ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith admits he was wrong as Michigan basketball heads to Final Four

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The No. 1-seeded Michigan Wolverines are heading to the Final Four to take on fellow No. 1-seeded Arizona Wildcats inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The battle of the two juggernauts will tip off on Saturday, April 4, 2026, 30 minutes after the duration of the No. 2-seeded UConn Huskies and the No. 3-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini, which tips off at 6:09 p.m.

Ahead of the Final Four, Michigan, which has beaten Howard, 101-80, St. Louis, 95-72, Alabama, 90-77, and boat raced Tennessee, 95-62, has been getting compared to the Glen Rice 1989 championship team and the Fab Five and their run in the 1990s.

At one point, on Sunday’s Elite Eight boat racing of the Volunteers, Michigan went on a 21-0 run in the first half to blow the game open and ultimately never looked back.

→ Michigan basketball punches ticket to Final Four behind Lendeborg’s 27, Cadeau’s milestone game in blowout

Their dominance has ESPN pundit Stephan A. Smith apologizing for his views of the Wolverines ahead of the NCAA Tournament.

Smith apologized on his morning show, “First Take”, saying, “I’m ashamed of my position on Michigan. I owe the Michigan Wolverines an apology.”

He admitted he underestimated Michigan throughout the season, citing concerns about the team’s guard play of Elliot Cadeau and Nimari Burnett and about the team’s overall composure after watching them earlier in the year, including a high-profile matchup against the Duke Blue Devils in Washington, D.C., back in February.

“I just wasn’t sold,” Smith said. “They seemed incredibly athletic and gifted, but also like a team that could be rattled.”

That perception, he said, has been completely changed by Michigan’s tournament performance.

The Wolverines have surged through the bracket, including a dominant victory over the Tennessee Volunteers’ men’s basketball in the Elite Eight, a game Smith described as effectively over by halftime.

“They’ve run roughshod over the competition,” Smith said. “They’ve been head and shoulders above anybody they’ve gone against.”

Smith now believes Michigan has the potential to win a national championship, a feat that would elevate this team into historic territory within the program.

Referencing the iconic Fab Five, featuring players like Jalen Rose, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson, Smith noted that while the group had a profound cultural impact, it never captured a national title.

“If this team wins a national championship, they’ll have done something the Fab Five never did,” Smith said. “And this kid Lendeborg, he can play. He can play big body, NBA body, he can hit a J, he can go to the hole on his own. I underestimated Michigan.”

Smith also praised Michigan’s current roster, including Aday Mara, Morez Johnson Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg, Roddy Gayle Jr., Trey McKenney, and Will Tschetter, highlighting standout performances and calling the team capable of beating anyone remaining in the field.

“Whether they win or lose, I did not give them the respect they deserved coming into this tournament,” Smith said. “I was wrong. Plain and simple.”

Michigan’s convincing tournament run, including a 33-point Elite Eight victory, the largest margin in that round in a decade, has turned skeptics like Smith into believers as the Wolverines continue their push for a national title.

Dusty May

The men in maize have long been one of the sport’s most recognizable brands, and its latest Final Four appearance only adds to that legacy.

Michigan has now reached at least one Final Four in six of the past seven decades and nine times overall, reinforcing its place among college basketball’s elite programs.

Head coach Dusty May said the milestone reflects decades of success built by generations of players and coaches.

“Obviously, the brand of Michigan as a university is world-renowned,” May said. “As a basketball program, it’s something I grew up watching.”

May recalled the 1989 national championship team as one of his earliest basketball memories, pointing to players like Terry Mills and Rumeal Robinson as foundational figures in the program’s history.

He also highlighted the cultural impact of Michigan’s famed Fab Five, who helped reshape college basketball in the early 1990s.

“The Fab Five did as much culturally for our sport as anyone since I’ve been alive, other than MJ (Michael Jordan),” May said.

Now leading the Wolverines, May emphasized that the program’s current success is rooted in contributions from past eras.

“We’re very grateful that all of those people have poured into this program to allow us to represent Michigan,” May said. “We’re carrying the flag for all those guys.”

May acknowledged the challenge of uniting a program with a long history spanning multiple coaching tenures but said his staff has made it a priority to embrace former players and teams.

“We’ve tried to welcome all the different eras with open arms because they laid the foundation for what we have,” May said.

Michigan’s latest Final Four run adds another chapter to that history, one that continues to build on a tradition stretching back generations.