Michigan tramples Tennessee, earns first Final Four berth since 2018

James Hawkins, The Detroit News on Mar 29, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Chicago — When the Wolverines last played at the United Center two weeks ago, it ended in frustration, a missed opportunity to cut down the nets and left a bad taste in their mouths.

They made sure the same thing didn’t happen again on Sunday in the Elite Eight.

Fueled by a game-changing 21-0 run in the first half and another stellar performance by Yaxel Lendeborg, top-seeded Michigan avenged its Big Ten tournament final loss by thumping No. 6 seed Tennessee, 95-62, to make its first trip to the Final Four since 2018.

The Wolverines (35-3) will face Arizona, the No. 1 seed in the West Region, in a national semifinal on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Game time and broadcast information is to be announced.

Lendeborg scored 27 to tally his third straight 20-point game in the NCAA Tournament. Morez Johnson Jr. and Trey McKenney added 12 points each and Aday Mara scored 11 for Michigan, which shot 51.8% from the field.

After dominating the final 10 minutes of the first half to build a 22-point halftime lead, Michigan didn’t let up and continued to pile it on Tennessee. During one sequence, Mara threw down a dunk, forced a missed shot in the paint and batted the ball out for a rebound, and then hit a step-in 3-pointer as a trailer to make it 55-28 with 18:01 to play.

Another 10-0 burst by Michigan put the game well out of reach. Lendeborg threw down a fast-break dunk and hit his third 3-pointer. Nimari Burnett (10 points) splashed a pull-up 3 in transition.

Things got testy between the two sides near the end of the run, when Morez Johnson Jr. and Tennessee’s Amari Evans both grabbed the ball on a rebound, refused to let go and got in one another’s face. Tennessee’s Jaylen Carey bumped into Johnson and the two sides had to be separated. Carey was called for a dead ball contact technical foul. Lendeborg split the two free throws as Michigan made it 65-34 at the 14:01 mark.

The Volunteers, a team that relies more on its physical defense and crashing the offensive glass, never came close to digging out of the hole. The Wolverines never let the lead dip below 24 points and led by as much as 34 down the stretch as they won the regional final in convincing fashion.

It marks the seventh time in program history Michigan has reached the final week of the tournament. That total doesn’t include the 1992 and 1993 appearances, which were later vacated due to NCAA violations.

Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 21 and Felix Okpara had 10 points and seven rebounds for Tennessee (25-12), which shot 24.3% from the field in the first half and a season-low 31.6% for the game. The Volunteers, who entered as the top offensive rebounding team in the nation, finished with 19 offensive boards that led to 16 second-chance points.

The opening 10 minutes weren’t ideal for Michigan during a low-scoring, grind-it-out start. Mara and Johnson each picked up an early foul. The Wolverines had a pair of early turnovers, with Gillespie picking off a pass by Elliot Cadeau (eight points, 10 assists) and Mara. The Volunteers had six offensive rebounds in the first four minutes, including one off a missed free throw.

Despite the Volunteers slowing down the pace and Mara picking up his second foul at the 15:05 mark challenging a shot at the rim after Tennessee’s seventh offensive rebound, Michigan’s first-shot defense was sound, and the Volunteers missed 12 of their first 15 shots.

After a putback dunk by Roddy Gayle Jr. and a driving layup by Lendborg gave Michigan a 12-9 lead with 13:37 left in the first half, foul trouble became an issue in the frontcourt on both sides. Johnson picked up his second foul battling for a rebound. Tennessee’s Okpara picked up his third foul at the 9:19 mark and Carey drew two whistles in less than two minutes.

The game was played within a possession until Michigan dominated the final 10 minutes of the half, ripped off 27-4 flurry and built a 21-point lead. The defense was stifling and limited Tennessee to one-shot possessions. The offense was humming, getting out in transition and displaying stellar ball movement.

Lendeborg scored on an and-1 reverse layup before he found Gayle in the corner for a 3-pointer. The next trip down, Lendeborg made the extra pass to Cadeau for another corner 3. Mara forced a miss at the rim on one end before he had a spin and finish at the rim on the other. Burnett found Lendeborg all alone for an open deep ball. Michigan had six straight shots during a string of 21 unanswered points to pull ahead, 35-16, at the 6:10 mark.

After Carey snapped a six-minute scoring drought and a string of 10 consecutive missed shots with a bucket at the rim for Tennessee, Lendeborg capped the avalanche of a run with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 41-20.

The Wolverines widened the margin during a strong close in the final minute. Will Tschetter made two free throws after being fouled on a defensive rebound. A steal by Cadeau in the post led to a fast-break layup by Lendeborg. McKenney canned a 3-pointer with three ticks left as Michigan scored the final seven points for a 48-26 lead.

________

_________