Michigan
Tennessee
Elite Matchup: Wolverines, Volunteers to Vie for Final Four Spot
3/28/2026 3:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Big Ten regular-season champion and Midwest Region No. 1 seed University of Michigan men's basketball team (34-3, 19-1 Big Ten), ranked No. 3 nationally, has advanced to the Elite Eight and will take on No. 6 seed and No. 23-ranked Tennessee (25-11, 11-7 SEC) on Sunday (March 29) with a trip to the Final Four on the line. The matchup will tip off at 1:15 p.m. CT at the United Center in Chicago and will be broadcast on TBS with Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas and Evan Washburn on the call.
The Final Four is set for Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, with national semifinals on Saturday (April 4) and the championship game on Monday (April 6).
Notes
• Michigan reached the Elite Eight with wins over No. 16-seeded Howard (101-80), No. 9 seed Saint Louis (95-72) and No. 4 seed Alabama (90-77), extending its streak to seven straight Sweet 16 appearances in its last seven NCAA Tournament trips.
• The Wolverines rallied from a 49-47 halftime deficit to defeat Alabama, 90-77, in the Sweet 16 at the United Center, securing a program-record 34th win. Yaxel Lendeborg led the effort with 23 points and 12 rebounds (seventh double-double), while Elliot Cadeau added 17 points and seven assists. Trey McKenney (17) and Roddy Gayle Jr. (16) fueled the scoring off the bench.
• Michigan has now reached the Elite Eight 16 times in program history and is making its fifth appearance in the last 15 NCAA Tournaments. The Wolverines hold an 8-7 all-time record in Elite Eight games.
• Seven different head coaches have guided the Wolverines to the Elite Eight: Osborne Cowles (1948), Dave Strack (1964, '65, '66), Johnny Orr (1974, '76, '77), Steve Fisher (1989, '92, '93, '94), John Beilein (2013, '14, '18), Juwan Howard (2021), and now Dusty May (2026).
• May is making his second Elite Eight appearance. He previously led Florida Atlantic to the 2023 Elite Eight, defeating Kansas State (79-76) at Madison Square Garden.
• Michigan has advanced to the Elite Eight four times as Midwest Region champions (1976, 1994, 2014, 2026) and three times as a No. 1 seed (1993, 2021, 2026).
• The Wolverines have reached the Final Four eight times and own a 7-1 record in national semifinals, winning seven straight since their only loss in 1964. Michigan is seeking its third Final Four appearance in the last 10 tournaments (2013, '18).
• The win over Alabama improved Michigan to 34-3, setting a new single-season program record. The Wolverines now have six 30-win seasons in their 110-year history.
• In all three NCAA Tournament games this season, Michigan has posted 90+ points, 30+ field goals, 20+ assists, 10+ three-pointers and 8+ blocks.
• Over his last two tournament games, Lendeborg has recorded back-to-back 20-point performances (25 vs. Saint Louis; 23 vs. Alabama), totaling 18 rebounds and nine assists while shooting 68 percent from the field and 70 percent from three-point range.
• Lendeborg is the first Wolverine since Juwan Howard in 1994 to score 23+ points in consecutive NCAA Tournament games. Howard did so in four straight.
• Cadeau is just three points shy of 1,000 and seven assists from 600 for his collegiate career.
• With two blocks against Alabama, Aday Mara set Michigan's single-season record with 98, surpassing Roy Tarpley's previous mark of 97 (1985-86). He is now two blocks away from becoming the first Wolverine to reach 100 in a season.
