The Michigan Wolverines, No. 1 seed in the West Region, continue their NCAA Tournament journey on Saturday as they are currently playing against No. 9 seed Saint Louis. Get live updates here throughout this second-round game by Detroit News contributor Kameron Goodwill.
Final: No. 1 Michigan 95, No. 9 Saint Louis 72
Michigan put up another dominant second-half performance in Buffalo, defeating Saint Louis, 95-72, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
All five starters ended up scoring in double-digits, led by Yaxel Lendeborg’s 25 points and multiple highlight dunks throughout the game, the type of performance expected from the First-Team All-American. Aday Mara ended up with 16 points and four blocks to go with a balanced five rebounds and five assists.
The Wolverines were on fire today, finishing 56% from the field and 48% from three, hitting 11 shots from beyond the arc. Only two starters from Saint Louis from finished in double-digit scoring, and neither of them were star Robbie Avila, who only finished with nine points while going 3-for-13 from the field.
Who will Michigan play in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament?
No. 1 seed Michigan will have to wait until Sunday to see if they play either No. 4 Alabama or No. 5 Texas Tech, as the game is scheduled to start at 9:45 p.m. The Sweet 16 game will happen on March 27.
Wolverines take care of business, dominate in win over Saint Louis for Sweet 16 berth
Both teams hit one more shot but that’ll do it, as the Wolverines didn’t hit the century mark again but got close, cruising to a 92-72 victory over Saint Louis thanks to some hot shooting and a huge second-half run. Saint Louis’ March run comes to a sad end as Michigan moves on to the Sweet 16.
Wolverines continue to dominate, minutes away from clinching berth in Sweet 16
The Wolverines continue to shoot well, as back-to-back 3-pointers from Burnett and Lendeborg now have them at 11-for-20 from long distance, and Lendeborg now has 25 points. This has gotten ugly quickly for Saint Louis, as they now stare at a 24-point deficit with under five minutes remaining. A made layup from Sharma is the first field goal made since Thames’ dunk with 8:26 left, as the Wolverines are now up, 90-70, with 2:30 left.
Michigan, Saint Louis trade highlights as Wolverines look to take 20-point lead
The Billikens aren’t giving up though, as Ishan Sharma hits the three as the team is now 5-for-8 from three in the second half. Avila almost picks up his third foul, but Lendeborg hits both free throws as he now has 20 points so far. Kellen Thames almost posterizes Trey McKinney, but instead misses both free throws. Morez Johnson Jr. makes both free throws, then both teams trade big dunks.
First, Mara lobs it up to Johnson Jr. for the jam, then 6’6″ Thames throws down a huge dunk on 7’3″ Mara as Buffalo has turned into a slam dunk contest.
Wolverines continue to score, take double-digit lead halfway through second half
Jones was fouled before the timeout, as he splits his free throws for Saint Louis, probably still shaken up after getting dunked on by Lendeborg. Speaking of Lendeborg, he continues his hot streak with a deep three as the Wolverines take another double-digit lead. This time, they aren’t settling as they put on the full-court press on Saint Louis, leading to a steal and layup by Nimari Burnett as the Billikens call timeout with 10:30 left. Michigan now holds a 73-58 lead.
Lendeborg throws down dunk of the day so far, Michigan holds 66-57 lead in second half
Trey McKinney steps into a quick 3-pointer, but the Billikens answer back yet again with Quentin Jones hitting a floater. After Avila misses a hook shot, Lendeborg absolutely posterizes his defender on a nasty one-handed jam with the right hand! A TV timeout is called with 11:44 left, leaving everyone enough time to see that dunk again on social media.
Saint Louis starts second half hot from 3-point range, Michigan still leads
Michigan and Saint Louis start the second half the same way as the first, trading early baskets at a fast pace. Aday Mara hits another hook shot over Robbie Avila, but Avila answers back with a deep three for his second made basket of the game. Quentin Jones also hits a three to make it a deficit of five points, then Avila hits another three as the Billikens are now 4-for-5 from deep. Michigan continues to run on the fastbreak for some easy dunks.
Saint Louis continues to answer back, cutting the lead to six as the Wolverines now lead 61-55 with 14:17 left in the game.
