Michigan obliterates Tennessee, advances to ninth Final Four in program history

For about six or seven minutes on Sunday afternoon, heart rates were up, nails were being bitten and the outcome of the Midwest Regional Final was still very much up in the air. But after the top-seeded Wolverines went on a 19-0 run in the middle of the first half, the winner was all but decided—U-M was bound to head to another Final Four.

Tennessee led, 16-14, about midway through the first half, but the Wolverines completely dominated the remainder of the game. Michigan went on an ensuing 34-10 run to close the half.

Yaxel Lendeborg was absolutely fantastic in Michigan’s dominant victory. The senior forward led Michigan’s big run to end the first half, and a slew of Wolverines contributed, as well.

Lendeborg finished the afternoon with 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting and 3-of-9 from beyond the arc. He also hauled in seven rebounds, dished out four assists and converted on four of his seven free throw attempts.

To support Lendeborg’s 27-point performance, four Wolverines scored in double figures. Trey McKenney, Nimari Burnett, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara all finished with at least 10 points in the victory. Elliot Cadeau was the only starter not to reach double figures, but he finished with an outstanding eight points, 10 assists and two steals.

The Wolverines played outstanding defense for all 40 minutes on Sunday afternoon. They held the Volunteers to 32 percent shooting and 19 percent from 3-point range.

Tennessee guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie finished with 21 points, but only one other Volunteer (Felix Okpara, 10) finished in double figures.

Michigan became just the sixth team in NCAA Tournament history to score 90 or more points in four games in the same tournament. Of course, U-M will have at least one, if not two more chances to add to that total next weekend in Indianapolis.

Next weekend, Michigan will take on fellow No. 1 seed Arizona in the national semifinal. The Wildcats are an impressive 36-2 overall on the season, and guard Jaden Bradley won Big 12 Player of the Year. The national semifinal matchup will take place on the night of Saturday, April 4. The game will air live on CBS.