How Michigan Turned a Track Meet Into a Street Fight in Sweet 16 Win Over Alabama

The Michigan Wolverines advanced to the Elite 8 after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide by a score of 90-77 at the United Center in Chicago on Friday night.

As has been the case all tournament long, Michigan has been a dominant second half team, which showed itself again against Alabama after the Wolverines trailed by two at the half.

In this particular game, it was head coach Dusty May's adjustment after the halftime break that put the Wolverines in a position to control the game on both ends of the floor.

Let's break down how that happened.

Michigan dictates second half tempo

In the first 20 minutes, the Wolverines got into a game that was high volume in possessions and played mostly in transition, with Alabama dictating the tempo in the first half for the most part.

Mar 27, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Members of the Michigan Wolverines look on during the second half against the Alabama Crimson Tide during a Sweet Sixteen game of the Midwest Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

If the game had stayed in that style, Michigan certainly could have still won it as the Wolverines are capable of winning games both in the half court and out in the open floor.

However, a fast-paced game is when Nate Oats' teams thrive, making it paramount for the Wolverines to get the game under control from a tempo standpoint to allow themselves to wear Alabama down in the second half.

And that's exactly what happened.

Michigan wasn't awful in the first half by any means and overcame an early 11-2 deficit to find itself only down a couple at the break.

But while the Crimson Tide shot 15-of-38 in the first half and 9-of-24 from three-point range, the Wolverines were able to hold their offense even more at bay in the final 20 minutes, holding the Crimson Tide to 10-of-31 shooting and just 5-of-23 from three after the halftime intermission.

The change in pace allowed the Wolverines to set their defense and contest nearly every shot taken by Alabama as the game wore on, which set Michigan up in a better position.

Despite a 35-point effort from Labaron Philon, the Michigan defense was too much as the Wolverines also got the job done on the offensive end with strong efforts from Yaxel Lendeborg, Elliot Cadeau, Trey McKenney and Roddy Gayle Jr.

After the game, Lendeborg spoke on how the change in tempo in the second half helped the team dictate terms and take Alabama out of its offensive rhythm.

"We tried to pretty much get into an offensive match with those guys," Lendeborg said. "We're not that kind of team. They're a way better offensive team than we are. And once we started slowing the game down, we were a lot more physical and trying to dominate the paint. We started finding more success and our defense started coming alive, and that really helped us out and helped our confidence."

To Lendeborg's point, slowing the game down did help the Wolverines win the physical and hustle elements as well. In the first half, the Wolverines were just +1 in the rebounding category, while in the second half Michigan won the rebounding edge by 15.

Yaxel Lendeborg react — Mar 27, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Michigan Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) reacts after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide in a Sweet Sixteen game of the Midwest Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

May said he saw more composure from his team in the second half as opposed to the first, where the Wolverines got caught over helping and fouling in certain situations against the potent Crimson Tide offense.

"I think we just played with much more discipline in the second half," May said. "And because we weren't making those errors, we were able to just get lost in the fight. Once the game got going, I think we went seven minutes without a media timeout. And I don't think we could have went 70 seconds in the first half without committing a silly foul."

The Wolverines will play the 6th-seeded Tennessee Volunteers on Sunday at 2:15 p.m. EST for a spot in the Final Four.