Michigan
Saint Louis
Maize to Meet the Lou with a Sweet 16 Ticket Waiting
3/20/2026 12:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 1-seeded University of Michigan men's basketball team (32-3, 19-1 Big Ten), the nation's third-ranked team, will face No. 9 seed Saint Louis (29-5, 15-3 A-10) in the Midwest Region for the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday (March 21) at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. Tipoff is set for 12:10 p.m. on CBS, with Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson and Allie LaForce on the call.
The Wolverines, the Big Ten regular-season champions, advanced with a 101-80 win over No. 16 seed Howard in the first round, setting up a matchup with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.
Notes
• Michigan is making its 33rd NCAA Tournament appearance and owns a 69-31 all-time record. With its first-round win over Howard, U-M advanced to the second round for the 10th straight tournament appearance.
• No. 1 seed Michigan rolled past Howard, 101-80, behind a program NCAA Tournament-record 67.2 percent shooting. The Wolverines hit 65.4 percent in the first half and 69.0 percent in the second, pulling away after halftime. Morez Johnson Jr. led the way with 21 points on 8-for-8 shooting and 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double, while Aday Mara added 19 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three blocks.
• Saint Louis won the Atlantic 10 regular-season title with a 15-3 league record and enters the second round at 29-5 after a 102-77 first-round win over No. 8 seed Georgia.
• Four Billikens average in double figures, led by Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Robbie Avila at 12.9 points per game. Dion Brown adds 11.3, Trey Green scores 11.0 and Amari McCottry chips in 10.4.
• Michigan became the first team to score 100 points in an NCAA Tournament game at Buffalo's KeyBank Center with its 101-point performance against Howard. In the very next game, Saint Louis topped that with 102 against Georgia, marking two 100-point efforts at the site on the same night.
• The matchup features two of the nation's top defensive teams in field goal percentage defense. Saint Louis leads the country at 37.7 percent, while Michigan ranks second at 38.5 percent.
• Offensively, Michigan ranks 10th nationally in scoring at 87.2 points per game and sixth in field goal percentage at 51.0. Saint Louis ranks second nationally in three-point percentage at 39.2 and 12th in three-pointers made per game at 10.9.
• Johnson became the first player since 2009 to record at least 20 points on 100 percent shooting with at least 10 rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game. He finished with 21 points and 10 boards against Howard, marking his fifth 20-point game of the season and his first away from Crisler Center.
• Elliot Cadeau posted nine assists against Howard and now has 198 on the season. He is two shy of becoming the seventh Wolverine to reach 200 assists in a season and has recorded 23 games with at least five assists.
• Mara blocked three shots against Howard to raise his season total to 92, leaving him five shy of Roy Tarpley's program record of 97 set in 1985-86. No Wolverine has ever reached 100 blocks in a season.
• After surpassing 200 team blocks for just the second time in program history in the Big Ten Tournament title game, Michigan added eight more against Howard and set a new single-season school record with 208.
• If Michigan reaches the second weekend, it would mark the Wolverines' seventh straight Sweet 16 appearance in their last seven NCAA Tournament trips: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2024, 2025 and potentially 2026.
• Since 2013, Michigan has reached eight Sweet 16s, tied with Duke for the second most nationally during that span. Only Gonzaga, with nine, has more.
• Another Michigan victory would tie the program record with 33 wins. The 2017-18 Wolverines finished 33-8 and advanced to the Final Four. U-M has had six 30-win seasons in its 110-year history.
