempo is just as important.

Michigan coach and players relayed as much, and plenty more, in discussing UT on Friday afternoon. 

"They definitely look like a Big Ten team with their playing style," said the Wolverines' Terrance Williams II, while guard Jace Howard mentioned that Michigan "cannot let (Tennessee) speed us up."

"Just being offensively sound," said Howard. "We are at our best when we play our game and when teams get us out of that, obviously bad things happen.

"So it's just being ourselves. Don't let anybody else or any other team get us out of who we are and what we do best. If we don't let the game or their tempo on defense speed us up, I feel very confident about our play."

Howard also doubled down on the Big Ten comparison, saying Vescovi reminds him of Purdue's Sasha Stefanovic and that UT's transition attack is similar to that of Michigan State. 

But they reinforced Tennessee's takeaway tendency, too -- a problem that could be minimized if the Wolverines have DeVante' Jones, who missed Thursday's Colorado State game because of concussion protocol. 

Per Juwan Howard on Friday, Johnson will be a game time decision for the Wolverines Saturday afternoon. 

No matter who is running point for Michigan, though, one of the Wolverines' keys is clear: avoid turnovers. 

"They definitely create a lot of turnovers but we can't give them extra possessions and we can't come out in the situation without getting a shot up," said Jace Howard. "We're going to make my takes and turnovers are going to happen and when mistakes add up on and on that's when problems occur so we can't have that and having another ball handler with DJ would definitely help that.

"The guards play a lot of ball pressure, they do a lot of gambling sometimes as you can see so we've got to take care of the ball and be strong with the ball. We can't be loose with it, dribbling, triple threat, not having it out. Even their bigs, if you get in the paint, you know, they got a couple of shot blockers. Those are the big things that we talked about on defense so far."

Juwan Howard took the approach a step further, reinforcing that Michigan cannot just maintain ball control -- it will need to keep things simple with everything Tennessee brings defensively. 

"They throw a lot of coverages at you, sometimes they will throw two to the ball and blitz, sometimes they will have a soft blitz," Howard said. "There are moments when they put bigs in the drop coverage. They also will switch, 1-5 depending on line-ups they have in there, I've also saw some zone they have played. With those different types of coverages, at times they can either speed you up and cause confusion out there on the floor. Some will get you out of the timing of your sets, some of the scoring opportunities that you want to score, whether it's inside or outside. But the key with us, we can't overthink it.

"Just be patient, make simple plays and not try to make a home run."

When Michigan does make its runs, though, Tennessee will be bolstered by another guard -- one who has improved his shot, yet who doesn't let any emotions get the best of him. 

"He's a special, special player, one of the best point guards in college basketball, in my opinion," said Howard of Kennedy Chandler. "He's a high IQ player, he has the same face. I call it the Kawhi Leonard or the Tim Duncan face. He never seems to get rattled or frustrated, from what I've noticed. I've been impressed with how he's mentally stable when things are going good or bad."

The Vols will have to maintain that level of composure across the board on Saturday, especially if Kenny Williams' assessment holds true. 

On Thursday night, Williams mentioned that playing "one of the big boys like Michigan" would be "like a bucket of ice cold water to the face of Tennessee."

We'll see if the Vols flinch on Saturday.