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Michigan basketball has long been thought to be poised to play for more than the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. But in its way is a red-hot Alabama team, the 4-seed that eviscerated the 5-seed Texas Tech team with a barrage of 3s.
The Wolverines took the court in Chicago, winning the tip, but failing to score on the first possession. The first Alabama 3 attempt, by Aiden Sherrell, was well short. He then missed a dunk attempt, which turned into a missed layup, but after gathering the rebound (which went out of bounds off Michigan), he got the ball at the top of the arc and drained a 3. Yaxel Lendeborg scored first for the Wolverines, on a deep-key floater, but Latrell Whitesell Jr. got the ball off a Morez Johnson block and drained a second deep shot. 6-2, Alabama. Elliot Cadeau tried to answer, but missed from deep. After Lendeborg picked up his first foul, London Jemison drove the baseline to give the Crimson Tide a six-point lead. The Wolverines turned it over again, and Cadeau missed another three after getting the ball back. Sherrell hit a second 3, putting Alabama up 11-2. Cadeau finally scored for the maize and blue after the 8-0 run by Alabama, and Wrightsell stepped out of bounds on the ensuing possession, leading the under-16 media timeout -- Alabama 11, Michigan 4.
The Wolverines came back and finally hit from deep, with Lendeborg draining a 3, cutting the deficit to four. An Alabama turnover led to a fast-break opportunity for Lendeborg; he was fouled and hit both free throws to cut the lead to two -- a 7-0 run for Michigan. The Tide used all of the shot clock only to miss from 3, and Cadeau was fouled on the ensuing possession. Mara, back in the game, hit a midrange jumper to tie the game at 11, but Wrightsell answered in kind. After an Alabama turnover, the Wolverines took their first lead on the heels of a Trey McKenney 3, but a Roddy Gayle Jr. foul put Wrightsell on the line, where he drained both free throws to take a one-point lead. McKenney turned the ball over by throwing the ball out of bounds, Michigan's third, but Houston Mallette's 3 attempt was short. Mara got the ball stolen from him, but Wrightsell's 3 attempt missed, as did Nimari Burnett's answer on the other end. Wrightsell missed another 3, but McKenney hit his second to regain the lead for the Wolverines. However, Labaron Philon answered in kind, and the lead went back over to Bama. Cadeau tried another 3 (his third attempt missed from deep). After Alabama had nothing doing on the other end, Mara couldn't finish at the rim, but neither could Wrightsell -- Alabama 18, Michigan 17 at the under-12 media timeout.
Cadeau picked up a foul coming out of the timeout, allowing Amari Allen to drain two free throws, giving the Crimson Tide a three-point lead. On the other end, Johnson finally got on the board, completing an emphatic alley oop.
Allen got a dunk on the other side, but the game was tied (briefly) when Lendeborg hit a 3 from atop the lane. However, Philon answered, and McKenney couldn't match, and it was a three-point Alabama lead. The Tide gave the ball back, but Cadeau missed his fourth 3 attempt, which was rebounded by Johnson, who turned the ball over on a bad pass. It was costly, as Mallette hit from deep to give Alabama a six-point lead. Johnson got another dunk to pull within four, and Philon missed under the rim to give the Wolverines the ball back. Cadeau got it to within two, but Alabama hit its seventh 3 of the game to extend it back to five. Mara (on a putback) and Philon traded baskets, and while Cadeau finally hit from deep to get the game within two, Philon answered, and it was still a five-point game. Mara tried to close the gap, but his short jumper was also short, but he got a block on the other end, and Lendeborg took it the distance to cut the gap to three, momentarily. Sherrell finished an alley-oop, and with an Alabama foul, finally, the under-eight media timeout was called at the 5:02 mark in the first half -- Alabama 38, Michigan 33.
Michigan was shooting better from the floor, but Alabama had hit three more 3s at this point, and two more made free throws, making the five-point difference.
