ANAHEIM, Calif. - Call it a test of defenses and no one who watched Texas Tech's 63-44 Sweet Sixteen win over Michigan would argue.
At the same time, the game also represented a battle of wills and a test of team identity in a matchup of arguably the nation's top two defensive teams.
In the end, Tech (29-6) throttled Michigan (30-7) just at it did Northern Kentucky and Buffalo in the first two rounds of the tournament in Tulsa. This wasn't some scrappy mid-major hoping for a win.
Michigan was in its third consecutive Sweet 16 and had reached the national championship game last season before losing to Villanova, the same Villanova that ended Tech's season.