CHICAGO — Yaxel Lendeborg had 23 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in a dazzling all-around performance, and Michigan beat Alabama, 90-77, on Friday night to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years.
Trey McKenney and Elliot Cadeau each scored 17 points as top-seeded Michigan set a school record with its 34th win of the season. Roddy Gayle Jr. finished with 16 points.
Led by McKenney and Gayle, the Wolverines (34-3) enjoyed a 33-6 advantage in bench points. But the versatile Lendeborg was the star of the show as his team grabbed control in the second half.
Next up for the Wolverines is Sunday’s Midwest Region final against the winner of Tennessee-Iowa State.
Labaron Philon Jr. scored 35 points for fourth-seeded Alabama, which reached the Elite Eight each of the previous two years. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. had 15 points.
Alabama (25-10) was once again without star guard Aden Holloway, who missed the school’s tournament run after he was suspended indefinitely following a March 16 arrest on felony drug charges.
Even without Holloway, the Crimson Tide stayed right with the Wolverines for much of the up-tempo matchup between two of the tournament’s highest scoring teams. But everything changed when Lendeborg, the Big Ten player of the year, started to assert himself at the beginning of the second half.