Gayle got on the board coming out of the timeout after having missed trying to hit Johnson on an alley oop. Philon missed two 3 attempts, leading to a McKenney streak to the basket to cut the deficit to one. Cadeau picked up his second foul, leading to the under-four media timeout, Alabama 38, Michigan 37.
A missed jumper by Philon, thanks to a Johnson block, led to a missed 3 by Wrightsell. Gayle drained a 3 to give the Wolverines an oh-so-brief two-point lead, but Wrightsell hit a 3 on the other end. But then the Wolverines got hot from deep, with McKenney and Gayle both draining triples, and all of a sudden, Michigan had a five-point lead. Both teams kept trying to hit from deep, but it was Michigan on a 13-3 run, while the Tide were just 1-for-7 in that span. McKenney was fouled, and he hit the back-end to push the lead to six. Both teams tried (and missed) from deep, but Lendeborg picked up his second foul with 1:26 remaining in the half, allowing Philon to close the gap to four. Gayle and Johnson missed their close-range attempts on the ensuing possession, and Burnett picked up his first foul, and Philon hit both free throws to cut the Michigan lead to just two.
Johnson missed another layup, and Philon tied the game at 47, managing a layup on his end. Alabama called a timeout with 31 seconds left on the heels of a 6-0 run. Though Michigan was still outshooting the Tide from the floor, the difference was coming at the foul line, where Alabama had five more makes on four more free throws. Michigan was 3-for-8 on layups, but the Crimson Tide was 3-for-7. The Wolverines were dominating the bench points and points in the paint, but still couldn't find the advantage. After Mara missed, Gayle committed a foul, and Philon put Alabama up by two at halftime, personally closing the half on an 8-0 run, with most of those points coming on the free throw line.
Michigan was outshooting Alabama 50% to 39.5%, while the Wolverines were shooting 53% from 3 to Alabama's 37.5%. Yet, the Crimson Tide had a two-point lead thanks to having made 10 free throws to Michigan's three.
Alabama had the ball first, and Allen missed a 3 to open up the final 20-minute foray. Burnett got the rebound, and Lendeborg missed a layup, but the Wolverines got the offensive rebound. He answered with a 3 to give the maize and blue the lead again. Jemison turned the ball over, and though Cadeau and Lendeborg missed shots, Lendeborg got a make, before Wrightsell's 3 was blocked by Cadeau. Sherrell got a layup, and it was a one-point Michigan advantage.
Burnett and Lendeborg missed 3s, while Cadeau's jumper didn't go, and that was it for the extended Michigan possession. Wrightsell's 3 was blocked by Gayle, Michigan's seventh of the game, which led to a steal by Lendeborg and dunk by Burnett, giving the Wolverines a three-point advantage, leading to an Alabama timeout at the 17:04 mark. It was a 7-2 run by the Wolverines in the second half.
Gayle picked up his third foul of the game coming out of the timeout, but Lendeborg came away with a steal off Wrightsell, and Gayle made good on a layup with an and-one to push the lead to six. After Mallette missed a jumper, Lendeborg drained a 3 to push the lead to nine, but Philon answered in kind, and it was back to six. Lendeborg made a layup to push it back to eight, but Taylor Bol Bowen hit a 3 to cut it back to five. However, Gayle answered with his third 3, and the lead was back up to eight.
Mallette tried another 3 but it was blocked by Gayle. The two teams traded quick turnoevers, and ultimately, McKenney made a layup, followed by a Cadeau 3 to push the lead to 13. Howeer, Wrightsell answered, and it was a 10-point game. A personal foul on Bowen led to the under-16 media timeout (at 12:09) -- Michigan 70, Alabama 60.
Michigan had scored on seven of its last seven shots.
Johnson missed a layup coming out of the timeout, picking up a foul in the process of the rebound, leading to the under-12 media timeout, just moments after the under-16.
