Michigan beats Tennessee to reach 1st Final Four since 2018 -

Yaxel Landeberg scored 27 points, Elliott Cade had 10 rebounds, and Michigan advanced to the Final Four with a 95-62 victory over Tennessee on Sunday in the NCAA Tournament.

CHICAGO -- Michigan coach Dusty May leans toward the basket, beaming with pride as his players drive the net one by one.

In just his second season with the Wolverines, Maye returned Michigan to the Final Four as his team defeated Tennessee 95-62 on Sunday to win the Midwest Regional.He could envision a more magnificent Final Four in 2023 with Florida Atlantic, but he also inherited a battered Michigan program that emerged from a season with just eight overall and three in the Big Ten, its fewest since 1966-67.

The Wolverines now face Arizona in the national semifinals on April 4 in Indianapolis after adding to the team's single-season win total, which reached 35 after Sunday.

"They're playing a children's play, I'm a children's play teacher," said May, "when you look in one place, there are all these people who have poured into them - their former teachers ... parents, they've sacrificed countless times to have this opportunity. The only reward is seeing these moments when they're all together. It's not that we're welcome here, all these people have already helped us see. We are."

He smiled and stood.

"I encourage the team next year to do the same."

The Wolverines will return to the Final Four the first time since 2018 and for the fourth time in the past 11 seasons. Michigan is seeking its first national championship since 1989.

"We have a sign in our locker that [says] 'April Habits,' and from day one we challenged these guys to develop championship-level habits that would allow us to win the Big Ten Championship and also allow us to flip the calendar from March to April," May said."Now we've put ourselves in a position to do that."

After a poor offensive start in the first nine minutes of the game, Michigan took over on both ends, going 21-0 in the middle, hitting the ball correctly and at a good pace.Forward Jaksel Landeborg and center Eday Mara, playing two bad plays, kept the run going, and Michigan State's perimeter game finally paid off for Elliott Caddo and Roddy Gale Jr.for three reasons.

May said the game "fell apart" and credited his assistants for handling bad situations, ultimately allowing Michigan to showcase "a beautiful brand of basketball" that slowed down on the breakout.

“We start every practice with a hibachi pass, so it’s a drill, we go out there and we pass well,” Lendeborg said.“So this group of guys, nobody cares about their numbers on this team.”

However, Lendeborg's performance stood out as he was named Big Ten Player of the Year and Midwest Player of the Year.The UAB transfer had 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists and no turnovers, becoming the first Wolverines player to score 20 or more points in three straight NCAA tournament games since Maye's predecessor at Michigan, Juwan Howard, in 1994.

"When the team came together ... we all wanted to get to the national championship and win," Lendeborg said."We worked tirelessly to make sure we were mentally fit, not just physically, and we all trusted each other. We all played hard for each other."

Michigan also prompted the transfers of Mara (UCLA) and Cadeau (North Carolina).Mara had 11 points, four rebounds and two blocks, while Caddo had 10 assists, becoming the first Big Ten player to record seven or more assists in four straight NCAA Tournament games since former Wolverines guard Trey Burke's 2013 Final Four appearance.

Charlie May, son of the Wolverines coach, hit a 3-pointer with 1:02 left.The Wolverines are coming off a Big Ten Championship win and have scored 90 or more points in their four straight games at the United Center.

"My idea was to cut two more nets after the Big Ten championship," guard Nemari Burnett said."I didn't know you could cut the net for the Final Four, so we got two more, we got that and we got the national championship."

Tennessee dropped its third straight Elite Eight appearance under coach Rick Barnes, who hopes to lead the Vols to their first Final Four and first since coaching Texas in 2003.

"We've all got to get better, we've all got to keep working," Barnes said."We definitely know what it takes to get here and now we have to figure out how to get to the next level, you really have to be at your best on this day."

Just like last year's loss in Houston, the Vols' season was punishing in the first half, as they scored 15 points in the first half against the Cougars.Senior guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie led the Vols with 21 points, but second-team All-SEC selection Nate Ament struggled from the field and was fouled.all game in Tennessee's first injury.

Tennessee hit just 5 of 26 attempts from 3-point range, but Barnes wanted to get the ball inside and the Vols were still just 19-of-50 on two-point shots.

"We had good looks, we had open shots that we didn't miss, and that's where [Michigan] could come out and have a big win," Barnes said."I think that's a little bit because we don't quit, not that we don't quit, because we don't quit, but it puts us back on our heels a little bit."

Barnes, 71, says he will be back at Tennessee for the 2026-27 season, which will mark his 12th at the helm.