Michigan tops Saint Louis 95-72, reaches Sweet 16
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- Yaxel Lendeborg scored 25 points, capping the win with a dunk through two defenders to put Michigan up 66-57; teammate Nimari Burnett dubbed him "Dominican LeBron" for the play.
- Michigan (33-3) matched its program record for victories set during the 2018 Final Four run, with all five starters scoring 11-plus points on 34-of-61 (55.7%) shooting.
- Aday Mara tallied 16 points, five rebounds, and four blocks, pushing his season total to 96 — one short of Roy Tarpley's Michigan single-season record set in 1985-86.
- Saint Louis (29-6) was held to 10-of-32 from three-point range, with star center Robbie Avila going 3-of-13 overall and 3-of-10 from deep in his final college game.
- Billikens coach Josh Schertz acknowledged the height gap against 7-3 Mara and 6-9 Lendeborg and Johnson, joking after the loss: "You can't grow in 24 hours."
- Lendeborg said the Wolverines were learning from slow second-half starts that cost them the Big Ten tournament title in an 80-72 loss to Purdue last weekend.
- Michigan advances to face the Texas Tech-Alabama winner in Chicago on Friday, reaching the Sweet 16 for the seventh time since 2017.
Why it matters: Michigan matched its all-time program wins record and has now won 26 of 33 games by double digits, establishing the top seed as a heavy favorite in a Sweet 16 matchup with the Texas Tech-Alabama winner. Defensively, the Wolverines held a Saint Louis team that entered allowing an NCAA-low 37.7% shooting to a season-worst 55.7% mark from the field.
