Michigan Basketball rolls past Alabama to clinch berth in Elite Eight
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The No. 1-seed Michigan Wolverines rolled past the No. 4-seed Alabama Crimson Tide 90-77 in the Sweet 16 in Chicago on Friday, clinching a berth in the Elite Eight for the fifth time this century and the first time since 2021.
Yaxel Lendeborg scored a team-high 23 points, while also chipping in 12 rebounds and seven assists to help the Wolverines improve to 34-3 overall — a new school record for wins in a single season — and inch closer to winning a national championship.
Here’s the recap, highlights and stats.
FIRST HALF
Michigan got off to a slow start as Alabama knocked down three three-pointers in the opening stages to take an 11-2 lead. The Wolverines quickly responded, going on a 9-0 run to tie the game as Lendeborg scored five consecutive points.
Just moments later, Trey McKenney came off the bench and made an instant impact, hitting back to back three-pointers to put Michigan up 17-15. Lendeborg continued his hot start, drilling a three-pointer to tie it 22-22 with 9:59 left in the half.
Both teams traded punches throughout the first half, as Alabama seized momentum behind Labaron Philon Jr., who scored eight straight points. That was followed by Elliot Cadeau making a jumper and a three-pointer to keep Michigan within striking distance.
Aday Mara also got into the mix, throwing down a dunk and blocking a shot that led to a layup by Lendeborg. Coming out of a media timeout, Roddy Gayle Jr. beat the shot clock buzzer with a floater to trim Alabama’s lead to 38-35.
The ensuing minutes were owned by Michigan, making six straight shots and putting together a 14-3 run to take a 47-41 lead with 1:58 left. During the run, Gayle connected on a pair of three-pointers and McKenney hit a triple of his own.
The Wolverines held an advantage in most statistical categories in the first half – including a 20-3 edge in bench points and 14-10 edge in fast-break points – but Philon led all players with 19 points and five rebounds to keep Alabama in front.
HALFTIME: MICHIGAN 47, ALABAMA 49
SECOND HALF
Early in the second half, Lendeborg drilled a three-pointer after dropping his defender with an ankle-breaking crossover to take a 50-49 lead. Just moments later, Lendeborg grabbed a steal and found Nimari Burnett for a dunk to go up 54-51.
Lendeborg continued to have his fingerprints all over the game — hitting a three-pointer, scoring a layup and finding Gayle for an and-one to extend the lead to 62-54. Gayle also connected on a three-pointer to push the lead to double figures.
Michigan made seven straight shots and went on an 18-5 run, capped off by a three-pointer from Cadeau, to extend the lead to 70-57 with 12:51 left. Following a timeout, Cadeau found Mara for an alley-oop to put the Wolverines up 73-60.
Alabama trimmed the deficit to 75-67 as Philon hit a step-back triple with 7:49 to go, but Michigan answered on the other end as Mara threw down a dunk. Later in the half, Cadeau made a three-pointer to essentially put the game out of reach.
Michigan had an advantage in total rebounds (45-32), bench points (33-6), fastbreak points (19-7) and paint points (34-20) in the win. The Wolverines also shot an impressive 33-for-66 from the field and 13-for-27 from three-point territory.
It certainly wasn’t a perfect performance but the Wolverines were able to overcome a slow start and fight off a very talented team, moving one step closer to the ultimate goal of winning the second national championship in school history.
FINAL SCORE: MICHIGAN 90, ALABAMA 77
MICHIGAN STAT LEADERS:
- F Yaxel Lendeborg: 23 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals
- G Elliot Cadeau: 17 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds
- G Trey McKenney: 17 points
- G Roddy Gayle Jr: 16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks
ALABAMA STAT LEADERS
- G Labaron Philon Jr: 35 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
- G Latrell Wrightsell Jr: 15 points, 2 steals
- C Aiden Sherrell: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
UP NEXT
Michigan will face either No. 2-seed Iowa State or No. 6-seed Tennessee on Sunday at 2:15 p.m. ET.