Michigan took the ball away from Alabama, leading to a Mallette foul. Cadeau hit one of two to push the lead to 11. For the next several minutes, neither team could do anything, both having gone scoreless for a long stretch. Aday Mara's alley-oop dunk broke the stalemate, and the Wolverines had a 13-point lead. However, the Crimson Tide were still over three minutes without a basket, and with Jemison picking up a foul, McKenney went to the line, where he hit both shots to push the Michigan lead to 15 -- the biggest lead of the game.
Wrightsell finally got the Tide back on the board, and with Burnett fouling him on the shot, he had a chance to make it a 12-point game. He missed, but he stole the ball away from Mara, and was fouled in the process. McKenney picked up a shooting foul after that, and Philon got Alabama closer, 75-64, Michigan.
Alabama center Noah Williamson came in for the first time and promptly picked up a foul, the next putting Michigan in the bonus. Burnett missed a 3 attempt, and Williamson snagged the rebound, giving the Tide a chance to cut it to single digits. But that was the point of the under-eight media timeout, with exactly eight minutes remaining in the game.
A 3-pointer by Philon, after shaking Lendeborg, cut the lead to just eight, but Mara's putback dunk got the Wolverines back on the board to push it back to 10. Wrightsell missed a 3, Gayle missed a jumper, and Allen picked up a foul, putting McKenney on the line. He missed the front end, but made the second. Sherrell missed a 3, Michigan got the rebound, and then Allen picked up his fourth foul. Cadeau missed the front end as it rimmed in and out, and it was corralled by the Tide. Bowen missed a 3, and it went out of the bounds, Michigan basketball.
Bowen picked up his third foul, putting Johnson on the line, who missed the front end but hit the back -- 12-point game, with 5:38 remaining. Sherrell hoisted another 3, which missed, rebounded by Johnson. Cadeau scored on a jumper to push the lead back to 14, and Alabama was on its second three-minute scoring drought of the half. It was broken on the ensuing possession with Philon draining his sixth 3 of the game. Cadeau answered with a 3 of his own, his third, and it returned to a 14-point lead.
Jemison answered with two off a goaltending call, and the under-four media timeout saw the Wolverines take a 12-point lead into the final 3:37 of the game.
All Michigan would have to do is hold serve and keep Alabama from getting hot from beyond the arc to win.
The final stretch opened up with a Johnson dunk, but Philon answered with a layup after missing a 3-pointer. Gayle missed a 3, and a heldball keeps the ball with the maize and blue with 2:32 remaining. The Wolverines kept the ball until near the end of the shot clock, and Cadeau was fouled with just seconds left. He made the back-end only, but it was a 13-point game with 2:13 left. Wrightsell missed another 3 (he was 3-for-11), and after Johnson corralled the rebound, he was intentionally fouled with Michigan being in the double bonus. He missed both, but Allen missed his 3 attempt on the other end. The ensuing intentional foul sent Lendeborg to the line, where he missed the front end. 88-74, Michigan.
Wrightsell missed yet another 3, and a Gayle dunk made it a 16-point game before Philon scored on a layup, fouled in the process by Johnson. But at this point, there was only 45 seconds left, and the game was out of hand. Philon drained the free throw, cutting it to 13.
But at this point, the Wolverines had the game, beating Alabama 90-77. The defense held strong in the second half, as the Crimson Tide had their lowest output of the season in the final 20 minutes.
The maize and blue will advance to the Elite Eight, where they will face either Iowa State or Tennessee on Sunday.
Lendeborg led Michigan with 23 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists. Cadeau and McKenney both had 17 points, each with three 3s. Gayle added 16, also with three 3s.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan basketball beats Alabama in NCAA Tournament
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Michigan vs. Alabama opening salvo
The Wolverines took the court in Chicago, winning the tip, but failing to score on the first possession. The first Alabama 3 attempt, by Aiden Sherrell, was well short. He then missed a dunk attempt, which turned into a missed layup, but after gathering the rebound (which went out of bounds off Michigan), he got the ball at the top of the arc and drained a 3. Yaxel Lendeborg scored first for the Wolverines, on a deep-key floater, but Latrell Whitesell Jr. got the ball off a Morez Johnson block and drained a second deep shot. 6-2, Alabama. Elliot Cadeau tried to answer, but missed from deep. After Lendeborg picked up his first foul, London Jemison drove the baseline to give the Crimson Tide a six-point lead. The Wolverines turned it over again, and Cadeau missed another three after getting the ball back. Sherrell hit a second 3, putting Alabama up 11-2. Cadeau finally scored for the maize and blue after the 8-0 run by Alabama, and Wrightsell stepped out of bounds on the ensuing possession, leading the under-16 media timeout -- Alabama 11, Michigan 4.
Michigan fights back
The Wolverines came back and finally hit from deep, with Lendeborg draining a 3, cutting the deficit to four. An Alabama turnover led to a fast-break opportunity for Lendeborg; he was fouled and hit both free throws to cut the lead to two -- a 7-0 run for Michigan. The Tide used all of the shot clock only to miss from 3, and Cadeau was fouled on the ensuing possession. Mara, back in the game, hit a midrange jumper to tie the game at 11, but Wrightsell answered in kind. After an Alabama turnover, the Wolverines took their first lead on the heels of a Trey McKenney 3, but a Roddy Gayle Jr. foul put Wrightsell on the line, where he drained both free throws to take a one-point lead. McKenney turned the ball over by throwing the ball out of bounds, Michigan's third, but Houston Mallette's 3 attempt was short. Mara got the ball stolen from him, but Wrightsell's 3 attempt missed, as did Nimari Burnett's answer on the other end. Wrightsell missed another 3, but McKenney hit his second to regain the lead for the Wolverines. However, Labaron Philon answered in kind, and the lead went back over to Bama. Cadeau tried another 3 (his third attempt missed from deep). After Alabama had nothing doing on the other end, Mara couldn't finish at the rim, but neither could Wrightsell -- Alabama 18, Michigan 17 at the under-12 media timeout.
Alabama makes a bunch of 3s, but the Wolverines answer
Cadeau picked up a foul coming out of the timeout, allowing Amari Allen to drain two free throws, giving the Crimson Tide a three-point lead. On the other end, Johnson finally got on the board, completing an emphatic alley oop.
Allen got a dunk on the other side, but the game was tied (briefly) when Lendeborg hit a 3 from atop the lane. However, Philon answered, and McKenney couldn't match, and it was a three-point Alabama lead. The Tide gave the ball back, but Cadeau missed his fourth 3 attempt, which was rebounded by Johnson, who turned the ball over on a bad pass. It was costly, as Mallette hit from deep to give Alabama a six-point lead. Johnson got another dunk to pull within four, and Philon missed under the rim to give the Wolverines the ball back. Cadeau got it to within two, but Alabama hit its seventh 3 of the game to extend it back to five. Mara (on a putback) and Philon traded baskets, and while Cadeau finally hit from deep to get the game within two, Philon answered, and it was still a five-point game. Mara tried to close the gap, but his short jumper was also short, but he got a block on the other end, and Lendeborg took it the distance to cut the gap to three, momentarily. Sherrell finished an alley-oop, and with an Alabama foul, finally, the under-eight media timeout was called at the 5:02 mark in the first half -- Alabama 38, Michigan 33.
Michigan was shooting better from the floor, but Alabama had hit three more 3s at this point, and two more made free throws, making the five-point difference.
Gayle got on the board coming out of the timeout after having missed trying to hit Johnson on an alley oop. Philon missed two 3 attempts, leading to a McKenney streak to the basket to cut the deficit to one. Cadeau picked up his second foul, leading to the under-four media timeout, Alabama 38, Michigan 37.
Closing out the first half
A missed jumper by Philon, thanks to a Johnson block, led to a missed 3 by Wrightsell. Gayle drained a 3 to give the Wolverines an oh-so-brief two-point lead, but Wrightsell hit a 3 on the other end. But then the Wolverines got hot from deep, with McKenney and Gayle both draining triples, and all of a sudden, Michigan had a five-point lead. Both teams kept trying to hit from deep, but it was Michigan on a 13-3 run, while the Tide were just 1-for-7 in that span. McKenney was fouled, and he hit the back-end to push the lead to six. Both teams tried (and missed) from deep, but Lendeborg picked up his second foul with 1:26 remaining in the half, allowing Philon to close the gap to four. Gayle and Johnson missed their close-range attempts on the ensuing possession, and Burnett picked up his first foul, and Philon hit both free throws to cut the Michigan lead to just two.
It's RAINING threes for Michigan️#MarchMadness@umichbballpic.twitter.com/BcSyhcYHVf
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 28, 2026
Johnson missed another layup, and Philon tied the game at 47, managing a layup on his end. Alabama called a timeout with 31 seconds left on the heels of a 6-0 run. Though Michigan was still outshooting the Tide from the floor, the difference was coming at the foul line, where Alabama had five more makes on four more free throws. Michigan was 3-for-8 on layups, but the Crimson Tide was 3-for-7. The Wolverines were dominating the bench points and points in the paint, but still couldn't find the advantage. After Mara missed, Gayle committed a foul, and Philon put Alabama up by two at halftime, personally closing the half on an 8-0 run, with most of those points coming on the free throw line.
Michigan reclaims the lead to start of the second half
Michigan was outshooting Alabama 50% to 39.5%, while the Wolverines were shooting 53% from 3 to Alabama's 37.5%. Yet, the Crimson Tide had a two-point lead thanks to having made 10 free throws to Michigan's three.
Alabama had the ball first, and Allen missed a 3 to open up the final 20-minute foray. Burnett got the rebound, and Lendeborg missed a layup, but the Wolverines got the offensive rebound. He answered with a 3 to give the maize and blue the lead again. Jemison turned the ball over, and though Cadeau and Lendeborg missed shots, Lendeborg got a make, before Wrightsell's 3 was blocked by Cadeau. Sherrell got a layup, and it was a one-point Michigan advantage.
Burnett and Lendeborg missed 3s, while Cadeau's jumper didn't go, and that was it for the extended Michigan possession. Wrightsell's 3 was blocked by Gayle, Michigan's seventh of the game, which led to a steal by Lendeborg and dunk by Burnett, giving the Wolverines a three-point advantage, leading to an Alabama timeout at the 17:04 mark. It was a 7-2 run by the Wolverines in the second half.
Trading 3-pointers
Gayle picked up his third foul of the game coming out of the timeout, but Lendeborg came away with a steal off Wrightsell, and Gayle made good on a layup with an and-one to push the lead to six. After Mallette missed a jumper, Lendeborg drained a 3 to push the lead to nine, but Philon answered in kind, and it was back to six. Lendeborg made a layup to push it back to eight, but Taylor Bol Bowen hit a 3 to cut it back to five. However, Gayle answered with his third 3, and the lead was back up to eight.
Mallette tried another 3 but it was blocked by Gayle. The two teams traded quick turnoevers, and ultimately, McKenney made a layup, followed by a Cadeau 3 to push the lead to 13. Howeer, Wrightsell answered, and it was a 10-point game. A personal foul on Bowen led to the under-16 media timeout (at 12:09) -- Michigan 70, Alabama 60.
CADEAU FOR THREE
13-point @umichbball lead!#MarchMadnesspic.twitter.com/iZzRUMqo3u
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 28, 2026
Michigan had scored on seven of its last seven shots.
Johnson missed a layup coming out of the timeout, picking up a foul in the process of the rebound, leading to the under-12 media timeout, just moments after the under-16.
The Wolverines extend the lead, but lose some ground
Michigan took the ball away from Alabama, leading to a Mallette foul. Cadeau hit one of two to push the lead to 11. For the next several minutes, neither team could do anything, both having gone scoreless for a long stretch. Aday Mara's alley-oop dunk broke the stalemate, and the Wolverines had a 13-point lead. However, the Crimson Tide were still over three minutes without a basket, and with Jemison picking up a foul, McKenney went to the line, where he hit both shots to push the Michigan lead to 15 -- the biggest lead of the game.
Wrightsell finally got the Tide back on the board, and with Burnett fouling him on the shot, he had a chance to make it a 12-point game. He missed, but he stole the ball away from Mara, and was fouled in the process. McKenney picked up a shooting foul after that, and Philon got Alabama closer, 75-64, Michigan.
Alabama center Noah Williamson came in for the first time and promptly picked up a foul, the next putting Michigan in the bonus. Burnett missed a 3 attempt, and Williamson snagged the rebound, giving the Tide a chance to cut it to single digits. But that was the point of the under-eight media timeout, with exactly eight minutes remaining in the game.
Michigan takes a hit, then storms back
A 3-pointer by Philon, after shaking Lendeborg, cut the lead to just eight, but Mara's putback dunk got the Wolverines back on the board to push it back to 10. Wrightsell missed a 3, Gayle missed a jumper, and Allen picked up a foul, putting McKenney on the line. He missed the front end, but made the second. Sherrell missed a 3, Michigan got the rebound, and then Allen picked up his fourth foul. Cadeau missed the front end as it rimmed in and out, and it was corralled by the Tide. Bowen missed a 3, and it went out of the bounds, Michigan basketball.
Bowen picked up his third foul, putting Johnson on the line, who missed the front end but hit the back -- 12-point game, with 5:38 remaining. Sherrell hoisted another 3, which missed, rebounded by Johnson. Cadeau scored on a jumper to push the lead back to 14, and Alabama was on its second three-minute scoring drought of the half. It was broken on the ensuing possession with Philon draining his sixth 3 of the game. Cadeau answered with a 3 of his own, his third, and it returned to a 14-point lead.
Jemison answered with two off a goaltending call, and the under-four media timeout saw the Wolverines take a 12-point lead into the final 3:37 of the game.
The final stretch
All Michigan would have to do is hold serve and keep Alabama from getting hot from beyond the arc to win.
The final stretch opened up with a Johnson dunk, but Philon answered with a layup after missing a 3-pointer. Gayle missed a 3, and a heldball keeps the ball with the maize and blue with 2:32 remaining. The Wolverines kept the ball until near the end of the shot clock, and Cadeau was fouled with just seconds left. He made the back-end only, but it was a 13-point game with 2:13 left. Wrightsell missed another 3 (he was 3-for-11), and after Johnson corralled the rebound, he was intentionally fouled with Michigan being in the double bonus. He missed both, but Allen missed his 3 attempt on the other end. The ensuing intentional foul sent Lendeborg to the line, where he missed the front end. 88-74, Michigan.
Wrightsell missed yet another 3, and a Gayle dunk made it a 16-point game before Philon scored on a layup, fouled in the process by Johnson. But at this point, there was only 45 seconds left, and the game was out of hand. Philon drained the free throw, cutting it to 13.
Roddy Gayle puts the exclamation point on this one️#MarchMadnesspic.twitter.com/gHlRRiCQTF
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 28, 2026
But at this point, the Wolverines had the game, beating Alabama 90-77. The defense held strong in the second half, as the Crimson Tide had their lowest output of the season in the final 20 minutes.
The maize and blue will advance to the Elite Eight, where they will face either Iowa State or Tennessee on Sunday.
Scoring leaders
Lendeborg led Michigan with 23 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists. Cadeau and McKenney both had 17 points, each with three 3s. Gayle added 16, also with three 3s.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan basketball beats Alabama in NCAA Tournament
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