CHICAGO -- Michigan never felt threatened by Tennessee basketball.
In fact, the No. 1 seed Wolverines (35-3) bordered on irritating in this March Madness. They mockingly sang Tennessee's viral theme song in the pregame locker room. Forward Morez Johnson Jr. screamed "Let's go get 'em" in the postgame TV interview.
Michigan players and coaches alike asked each other "Got what?" after the 95-62 win over the No. 6 Vols (25-12) at United Center on March 29.
It was Tennessee's third straight Elite Eight loss. And it might have been the worst one yet.
"Yeah, there's luck in everything you do," Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes said, on whether luck is needed to get to their first Final Four appearance.
"We've seen enough in this game. There's a lot of different ways to get there. But if you want to break through, you've got to get here first. You've got to put yourself in position to do that. We've been able to get here three years in a row, and it'll be hard to get back to winning games just in the tournament . . . But our goal would be to keep getting back and kicking and hopefully we can knock the door down."
Tennessee kept pace early and led 16-14 before Michigan pounced with a 24-2 run. Another 7-0 burst by the Wolverines in the final minute sent the Vols into halftime with a 22-point deficit, which was eerily close to their 19-point halftime hole against Houston in the same round last season.
The Vols' defense brought them to the Elite Eight, but the Wolverines dissected it with constant transition opportunities.
Tennessee fed Michigan's transition offense with a 31.6% shooting performance, and the Vols were unable to assert an interior presence like they did in their previous tournament victories.
"Our transition defense got us. It killed us in the long run," redshirt sophomore J.P. Estrella said. "They've got a great frontcourt; we've got a great frontcourt. I thought we battled, but obviously they played better than us tonight. We really didn't play our brand of basketball. If we did, I feel like there would've been a different outcome, but I can't say that because we didn't."
But through silly bits like the postgame towel celebrations and their theme song, the Vols got something else.
"I'll remember the brotherhood we all had," senior Ja'Kobi Gillespie said.
In the final game of his college career, the former Greeneville High School star had 21 points, six steals, four assists and four rebounds. He was the first player Barnes hugged when he checked out of the game.
"He was just telling me he appreciates me and that I played as hard as I could," Gillespie said. "I was telling him the same thing just for giving me the opportunity to come home and wear this Tennessee jersey."
Gillespie's eyes were dry in the locker room. The 22-year-old spoke with elevated wisdom. He knows they'll probably dance to "Let's Go Get Em" soon enough. At least once the sting of this loss fades.
"Right now we're all sad, but we have a lot to be proud of," he said. "Nobody expected us to get here. Only us in this locker expected us to be here. I'm definitely proud of everybody in here.
"These guys are all my brothers for life."