Michigan vs Alabama highlights: Wolverines take down Crimson Tide, advance to Elite 8

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Michigan vs Alabama highlights: Wolverines take down Crimson Tide, advance to Elite 8

Matthew Glenesk and Ehsan Kassim, USA TODAY · USA TODAY Sports

Fri, Mar 27, 2026 ·

9 min read

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CHICAGO – Michigan basketball dominated the second half against Alabama and is moving on to the Elite Eight .

The Wolverines trailed by two points going into the intermission, but out-scored the Crimson Tide by 15 in the second half to pick up a 90-77 win at the United Center on Friday, March 27, to advance to the Midwest Region final on Sunday, March 29.

Yaxel Lendeborg scored 10 points in the first couple of minutes of the second half to put Michigan ahead for good. He finished with 23 points (on 8-of-12 shooting) to go along with 12 rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

East is a Beast: When does a Sweet 16 resemble a Final Four? In the East Region of March Madness

Labaron Philon matched his career-high with 35 points, shooting 10-of-21 from the field. However, the rest of the team shot 15-of-48 (31%). He also matched his career high of six 3-pointers in the loss.

Alabama shot 47 3-pointers and just 22 2-pointers in the game. The Crimson Tide 32.3% from the field int he second half and 21.7% from 3-point range.

Michigan advances to Sunday's Elite Eight, where it will play the winner of No. 2 Iowa State vs. No. 6 Tennessee.

USA TODAY brought you updates from the Michigan vs. Alabama Sweet 16 game, catch up with highlights from the game here:

Michigan vs Alabama score

TEAMS	1H	2H	F
Alabama	49	28	77
Michigan	47	43	90

Michigan vs Alabama highlights

Michigan-Alabama final stats

Stat	Alabama	Michigan
Score	90	77
Field goals	25-of-69 (36%)	33-of-66 (50%)
3-pointers	14-of-47 (30%)	13-of-27 (48.1%)
Free throws	13-of-14 (100%)	11-of-20 (55%)
Rebounds	32	46
Assists	14	22
Steals	5	4
Turnovers	7	8
Points off turnovers	7	14
Blocks	1	8
Fouls	19	12
Largest lead	9	16

Final: Michigan 90, Alabama 77

Michigan takes down Alabama 90-77 in the Sweet 16 from the United Center in Chicago. Yaxel Lendeborg scored 23 points with 12 rebounds and seven assists in the win for the Wolverines.

The Crimson Tide held a two-point halftime lead, but the second half was all Michigan. Labaron Philon tied his career-high with 35 points in the loss for Alabama.

Michigan minutes away from Elite 8

Michigan leads Alabama 84-72 with 3:37 left in the game. The Wolverines have outscored the Crimson Tide 37-23 in the second half, while outrebounding them 20-8 to take control of the game.

Michigan holds double-digit lead over Alabama

Michigan leads Alabama 75-64 with 8 minutes left in the game. The Wolverines have led by as many as 15 points behind a big second half from Yaxel Lendeborg.

Alabama will need to make a run soon to keep this one competitive.

Yaxel Lendeborg helps Michigan jump out to big lead

Michigan is on an 8-2 run and outscoring Alabama 23-11 in the second half to take a 70-60 lead with 12:09 left in the game.

Yaxel Lendeborg has 10 points, four rebounds and three assists already in the second half. He's up to 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the game.

Michigan takes lead to open second half

Yaxel Lendeborg hits Nimari Burnett for a wide-open fast-break dunk to give Michigan a 54-51 lead with 17:04 left in the game. The score forces a timeout from Nate Oats and Alabama.

The Wolverines have outscored Alabama 7-2 to begin the second half.

Second half of Alabama-Michigan Sweet 16 underway

The second half of the Sweet 16 from the United Center in Chicago between Alabama and Michigan is underway. The Crimson Tide continues to hold a slim 2-point advantage.

Michigan-Alabama halftime stats

Stat	Alabama	Michigan
Score	49	47
Field goals	15-of-38 (39%)	18-of-36 (50%)
3-pointers	9-of-24 (38%)	8-of-15 (53%)
Free throws	10-of-10 (100%)	3-of-4 (75%)
Rebounds	20	21
Assists	8	11
Steals	3	1
Turnovers	3	6
Points off turnovers	5	6
Blocks	0	5
Fouls	7	7
Largest lead	9	6

Halftime: Alabama 49, Michigan 47

Alabama holds a 49-47 lead over Michigan following an 8-0 run to close out the first half. Labaron Philon leads the Crimson Tide with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Yaxel Lendeborg and Trey McKenney each have 12 points to lead the way for the Wolverines.

The first half saw eight lead changes and four ties.

Labaron Philon leading Alabama early

Labaron Philon has five of his 11 points in the last two minutes as Alabama holds a 38-33 lead over Michigan with 5:02 left in the first half. Philon hits a step-back 3-pointer, adds a layup, and then assists on an alley-oop.

Yaxel Lendeborg has 12 points to lead all scorers.

Alabama continues leading Michigan in first half

It's been a back-and-forth game between Alabama and Michigan so far, with the Crimson Tide holding a slim 18-17 lead with 10:59 left in the first half. Alabama opened the game on an 11-2 run; the Wolverines responded with a 12-2 run.

