The Michigan Wolverines were able to pull off a bit of an upset at the Maui Invitational on Monday afternoon as the 15th-ranked Wolverines defeated the No. 8 ranked Memphis Tigers in the opening round of the tournament. The backcourt unsurprisingly led the way to the 73-61 victory.
Michigan got an impressive performance out of Tim Hardaway Jr. as the guard shot 6-of-12 from the field and hit nine of his 10 free-throw attempts to score a game-high 21 points. The sophomore also added seven rebounds and five assists to help the Wolverines advance to the next round for a match-up with the winner of Monday night's game between the Duke Blue Devils and Tennessee Volunteers.
Aside from Hardaway, the Wolverines got strong performances from a couple of their other starters. Freshman Trey Burke, starting at point guard, scored 14 points and contributed four assists while Evan Smotrycz scored seven points and grabbed eight rebounds.
The Wolverines will be familiar with their Tuesday opponent regardless of whether Duke or Tennessee wins on Monday night. Michigan beat Tennessee in last year's NCAA Tournament before eventually being dispatched by the Blue Devils.
The Tigers had just one player score in double figures as they were stymied by John Beilein's defensive sets throughout most of the game. Senior guard Charles Carmouche scored 14 points and added five rebounds to pace Memphis in both categories. Will Barton and Joe Jackson, the remainder of the Tigers' backcourt trio, connected on just six of their 22 shot attempts from the field.
Make sure to check back in to this StoryStream throughout the Maui Invitational for full coverage of the tournament. For tournament pairings, make sure to check out the Maui Invitational bracket as well.