Amari Allen Shoulders the Blame For Alabama's Sweet 16 Loss to Michigan

CHICAGO - Alabama basketball was overwhelmed in the Sweet 16 on Friday as 1-seed Michigan dominated the second half in the United Center to advance to the Elite 8. The Maize and Blue were led by an impressive performance by Yaxel Lendeborg as the senior forward took advantage of a matchup problem showing why he was selected as a consensus First Team All-American and Big 10 Player of the Year.

Lendeborg scored 23 points, hauled in 12 rebounds, with seven assist and two steals. He managed his scoring output on just 12 shots from the field, proving extremely efficient for the Wolverines.

The Crimson Tide struggled to find an answer for the anomoly, opting to primarily use freshman Amari Allen against him, while mixing in forwards Taylor Bol Bowen and London Jemison to try to keep him off balance.

"I had one job going into this game," Allen lamented after the loss. "I was supposed to come in, watch a bunch of film on him. I had one job, you know? I felt like I lost us the game. I let him get comfortable. I let him hit open shots. Next year, I'm never going to let that be the case. I'm not going to be the reason we lose another game because I let my assignment go off."

The freshman's words were filled with regret as the pain of defeat and the finality of the season set in.

"I should've pressured him more," Allen said. "He [Yaxel Lendeborg] was too comfortable coming off screens. I had to get into him, be more physical."

Lendeborg embraced the matchup with Allen as he put the Wolverines on his shoulders. The superstar made 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, but his third make from deep was the exclamation point for the forward. Lendeborg put Michigan in front 50-47 early in the second half after shaking Allen and stepping back at the top of the key for the big bucket.

"Honestly, I kind of felt a little disrespected having a freshman guarding me," Lendeborg said. "Yeah, so it was just keep attacking the guy. I kind of had the hot hand at that moment, so I just kept trying to be aggressive and continue to try to find shots either for myself or my team, the team to create. I think that's the first time I made somebody fall since, like, middle school or when we were playing in the park. I just had to take that moment in, and I was just super happy. I don't know if I showed it enough, but super happy that that happened."

ANKLE BREAKER!

Yaxel Lendeborg made his defender touch the FLOOR before drilling the three 🎯

pic.twitter.com/J1krD7e6Dj
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 28, 2026

Alabama had almost a week to prepare for the Michigan front court. Despite the preparation time, Lendebord, Aday Mara, and Morez Johnson combined for 38 points and 25 rebounds.

Allen said the team knew the physicality would be off the charts in the Sweet 16 but shouldered the blame for not being able to match and slow down Lendeborg.

"No, I knew what it was coming in," Allen said. "I take the blame for it. I knew he was physical. I knew he could get downhill. I knew he could shoot. I just let everybody down, I guess. I had one job, and I really messed it up, but there's nothing I can do with it now."

Allen fought through tears as he reflected on the loss, lamenting his performance and the fact that he won't play another game with the older players after such a dramatic season.

"We've been through a lot," Allen said. "They [Houston Mallette and Latrell Wrightsell] kept us together. I'm just thankful for them. It sucks that we went out like this. They deserved more."

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