Alabama Basketball's Season Ends After 1-Seed Michigan Second-Half Explosion

CHICAGO - Alabama basketball threw a strong punch to open the Sweet 16, but 1-seed Michigan found its footing and hit the Crimson Tide with a knockout blow to open the second half, winning 90-77 to bring Alabama's 2026 season to an end.

"We lost the glass by 12 in the second half," Nate Oats said. "We gave up 5 o-boards the first three possessions the second half. We chart the blue collar stuff. The first media timeout it was 30-11 in the blue collar points. The second half total was 61-32 them. They kind of just destroyed us on the efforts, toughness in the second half. Part of that is their size and physicality. You look at their starting three, four, and five, they double us up on the glass. From our starting three, four, and fives, 26-13, our leading rebounder was a point guard in Philon. We knew we were going to have to rebound with them and we did in the second half. We were only losing it by one, and we were up two. Then we came out in the second half, and Michigan just seemed like they imposed their will on us."

Alabama jumped into an early 11-2 lead after Aiden Sherrell knocked down two 3-point shots, getting the Crimson Tide's upset bid started. Alabama held its early advantage until the middle of the first half when Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg woke up. Lendeborg hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 22, had an assist to push the Wolverines into the lead for the first time, and another to stretch Michigan's lead to five before subbing out to end the half.

Michigan teammates Roddy Gayle Jr. and Trey McKenney chipped in with deadly 3-point shooting to help Lendeborg drag the Wolverines back into the game in the first half as the pair made 5-of-6 from deep in the first frame.

Alabama gathered itself and rallied behind star guard Labaron Philon after Lendeborg left the first half. Philon scored 19 first half points and ended the first frame on a personal 8-0 run sending the Crimson Tide into the locker room with a 49-47 lead.

Nate Oats has continuously opened postgame press conferences, regardless of result, disgusted by Alabama's start to the second halves. The problem reared its ugly head in the United Center and ultimately ended the Crimson Tide's season as Michigan opened the second frame on a 20-8 run to take control of the contest.

Lendeborg picked up where he left off in the first frame, filling up the stat sheet in every category. The unanimous All-American finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, and two steals as the Crimson Tide struggled to find an answer for him on either side of the floor. McKenney and Gayle kept their strong play going in the second half, finishing with 17 and 16, respectively.

Alabama's first-half shooting went cold in the second frame, making it impossible to keep up with Michigan. The Crimson Tide made just four of its first 15 shots from the field in the second half as the team fell into an insurmountable deficit.

Philon finished potentially his final game in a Crimson Tide uniform, scoring 35 points, with six rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Latrell Wrightsell scored 15 points, but was 3-of-10 from behind the arc, struggling to find his shot in the second half, making just 1-of-5 from deep.

The Crimson Tide's season concludes with 25 wins, a fourth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance and a second place finish in the SEC.

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