Michigan had too much of everything. Too much size, too much shooting and too much depth for a Saint Louis team that had captured the tournament’s imagination two days earlier. The Wolverines dispatched the ninth-seeded Billikens 95-72 on Saturday at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, becoming the first team in this year’s NCAA Tournament to punch a ticket to the Sweet 16.
The win improved Michigan to 33-3, matching a program record for victories first set during its Final Four run in 2018. The Wolverines have now reached the second weekend in seven of their last nine tournament appearances.
Lendeborg delivered the signature moment of the afternoon
Yaxel Lendeborg finished with 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting and did not turn the ball over once, becoming the first Michigan player to reach 25 points without a turnover in an NCAA Tournament game since Glen Rice accomplished the feat in 1989. His most memorable moment came in the second half, when he split two Saint Louis defenders with a euro-step from beyond the arc and hammered home a dunk that pushed the lead to nine and signaled the beginning of the end for the Billikens.
All five Michigan starters scored in double figures. Aday Mara contributed 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and four blocks, all accumulated before halftime, and pushed his season block total to 96, one short of Michigan’s single-season record. Morez Johnson Jr. added 15 points and eight rebounds. Elliot Cadeau scored 12 and Nimari Burnett added 11.
Michigan’s size and shooting overwhelmed Saint Louis
The Wolverines shot 55.7% from the field and connected on 11 of 23 attempts from three-point range. They outrebounded Saint Louis 42-27, recorded seven blocks and committed just nine turnovers across 66 possessions. Their edge in the paint was decisive, outscoring the Billikens 42-30 inside and converting 14 of 23 dunks and layups.
The game was genuinely competitive through the first 10 minutes, with the lead changing hands six times before Michigan went ahead for good on a Trey McKenney three-pointer with 9:37 left in the first half. That basket sparked a 9-0 run that the Wolverines never relinquished. A 28-9 burst in the second half, capped by a Burnett interception and layup that pushed the lead to 73-58, effectively closed the contest.
Saint Louis could not find its outside shooting
Michigan took direct aim at the Billikens’ primary strength and neutralized it. Saint Louis entered the game ranked among the nation’s top three-point shooting teams, but Michigan held them to 10 of 32 from deep, including just 5 of 17 in the first half.
Robbie Avila, the Saint Louis center who had entered the tournament with 211 career three-point baskets and ranked third among all NCAA centers in that category, finished 3 of 13 from the field and 3 of 10 from three. The Buffalo crowd sent him off with chants of his name as he left the floor. Amari McCottry led Saint Louis with 14 points and five rebounds. The Billikens finished the season at 29-6, having set a program record for wins just two days earlier.
Michigan faces Alabama or Texas Tech in Chicago
The Wolverines will travel to Chicago for a Midwest Regional semifinal on Friday against the winner of Sunday’s game between fourth-seeded Alabama and fifth-seeded Texas Tech. Michigan is back in the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year and will carry one of the tournament’s most efficient offenses into a matchup against whichever team survives that contest.
The Billikens‘ run ended at the second round, where they are now 0-6 all-time. Their first-round performance against Georgia, a 102-77 blowout that set three program records, will be the lasting image of a season that exceeded nearly every expectation set for it.
