I wasn’t planning to write a post today. Michigan’s routine 83-48 blowout of Holy Cross in the NCAA Tournament opener didn’t merit one.

Then N.C. State played Tennessee for the right to face the Wolverines. This was eventful. First and foremost, UT’s Kim Caldwell committed coaching malpractice.

When I previewed this weekend’s action, I mentioned the Vols had used 20 different starting lineups this season, never fielding the same one more than three times. I didn’t realize Caldwell used a formula to determine the starters:

Are you fucking kidding me? How did this ever work at any level? How did Caldwell obtain one of the two most prestigious coaching jobs in women’s college basketball?

She may not have it for much longer, at least.

Tennessee fell behind 19-7 to open the game, could never find their rhythm — I wonder why? — and despite getting within three points in the second half, never appeared like a serious threat to win. Their best player and only consistent performer, Talaysia Cooper, spent the last 2:26 on the bench as UT’s chances went from slim to none in a 76-61 loss. That’s her with her jersey over her face.

I’ve never seen anything like that. I certainly never thought I’d feel bad for Tennessee women’s basketball fans. I hope they’re freed from Caldwell this offseason. I genuinely hated watching that game despite having no real rooting interest.

Meanwhile, N.C. State first-team All-ACC guard Zoe Brooks left the game with a foot injury in the second half and didn’t return. Her status appears to be in genuine question for Sunday.

Let’s look back at Michigan’s win over Holy Cross and then try previewing the Wolfpack again.

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As expected, Michigan was too big, too athletic, and too skilled for Holy Cross to keep up. The Wolverines set the tone with a game-opening 10-0 run, shooting 5-for-7 and rebounding both missed shots. A Mila Holloway three-pointer punctuated a 27-6 first quarter.

Michigan set the car in cruise control from there, backing off their press — which gave Holy Cross serious trouble — to focus on halfcourt defense and running their offensive sets. The two teams were almost dead even in the second and third quarters before U-M pulled away with a 26-14 advantage in the fourth.

Holloway starred throughout, leading the team with 20 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in 29 minutes. After a rough performance in the Big Ten Tournament, her 5-for-9 three-point shooting was a welcome bounce-back.

“I've definitely been struggling with my shot in the past few games,” Holloway said. “But our confidence and belief in one another never wavers. It's constant positive touches, constant -- yeah, just our constant belief in one another just kind of boosted me to hit those shots today.”

Syla Swords scored 12 of her 13 points in the first half, starting the game with five straight makes from the field. Olivia Olson and Brooke Quarles Daniels both chipped in 12 points — we even saw BQD hit a couple jump shots, which hopefully will stick in the mind of N.C. State defenders.

Te’Yala Delfosse played with great energy off the bench, scoring ten points and grabbing a couple impressive offensive rebounds. Kim Barnes Arico was able to limit the starters’ minutes — nobody played more than 31 — and empty the bench late.

Michigan played an impressively clean game against an overmatched opponent. They dished out 17 assists against only nine turnovers, committed only six fouls, and limited Holy Cross to a single offensive rebound.

Crusaders star Meg Cahalan managed only seven points on 3-for-11 shooting. Only guard Kaitlyn Flanagan scored in double digits with 11 points and she had five of the team’s 20 turnovers. U-M’s effort level and focus never appeared to waver.

I’m going to borrow liberally from my preview earlier this week. The main change is that star guard Zoe Brooks, who averages 16 points, five rebounds, and four assists per game, is uncertain to play after leaving the Tennessee game with a foot injury.

Brooks appeared to suffer the injury on a drive to the basket in the second half, limping as she put up a shot and then crumpling to the court. She was able to get up and leave the floor but appeared to be in serious pain and eventually went to the locker room. Head coach Wes Moore wasn’t able to give a full status update in the postgame presser.

“It's a foot situation and don't really know any more than that,” said Moore. “But obviously she was in some pain or I'm sure she would have been out there. Hopefully we can get her back, but at this point, all I know it was a foot, which is better than a knee.”

If she’s able to play, Brooks is a slashing 5’10” guard who earns most of her points by attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line. She’s significantly less effective when forced to pull up from midrange and makes only 23.0% of her rare three-point shots.

5’7” guard Zam Jones starred yesterday against Tennessee’s leaky defense, scoring a career-high 30 points. While Jones is usually more of an outside shooting threat, she turned defense into offense with five steals and five fast-break layups (plus two trips to the line off transition). She also showed the ability to break the defense down off the dribble, though she did commit six turnovers, an uncharacteristically high number for her.

If Brooks is out or limited, an increased workload will fall on Jones, 6’0” starting guard Qadence Samuels, and 5’10” freshman reserve Destiny “Ky’She” Lunan.

Samuels nearly doubled her season average with 12 points against the Vols. She’s at her best around the hoop and has struggled with her jump shot. Lunan scored all four of her points from the line. She’s a 34% three-point shooter on limited volume and isn’t on Brooks’ level as a passer, committing a freshman-like level of turnovers. She had three steals against the Vols and can be a disruptive defender.

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Vanderbilt transfer Khamil Pierre, a 6’2” forward who averages 16.8 points and 12.0 rebounds per game, briefly left the game with a rolled ankle but looked no worse for wear upon her return. She was pretty much dead on her averages, scoring 16 points and grabbing five of her 12 boards on offense. She downplayed her own performance after the game, possibly due to her four turnovers.

Pierre forms an imposing frontcourt alongside 6’6” center Tilda Trygger (pronounced “TREE-gur”), a solid offensive rebounder and finisher who averages 1.3 blocks per game. She can step out to hit the occasional three-pointer and is a good passer for her size. Keeping them from second-chance opportunities is going to be a tall order for Ashley Sofilkanich, Kendall Dudley, Olivia Olson, and Te’Yala Delfosse.

Given Tennessee’s unusual style of play, I don’t think there’s a ton to learn from yesterday’s game. While the Vols were able to rebound 47% of their missed shots, a lot of those came off wild caroms — they were 7-of-36(!) on threes. UT’s ability to pressure the Wolfpack into some turnovers will hopefully be relevant with U-M also running a lot of full-court press, and the Wolverines are a lot more disciplined on the back end.

With Trygger looming, there isn’t a natural matchup in Michigan’s starting lineup for Pierre. That assignment will almost certainly fall to Olson, who’s been very game in the paint but struggled at times against the two-post attack of Iowa.

Delfosse may need to play major minutes, especially if N.C. State replicates Iowa’s defensive approach of ignoring BQD and is able to stifle U-M’s offense. The Wolfpack will break out a 2-3 zone on occasion; hopefully U-M can shoot them out of it, which Tennessee very much could not.

Bart Torvik’s numbers favor Michigan by 12.3 points and that doesn’t account for Brooks’ injury. Vegas appears to be accounting for some of that uncertainty with a U-M -14.5 line. I’m guessing we won’t know Brooks’ status until the teams take the floor on Sunday.

The N.C. State game is listed as a 1 pm Eastern tipoff on Sunday and will be televised on ABC.

The rest of the region is yet to be determined. 3-seed Louisville, which just had rotation guard Skylar Jones leave the team, faces 14-seed Vermont at noon today. The winner of that game will face the winner of 6-seed Alabama versus 11-seed Rhode Island. The Michigan-N.C. State victor will play the winner of that game next weekend in Fort Worth.

On the other side of the region, 1-seed Texas and 8-seed Oregon have already advanced. 5-seed Kentucky played 12-seed James Madison at 2:30 this afternoon, followed by 4-seed West Virginia against 13-seed Miami (OH).