CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The daily Bruce Pearl watch provided more compelling drama than anything else in Tennessee’s sixth consecutive N.C.A.A. tournament appearance. And it created an air of finality Friday when Pearl, the Volunteers’ coach, who faces accusations that he violated N.C.A.A. recruiting rules and who has acknowledged that he lied to investigators, led his team onto the floor to face Michigan in its opening game in the West Region.  It might have been the last time Pearl wore the orange-striped tie and suspenders that have become his trademark at Tennessee. The Vols surged early, faded and then buckled in the second half as No. 8 seed Michigan pulled away to a 75-45 victory. Zack Novak had 14 points for Michigan (21-13), including three 3-pointers when the Wolverines blew open a close game with a 19-2 run to open the second half. He was one of five Michigan players to score in double figures.  On the flip side of Tennessee’s quandary, Coach John Beilein has the Wolverines in the N.C.A.A. tournament for the second time in three years and into the Round of 32. There, they will face No. 1 seed Duke, which beat No. 16 Hampton, 87-45, on Friday afternoon. The matchup comes days after the former Michigan player Jalen Rose accused Duke of recruiting African-American players who were “Uncle Toms.” Rose made the comment during a film called “The Fab Five” that was shown last Sunday.  Michigan faced no controversy on Friday, though. That was reserved for Pearl and Tennessee, after Athletic Director Mike Hamilton told a Knoxville radio station this week that he was not certain that Pearl would be back next season. That statement made Pearl’s job security the focus here, and left the Vols once again straining to concentrate on basketball amid the uncertainty.  Asked if Hamilton’s pre-tournament comments were a distraction to the team, guard Melvin Goins said: “I don’t think it had anything to do with us on the court, but of course, it was a distraction off the court. But, I mean, as players we have to step up and take the responsibility on the court and we didn’t come to play today.”  It didn’t appear to have rattled the team early. The No. 9-seeded Vols (19-15) built a 23-17 lead in the first half as Michigan shot 4 of 16 from the field. But when the Wolverines’ shots started to fall, so did Tennessee.  The Vols all but folded in the second half, when Michigan turned a 33-29 lead into a 30-point blowout.  “We just didn’t play” with heart, said the freshman forward Tobias Harris, who had 19 points in the first half, but none in the second half when Michigan outscored Tennessee, 42-16.  “Michigan came out, made shots, and we just did a terrible job of trying to cover them, and on the offense end we rushed too many shots and, you know, basically just quit.”  The Wolverines went ahead, 52-31, just 6 minutes 10 seconds into the second half and Tennessee never got closer than 16 again.  It was hard for Pearl to dispute Tobias’s assessment.  “Well, when you get beat, 42-16, in a half of basketball, we didn’t play with heart and obviously we were terribly discouraged by the margin, the quality of Michigan’s play, the poorness of our own play and we did let down,” Pearl said. “We unraveled.”  It came at an inopportune time for Pearl, who is to face the N.C.A.A. committee on infractions in June to plead his case. He will also have to plead with Hamilton and others at Tennessee who might want to erase the memory of this game — and mitigate possible penalties — by eliminating Pearl.  By the end of the game, Pearl was left hanging on by perhaps his last orange thread. But he wasn’t giving up, even after his team did on the court.  “We’ve got to go before the committee on infractions in June and it’s going to be difficult,” Pearl said. “We made mistakes; we’re going to try and be accountable for those mistakes. My goal and my desire is to be the basketball coach at Tennessee next year and for a long time.”
The Volunteers scored just 16 points in the second half, making the tenuous hold that Bruce Pearl has on his job that much more uncertain.