NCAA: No. 1 Michigan steamrolls Tennessee in Midwest final to make Final Four

CHICAGO — Ascending a ladder to cut down the net after leading Michigan back to the Final Four, Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg shouted in celebration alongside teammates and fans.

Once the excitement settled, Lendeborg reflected on the achievement.

"There's nothing that we can't do with the support that we have behind us," he said.

Lendeborg scored 27 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and handed out four assists as top-seeded Michigan dominated sixth-seeded Tennessee 95-62 on Sunday in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region final.

Michigan (35-3) advanced to the program's first Final Four since 2018. The Wolverines will face West Region champion Arizona in a national semifinal in Indianapolis on Saturday.

"This was a goal of ours coming in, and it's great to be able to accomplish it," Wolverines guard Elliot Cadeau said.

Tennessee (25-12) held an early lead before faltering in its quest for the school's first men’s Final Four appearance. The Volunteers made their third straight Elite Eight under coach Rick Barnes.

"There's luck in everything you do," Barnes said. "But you get to this point… you look at their guys today, they had a lot of guys that played really good basketball, had good days. It's hard to have a day where maybe one or two guys are off and get there."

Michigan shot 51.8% from the field while limiting Tennessee to 31.6%. Trey McKenney (12 points), Morez Johnson Jr. (12), Aday Mara (11), and Nimari Burnett (10) also scored in double figures for the Wolverines. Cadeau added eight points and 10 assists.

Ja'Kobi Gillespie led Tennessee with 21 points, while Felix Okpara contributed 10. Second-leading scorer Nate Ament was held to seven points—10 below his season average—on 2-of-12 shooting before fouling out with 2:16 left.

Michigan went on a decisive 21-0 run midway through the first half that essentially sealed the outcome. After Tennessee took a 16-14 lead on a pair of Jaylen Carey free throws with 11:22 remaining before halftime, the Volunteers missed 10 consecutive shots. Meanwhile, the Wolverines regained their urgency on the boards and got Lendeborg rolling.

Lendeborg needed more than five minutes to attempt his first shot but quickly made his mark with a layup and contributed eight points during the spurt, including a 3-pointer and an old-fashioned three-point play.

One highlight saw Lendeborg receive a pass from Cadeau near midcourt, drive down the right side between two defenders, and finish a reverse layup despite contact from Okpara, who picked up his third foul. The crowd erupted as Michigan extended its lead with free throws and 3-pointers from Roddy Gayle Jr. and Cadeau, pushing the advantage to double digits with 7:52 left in the first half.

"Starting with defense. Attacking the same way, sharing the ball, talking, communicating on both ends," Burnett said of Michigan’s sustained run.

Carey ended Tennessee's drought with a layup at the 5:11 mark, finishing the first half with eight points. Lendeborg scored 15 to help the Wolverines take a commanding 48-26 halftime lead. Both teams grabbed 42 rebounds, with J.P. Estrella and Okpara leading the Volunteers with seven each. Burnett also had seven for Michigan.

Michigan’s lead grew to as many as 34 points, allowing coach Dusty May to give multiple reserves, including his son Charlie, valuable minutes. Charlie drilled a 3-pointer in the closing minutes.

"I watched the whole game but I would turn it off before the celebration because I just wanted to experience that for myself," Charlie May said.

Tennessee has struggled to reach the Final Four, losing by 19 points to Houston in the 2025 Elite Eight and by six points to Purdue the previous year, both times as the region’s No. 1 seed.

"We've been able to get here three years in a row, and it'll be hard to get back to winning games just in the tournament," Barnes said. "That first game of the tournament is the hardest one. But our goal would be to keep getting back and kicking and hopefully we can knock the door down."

Michigan is eager to seize the opportunity and keep climbing.

"Just being able to make it this far and continuing to want to get more, it means a lot," Lendeborg said. "It just shows how much we've done together as a unit and how unselfish this team has been all year."

—Kevin Druley, Field Level Media/Reuters