No. 1 Michigan Wolverines reach Final Four after routing No. 6 Tennessee in the most lopsided men’s Elite Eight victory in 37 years

Michigan had its Final Four bid sewn up at halftime of the Elite Eight.

OK, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But not by much. The No. 1 Wolverines went on a 32-10 run to end the first half to make the second half of their 95-62 win over No. 6 Tennessee a formality.

The two teams were tied at 16-16 with 10:13 to go after Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg made the first of two free throws. After that, it was all Michigan, as Lindeborg helped kickstart the run with a circus layup.

Tennessee went over five minutes before scoring its 18th point of the game with 5:11 remaining in the first half. By the time the Vols had that basket, Michigan had 35 and had scored 21 straight points.

Lendeborg took over the game at the start of Michigan’s outburst. He scored 15 first-half points on 5-of-9 shooting and also had three rebounds and four assists. No other Michigan player had more than eight points in the half — but all eight players who saw playing time in the first 20 minutes scored.

Tennessee tried to get back into the game before halftime, but things fell apart right before the break. Michigan scored seven unanswered points in the final minute after the Vols had cut the lead to 15 with 1:42 to go. Trey McKenney’s 3-pointer with three seconds remaining extended the lead to 22 and basically ended any chances Tennessee had of believing in a second-half comeback.

Lendeborg finished with 27 points as four other Michigan players had at least 10. The Wolverines have scored at least 90 points in all four of their NCAA tournament games so far.

The 33-point win is the biggest blowout in the men’s Elite Eight since Michigan beat Virginia by 37 points in 1989.

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The Vols’ two stars have a rough first half

Tennessee dominated the offensive glass early in the first half. That kept the Vols in the game despite a rough shooting start. But that rough shooting start was also a big reason why Tennessee had so many offensive rebounds. It’s hard to mount a comeback when you’re shooting 31% from the field.

Tennessee ended up with 11 offensive rebounds over the first half and 25 rebounds overall. But neither Nate Ament or Ja’Kobi Gillespie could do much on offense.

Gillespie scored just six points as he made two of his 11 field-goal attempts. Eight of those shots came behind the arc. Freshman forward Nate Ament, a potential lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, was just 1 of 6.

Throw in three fouls for big man Felix Okpara and three other players — including Gillespie — with two fouls in the first half, and it was an incredibly tough start for the Vols. And a brutal feeling for Tennessee fans that were hoping 2026 would finally be the year the Volunteers made it to the Final Four.

Instead, Tennessee’s streak lives on for at least another year. The Volunteers have made 28 NCAA tournaments without making the Final Four. It’s the third-longest such streak in men’s college basketball behind BYU at 33 and Missouri at 31.

Michigan vs. Arizona in the Final Four

The Wolverines’ win ensured there will be a national championship-level semifinal in the Final Four.

Michigan will play Arizona on Saturday night for the right to advance to the national title game on April 6. The Wildcats and Wolverines have been the co-national title favorites for much of the NCAA tournament even though Duke entered the tourney as the No. 1 overall seed.

Whoever wins that semifinal game will likely enter the national championship as the favorite. And the winner will be breaking a long title streak in the process. Arizona’s only national title came in 1997, and Michigan’s lone championship came during the 1989 season. Is another Elite Eight blowout the sign of a national title to come?