CHICAGO – It was Yaxel Lendeborg, Elliot Cadeau and Aday Mara. Morez Johnson Jr., Trey McKenney and Nimari Burnett, too. The list goes on and on.
Michigan got it done together, just like it has all season long.
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“The biggest focus is playing team basketball,” Lendeborg said. “We thrive off of that.”
Lendeborg scored 27 points, Cadeau had 10 assists and the deep, unselfish Wolverines rolled into the Final Four, overwhelming Tennessee for a 95-62 victory in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
Johnson added 12 points for Michigan, which has 11 victories this season by at least 30 points. Mara had 11 points and blocked two shots in the Midwest Region final.
Making the most of its size and athleticism on both sides of the court, Michigan (35-3) advanced to its first Final Four since 2018 and ninth overall. Next up is a showdown with fellow No. 1 seed Arizona in Saturday's national semifinals.
“We always wanted to play against them, that team,” Lendeborg said. “They're a really, really good team, so it's going to be a super fun matchup.”
Under second-year coach Dusty May — who took Florida Atlantic to the Final Four in 2023 — the Wolverines became the first school to win at least four games in an NCAA tourney by double digits while scoring at least 90 points in each.
“Our guys have been up to the challenge, to deliver in the biggest moments all year, and nothing changed tonight,” May said.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 21 points on 8-of-22 shooting for Tennessee (25-12), which lost in the Elite Eight for the third straight year under Rick Barnes. The 71-year-old coach reached his only Final Four in 2003 with Texas.
Felix Okpara finished with 10 points and seven rebounds for the Volunteers, who shot just 32% (24 of 76) from the field. Each team had 42 rebounds — a major problem for a Tennessee team that usually enjoys an advantage on the glass.
“We certainly know what it takes to get here,” Barnes said. “Now we’ve got to figure out getting through to the next level, and it’s on this day, you’ve got to really be at your best.”
Michigan grabbed control with a 21-0 run in the first half, going from a 16-14 deficit with 11:22 left to a 35-16 lead with 6:10 remaining.
“That's when our defense started clicking,” Lendeborg said. “We started running out on the break and started doing what we do best, and once that happened, man, I think the game was pretty much called right there.”
Once again, Lendeborg was the conductor of an offensive show for the Wolverines. The 6-foot-9 forward switched hands on a slick reverse layup, then made a no-look pass to Roddy Gayle Jr. for a 3-pointer on a fast break. Then he set up a 3 by Cadeau with 7:52 to go.
After Tennessee made a push to get back in the game, Lendeborg scored on a fast break and found McKenney for a 3 at the end of a 7-0 run that made it 48-26 at halftime.
“We didn’t do a great job cutting off transition,” Okpara said. “I think it was also the point of emphasis going into the game, just kind of taking on the transition game. But we didn’t do a great job with that, so they took advantage of that and they converted.”
It was more of the same in the second half. Mara, a 7-foot-3 center, stepped outside for one of the Wolverines’ 10 3-pointers. The Michigan portion of the United Center crowd cheered wildly when seldom-used reserves Charlie May — the coach's son — and Oscar Goodman entered for the final few minutes.
Goodman scored with 2:32 left and May made a 3 with 1:02 remaining for Michigan’s final basket.
“Just playing together and understanding that we all need each other to be successful,” said Burnett, who finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. “So making that extra pass, that unselfish play that leads from a good shot to a great shot, I feel like we had a lot of that, especially in the first half that built that lead.
“We like where we are right now at the end of the game.”
Lendeborg, who was named the region’s Most Outstanding Player, was 10 for 19 from the field. He became the first Michigan player to score at least 23 points in three consecutive NCAA Tournament games since Juwan Howard did it in four straight in 1994.
“We all trust each other,” Lendeborg said. “We play hard for each other. We make extra plays for each other. We’re going to do whatever we want for each other. So just being able to make it this far and continuing to want to get more, it means a lot.”
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness