Michigan's Hunter Dickinson (1), and Eli Brooks (55) celebrate after they defeated Tennessee in a college basketball game in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Saturday, March 19, 2022, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Eli Brooks returned for one final college season with the goal of helping Michigan reach the Final Four.

Defying expectations, the Wolverines are halfway there.

Brooks scored seven of his 23 points in the final 3 1/2 minutes and the 11th-seeded Wolverines booked the most surprising of their five straight Sweet 16 appearances, beating third-seeded Tennessee 78-68 on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

“I’m just trying to live in the moment right now and cherish the time we have with the people in my life right now at Michigan and enjoy the process of going through this tournament again and having that chance of getting our last goal,” said Brooks, a fifth-year senior.

Michigan’s five straight trips to the regional semifinals is the second-longest streak in the nation behind Gonzaga’s. The Bulldogs beat Memphis on Sunday night to make their seventh consecutive Sweet 16.

It wasn’t clear late in the season whether the Wolverines would be in the tournament, much less have a chance for a deep run.

Hardly a conventional Cinderella given its resources and pedigree, Michigan (19-14) has the worst record of any team left in the field and did the bare minimum to secure an at-large berth. The Wolverines hadn’t won two straight games since mid-February.

Still, coach Juwan Howard’s squad has plenty of talent and elevated its play down the stretch against the Southeastern Conference champion Vols, who led by six points with 8 1/2 minutes left before going cold. Howard himself had to learn some lessons about composure when he was suspended for five games late in the season for hitting a Wisconsin assistant during a postgame handshake line.

Next up for the Wolverines is either second-seeded Villanova or longtime rival Ohio State, the No. 7 seed, on Thursday in the South Region semifinals at San Antonio, Texas.

“Making it to the Sweet 16 is, as literal as it is, sweet because nobody believed in us,” said sophomore big man Hunter Dickinson, who led Michigan with 27 points and 11 rebounds. “Everybody thought we shouldn’t be in the tournament and now people that were hating on us are going home and about to watch us next week.”

Brooks broke Tennessee’s heart with his late, looping, improvised hook shot.

“He’s everything when it comes to being a Michigan man, what he’s done on the floor, what he’s done off the floor, with his development, growing as a man, being able to adjust to different cultures,” Howard said.