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Michigan steamrolls into Final Four with Elite Eight rout of Tennessee
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Michigan took away any suspense on Sunday.
The top-seeded Wolverines who ruled the Big Ten during the regular season ruled the Midwest Region, too, blasting Tennessee, 95-62, on Sunday afternoon in Chicago to storm into the Final Four. The Wolverines were relentless against the 6th-seeded Volunteers from the SEC, who were overmatched all day at the United Center.
With Illinois punching its ticket to Indianapolis on Saturday night with a victory over Big Ten rival Iowa in the South Region final, the Big Ten now has 2 teams heading to Indy thanks to the mighty Wolverines’ dominant performance a day later. Michigan will next face another No. 1 seed behemoth, Arizona, which earned its way to Indy on Saturday night with a victory over Purdue in the West Region final.
The Michigan-Arizona showdown will be highly anticipated next Saturday night in Indianapolis, with the Big Ten’s best facing the Big 12’s best. But that’s for next week. For now, Michigan had an Elite Eight victory to celebrate, as it advanced to its first Final Four since 2018.
The outcome was never really in doubt on Sunday. Michigan (35-3) took apart Tennessee (25-12) from the opening tip, rolling to a 48-26 halftime bulge and cruising in the final 20 minutes while putting up another 47 points.
The Wolverines didn’t quite reach the century mark, but that’s about the only thing they didn’t accomplish while denying the SEC any teams in this year’s Final Four. Meanwhile, the Big Ten will have Illinois and now Michigan, which shot 52% from the field and was relentless all afternoon against the foul-happy Volunteers.
Michigan blocked 8 shots on Sunday, and it forced Tennessee into committing 24 fouls, which took any flow away from what the Volunteers were trying to do. The Wolverines smothered the Vols, too, forcing them into 32% shooting from the field and a 19% clip from 3-point range.
Tennessee was shut down while Michigan couldn’t be stopped, and the scoreboard displayed the domination.
Once again, Yaxel Lendeborg led the charge for Michigan, scoring a game-high 27 points to go with 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
He provided an emphatic example of how easy it was for the Wolverines on Sunday, soaring in for this mostly uncontested dunk with a little over 16 minutes left that gave Michigan a 57-34 lead:
Michigan was just getting started at that point, as the lead would balloon to over 30 in the eventual 33-point beatdown. Four other Wolverines scored in double figures besides Lendeborg, and Elliot Cadeau added 10 assists for Michigan.
Meanwhile, Ja’Kobi Gillespie managed 21 points for Tennessee, but he only shot 8 of 22, so the Wolverines made it hard on him to get his points. Felix Okpara was the only other Volunteer to score in double figures, and he barely got there with 10 points.
It was a forgettable day for the Vols and a memorable one for the Wolverines, and now Arizona awaits in less than a week in Indianapolis.
With Michigan giving the Big Ten its second team in the Final Four, here is what the Kalshi market is currently seeing regarding the 5 teams left standing with a shot to cut down the nets on April 6 in Indianapolis:
