The 1-seed Michigan Wolverines blew out the 6-seed Tennessee Volunteers in the Elite Eight, 95-62, on Sunday afternoon in Chicago. Yaxel Lendeborg scored a game-high 27 points, surpassing the 20-point mark for the third straight game.
Here’s how it all went down.
FIRST HALF
Bishop Boswell drained a three to start the scoring before Aday Mara answered with a slam on the other end. The two teams continued to trade baskets in a scrappy early stretch, with J.P. Estrella and Elliot Cadeau each converting layups before the first timeout.
Tennessee held a slim 7-6 advantage, but despite that, Tennessee was struggling to find the bottom of the net. The Vols were just 3-for-13 from the floor while relying heavily on offensive rebounds — grabbing six in the opening minutes — to keep possessions alive. In addition to giving up those offensive rebounds, Michigan was hurt by early foul trouble against Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr., who each picked up two fouls by the 15:05 mark of the first half.
Out of the second media timeout, Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Trey McKenney each answered each other’s buckets to keep it knotted at 14. But from that point on, Michigan seized complete control.
With both teams in the bonus by the 10:13 mark, Mara stepped to the line and knocked down a pair to push the lead to 19-16 before Yaxel Lendeborg delivered the first massive blow — a thunderous euro step and-one that got the lead to six. Roddy Gayle Jr. drained a corner three and Cadeau followed with a corner three of his own to surpass 1,000 points for his collegiate career, extending the run to 14-0 and pushing the lead to 25-16.
The Wolverines continued to pour it on, as Mara added a turnaround in the post, Lendeborg knocked down another three and Nimari Burnett converted a layup to complete a 21-0 run that ballooned the lead to 35-16. After starting 4-for-11 from the floor, Michigan went 6-for-7 over that stretch, while Tennessee went scoreless for over five and a half minutes. Vols’ Jaylen Carey finally ended the drought with a layup at the 4:47 mark, but the damage had been done.
Tennessee was able to momentarily cut the deficit to 15, but Lendeborg added five more to his 15-point first-half total, Will Tschetter made free throws and McKenney sank his first triple of the game with time expiring to lead Michigan into halftime, 48-26.
The Wolverines held a commanding advantage in fast-break points (12-3), paint points (18-12) and free throw shooting while converting 51 percent from the field. Meanwhile, the Vols’ were just 23 percent from the field and from three in the half, adding six turnovers and 13 personal fouls, giving strong reason for such a big deficit.
HALFTIME: MICHIGAN 48, TENNESSEE 26
SECOND HALF
Michigan picked up right where it left off. Lendeborg tipped in his own miss to push his total to 17 points before Mara flushed a towering dunk off a Cadeau feed. Mara then hit a three — just his third of the season — to stretch the lead further. Gillespie rattled off back-to-back threes to cut the deficit to 21, giving the Vols some life.
But Lendeborg took the momentum right back, going coast-to-coast for a thunderous slam, further cementing what had already been a highlight-filled afternoon. Burnett then knocked down his first three of the game to push the lead back to 24. Mara also got his 100th block of the season, becoming the first Wolverine in program history to reach that milestone.
Things got chippy as Carey was called for a technical foul after getting into an altercation with Johnson; Lendeborg stepped to the line and pushed the advantage to 30. Felix Okpara finally got on the board with his first field goal of the half at the 13:45 mark, but Lendeborg answered on the other end to surpass 25 points. Over the next few minutes, Lendeborg, Gillespie and McKenney all rattled off buckets in a back-and-forth stretch before Gillespie punctuated it with a steal and dunk to make it 71-45 at the 10:41 mark.
McKenney converted three free throws to keep the pressure on, and Johnson added an and-one to further pull the Wolverines away. Okpara and Nate Ament scored a bucket each for Tennessee to keep it respectable, but Burnett added more free throws down the stretch as Michigan’s lead got to 78-52 with 7:20 to go.
Mara and Johnson picked up their fourth fouls by the 7:02 mark, but it didn’t matter the rest of the way. Gayle hit another three and Johnson made some more free throws to take a 87-56 lead.
The starters began to exit the game at the 4:18 mark. Oscar Goodman scored a bucket and got a block in garbage time, and head coach Dusty May’s son, Charlie May, sank a three in the corner to get a roar from the crowd.
Michigan has continued to progress in every game this tournament, and it became the first team to score 90 or more points in four straight games and to win all four games by double-figures in tournament history. The Wolverines shot better than 52 percent from the field and 37 percent from three while holding the Vols to less than 34 percent overall and 20 percent from deep.
In the end, Michigan left Chicago perfect, and booked a trip to the Final Four.
FINAL SCORE: MICHIGAN 95, TENNESSEE 62
MICHIGAN STAT LEADERS
- F Yaxel Lendeborg: 27 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
- F Morez Johnson Jr: 12 points, 5 rebounds
- C Aday Mara: 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks
- G Elliot Cadeau: 8 points, 10 assists, 3 rebounds
- G Trey McKenney: 12 points
TENNESSEE STAT LEADERS
- G Ja’Kobi Gillespie: 21 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
- C Felix Okpara: 10 points, 7 rebounds
- F Jaylen Carey: 8 points, 3 rebounds
- G Nate Ament: 7 points, 6 rebounds
UP NEXT
The Wolverines will take on No. 1-seed Arizona next Saturday in the Final Four in Indianapolis. Stay locked in with Maize n Brew, as we will be providing coverage from Indianapolis.