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WATCH: Michigan players speak at NCAA Tournament practice in Buffalo

Anthony Broomeby: Anthony Broome03/18/26anthonytbroome

BUFFALO, New York – The No. 1-seeded Michigan Wolverines have arrived in Buffalo to prepare for the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament at KeyBank Center, home of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres.

The team practiced in front of fans on Thursday afternoon to prepare for its showdown with No. 16-seed Howard, who won a play-in game in the First Four to advance in the Midwest regional.

Prior to practice, the Michigan locker room was open to the media. Several players spoke about the trip to Buffalo and what lies ahead in the pursuit of a national championship.

 ”We had a lot of close calls in the Big Ten Tournament,” graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg told The Wolverine. “So it’s a lot of, a lot to think about, a lot to reflect on all we’re doing now is just trying to figure out what went wrong, honestly and where we lost our edge. Just being able to rethink that and some teams aren’t gonna be as physical as others, so I think we’ll have some type of edge on other teams.”

Watch the media sessions using the embedded player above, and also on The Wolverine’s YouTube channel.

Michigan and Howard tip off at 7:10 p.m. on Thursday night from Buffalo. The game will be broadcast via CBS. Should the Wolverines advance, game time and television designation for Saturday will be announced late Thursday night.

Michigan senior guard Roddy Gayle Jr.

Junior point guard Elliot Cadeau

Senior guard Nimari Burnett

Freshman guard Trey McKenney