CHICAGO — Yaxel Lendeborg produced 23 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, boosting top-seeded Michigan to a 90-77 victory against fourth-seeded Alabama on Friday in an NCAA Tournament Midwest Region semifinal.
Michigan (34-3) advances to an Elite Eight game on Sunday against the winner of the late regional semifinal between second-seeded Iowa State and sixth-seeded Tennessee.
Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney scored 17 points apiece as the Wolverines won for the ninth time in 10 games.
Alabama (25-10) led by nine points in the opening minutes but couldn’t maintain a furious pace — or keep the Wolverines from exceeding it down the stretch.
Michigan seized control with an 18-6 run early in the second half, mixing success from long range with a collection of high-IQ plays.
Lendeborg started the spurt with a crisp outlet pass off a steal near the Wolverines’ end line, hitting Nimari Burnett in stride as he raced to the basket for a fastbreak dunk.
Roddy Gayle Jr., Cadeau and Lendeborg hit 3-pointers during the run as Michigan ramped up its urgency to reach its first regional final since 2021. The Wolverines outscored the Crimson Tide 43-28 in the second half and never trailed after Lendeborg connected from distance off an offensive rebound with 19:09 remaining.
Alabama’s Labaron Philon Jr. led all scorers with 35 points. He went 6-for-14 from 3-point range as the Crimson Tide shot 29.8% from deep compared to 48.1% for the Wolverines.
Latrell Wrightsell added 15 points for Alabama while Aiden Sherrell scored 10. Philon grabbed seven boards.
Gayle (16 points) also finished in double figures for the Wolverines. Morez Johnson Jr. grabbed eight rebounds and Cadeau and Lendeborg both had seven assists.
Michigan generated numerous plays to seemingly shift the momentum in the early going. Lendeborg scored four quick points to help the Wolverines emerge from a quick 11-2 hole. Cadeau connected with Johnson on an alley-oop dunk.
Still, Alabama consistently provided answers — some more graceful than others. Amari Allen darted through the lane for an uncontested dunk one minute, while Houston Mallette stalked a loose ball along the baseline and retreated behind the arc to hit a 3-pointer the next.
Many Wolverines supporters rose to their feet after a Gayle 3-pointer rattled in for a 40-38 lead with 3:10 left before the break. After Wrightsell swished a trey on the ensuing possession, Michigan scored the next seven points in 48 seconds to build its largest lead of the first half.
Not to be deterred, the Crimson Tide closed on an 8-0 run — with all the scoring from Philon — to take a 49-47 halftime lead.
–Kevin Druley, Field Level Media