Halftime: No. 1 Michigan 48, No. 9 Saint Louis 39
The Wolverines enter halftime with a lead, but this game has been closer than the score indicates. Michigan has been hot from the field, shooting 53% overall and 60% from 3-point range, but the Wolverines have left points on the board by going 8-for-14 from the free throw line. This has allowed Saint Louis to stay in the game despite the Billikens shooting under 50% from the field and 30% from three.
Three players are already in double-figures, led by Elliot Cadeau’s 12 points, which is already more than double what he had in the first-round game against Howard. Yaxel Lendeborg has 11, and Aday Mara has taken advantage of his matchup against Saint Louis’ Robbie Avila with 10 points, including being responsible for four of Michigan six total blocks so far.
Speaking of Avila, the Wolverines have made sure to neutralize him, as he currently has just three points while only hitting one of his six shot attempts in the first half. Amari McCottry has picked it up for the Billikens with 10 points, and Brady Dunlap has nine points off the bench with all his shots coming from beyond the arc.
Michigan goes on run, creates space to hold 9-point halftime lead over Saint Louis
We get our first review of the game as an offensive foul by Saint Louis’ Paul Otieno is reversed into a defensive foul on Michigan’s Nimari Burnett, but Otieno misses the 1-and-1 free throw as it leads to a alley-oop slam by Lendeborg off the overhead pass by Roddy Gayle Jr. That helps the Wolverines take their first double-digit lead of the game. Amari McCottry ends an almost 4-minute scoring drought from Saint Louis with a floater, leading to a 5-0 run from the Billikens.
After a short timeout with 24.1 seconds left, Lendeborg is fouled with 5.6 seconds remaining and hits both free throws for the final points of the first half.
Michigan goes on quick run, create distance from Saint Louis as first half continues
Morez Johnson Jr. is the first Wolverine to hit both free throws today, as Michigan improves to shooting 50% at the line so far. It seems like the Wolverines finally create some breathing room, hitting two 3s in 30 seconds as part of an 8-0 run. But Saint Louis won’t go away yet, as Brady Dunlap hits his third 3-pointer of the half to keep the deficit within single digits.
Aday Mara is taking advantage of his matchup against Robbie Avila, hitting him with this sick post move as Mara has nine points with three important blocks. Michigan leads, 42-34, with 3:41 left in this opening half.
Wolverines, Billikens go back-and-forth as Michigan holds slim lead in first half
The Billikens continue their hot streak, hitting back-to-back and-one shots from Paul Otieno and Ishan Sharma, all with Robbie Avila on the bench. But yet again, the Wolverines answer back with a 7-0 run of their own in this exciting first half of basketball. Elliot Cadeau now has nine points to lead the Wolverines, as they take a 30-29 lead with 7:28 left in the half.
Wolverines start cold from the free-throw line, Saint Louis goes on 9-0 run to again take lead
Michigan’s suffering from early free throw troubles, going just 2-for-6 so far from the charity stripe. But they continue to lead thanks to Aday Mara, who currently leads the Wolverines in scoring with seven points. This includes an impressive reverse alley-oop layup assisted by Lendeborg, who threw it from the opposite free throw line! Mara is matched up against Avila, who only has three points while going 1-for-4 from the field.
But the Billikens go on a 9-0 run, thanks to Brady Dunlap’s six quick points off the bench, to take a 21-20 lead as another timeout is taken.
Michigan takes early first-half lead over Saint Louis thanks to hot shooting start
Elliot Cadeau gets the first points for the Wolverines on a 3-pointer, as both teams go back-and-forth in the opening stages of this game. Saint Louis’ Robbie Avila hits a three to give the Billikens a 10-7 lead, but Michigan scores six straight, including a made shot from Yaxel Lendeborg as they take a 13-10 lead into the first TV timeout with 15:58 remaining. Michigan has only missed one of their six attempts from the field so far as well, but Saint Louis has only missed two shots of their own.
NCAA Tournament
NO. 1 SEED MICHIGAN VS. NO. 9 SEED SAINT LOUIS
What: Second-round NCAA Tournament game
When: Saturday, 12:10 p.m.
Where: KeyBank Arena, Buffalo
TV: CBS
Records: Michigan 32-3, Saint Louis 29-5
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Recap: Wolverines dominate Saint Louis, clinch berth in Sweet 16
Reporting by Kameron Goodwill, Special to The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