The game has featured two ties and four lead changes. Alabama has led for 7:15 of game time so far.

Alabama jumps out to early lead

Behind three 3-pointers, Alabama holds an 11-4 lead over Michigan at the first media timeout with 15:38 left in the half. Aiden Sherrill has knocked down a pair of 3-pointers for the Crimson Tide.

Elliot Cadeau has had a pair of 3-pointers go in and out so far on open looks.

Michigan-Alabama Sweet 16 matchup underway

The Sweet 16 matchup between Michigan and Alabama is underway at the United Center in Chicago. The winner advances to the Elite Eight.

Pregame

Michigan vs Alabama Sweet 16 starting lineups

Alabama:

G:Labaron Philon
G:Latrell Wrightsell Jr.
F:Amari Allen
F:London Jemison
F:Aiden Sherrell

Michigan:

G:Elliot Cadeau
G:Nimari Burnett
F:Morez Johnson Jr.
F:Yaxel Lendeborg
C:Aday Mara

What time is Michigan vs Alabama?

Time:7:35 p.m. ET, Friday, March 27.

What channel is Michigan vs Alabama? How to watch, streaming info

The game is airing on TBS/truTV, streaming via Fubo.

Michigan vs Alabama prediction, odds

Odds provided by BetMGM .

∎ Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press : Michigan 94, Alabama 82

The Tide have the shooting and know their formula to win: "Execute the game plan, make shots, protect the way to ball, find a way to rebound," Oats said. Saying it is one thing. Doing it is entirely different. Michigan has more avenues to victory. If the shots aren't falling, it can go inside. If drop coverage isn't working on pick-and-rolls, U-M can hard hedge. If one player is having an off day, even Lendeborg, there is enough talent to offset that. Alabama doesn't quite have the same room for error. It must hit 3s, lots of them, to win this game. With the belief Michigan can eventually find a way to slow the Tide down as the game goes on, it's reasonable to think the Wolverines will be in a tight game that they eventually pull away in.

∎ Emilee Smarr, Tuscaloosa News : Michigan 95, Alabama 88

Blake Toppmeyer:Michigan
Paul Myerberg:Michigan
Jordan Mendoza:Michigan
John Brice:Michigan
Matt Glenesk:Michigan
Craig Meyer:Michigan
John Leuzzi:Michigan
Austin Curtright:Michigan
Ehsan Kassim:Alabama
Moneyline:Michigan (-500); Alabama (+375)
Spread:Michigan (-8.5)
Over/under total:172.5

What did Nate Oats say about UNC basketball coach opening? 'I'm a glorified PE teacher.'

Nate Oats' name continues to circulate for the North Carolina men's basketball head coach job opening. Oats candidly answered questions about his future with Alabama on Thursday, March 26, one day before the Crimson Tide takes on No. 1 Michigan in the Sweet 16 from the United Center.

"As a young high school coach, I didn't think I'd ever be in this spot not too long ago. I'm not a guy that's always trying to jump around," Oats said. "The grass isn't always greener. I love Alabama. My girls love Alabama.

"I'm not looking to leave."

Oats continued: "I still can't believe I am getting paid this much. I'm coaching basketball guys," Oats said of his current contract with Alabama. "I did this thing for free at Maranatha [Baptist] for three years. … For the first 16 years I coached basketball, [I made] less than $500,000 total.

"My salary goes up half a million every year. I am a glorified P.E. teacher making too much money right now. So, I'm not going to complain."

Why isn't Aden Holloway playing for Alabama? Latest news on guard's arrest

Holloway was arrested on Monday, March 16 and charged with first-degree possession of marijuana and failure to affix a tax stamp after the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force found 2.1 pounds of marijuana in his residence.

He was transported to the Tuscaloosa County Jail and was set with a $5,000 bond, according to The Tuscaloosa News , part of the USA TODAY Network. The University of Alabama later released a statement and said he was removed from campus and won't return to the team until the university's office of student conduct finishes its investigation.

What Yaxel Lendeborg said about Alabama not recruiting him

Lendeborg played for the University of Alabama-Birmingham for two years in 2023-24 and 2024-25 before entering the portal at the conclusion of last season. When he entered, he had hoped to stay in-state.

"When I entered the transfer portal out of UAB, I was hoping to get recruited by Alabama. And when I didn't, it kind of hurt me a little bit. Not in a way that I can say 'I hate them.' It just bothered me a little."

"There's going to be juice for sure," Lendeborg said of playing Alabama . "I know I'm going to try my best to be the best player on the floor tomorrow for sure. All it is extra motivation for sure, just not in the sense where I'm like, 'this is what you guys missed on,' but like you guys could have called at least, or something like that."

Dusty May and Nate Oats refuted that Alabama never recruited Lendeborg, who was named Big Ten Player of the Year this season.

"Nate and I being friends, we talked through that process," May said. "And don't tell Yax, but they did try to recruit him."

Michigan PG Elliot Cadeau overcame hearing, vision issues

Elliot Cadeau is half-deaf in one ear, dealt with blurred vision in one eye. That hasn't stopped Michigan point guard from turning in his best season.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michigan vs. Alabama score: Wolverines advance to Elite 8

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