CHICAGO \u2014 After the nets were cut and the confetti had fallen, and Dusty May finally had the briefest of moments between hugs and selfies and microphones shoved in his face, the head coach of Michigan uncorked a long exhale, followed by a big, toothy smile.<\/p>\n
A job not done, but right on track. A potential masterpiece, needing just a few finishing touches.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s never easy to make a Final Four. But May and this Michigan team have seemed destined for it all season. And they did make it look easy on Sunday with a 95-62 blowout win of No. 6 seed Tennessee. It marks the largest Elite Eight victory since 1989 \u2014 which was a 37-point win, also by the Wolverines, who went on to win the title.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur guys have been up to the challenge, to deliver in the biggest moments all year,\u201d said May. \u201cNothing changed tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
The top-seed Wolverines won the Midwest Regional in dominant fashion to advance to the ninth men\u2019s Final Four in program history and first since 2018. It encapsulated an incredible two-year build under May, who inherited a team that went 8-24 in 2023-24. He reached the Sweet 16 in Year 1, then built a big-ball behemoth in Year 2, a group that bludgeoned its way to a Big Ten regular season title and paced the sport alongside fellow No. 1 seeds Duke and Arizona.<\/p>\n
Now, with a single-season program record of 35 wins and only three losses, Michigan will have a chance to win its second national championship in school history next week in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese guys, we weren\u2019t a super team, but these guys became super teammates,\u201d said May.<\/p>\n
It starts with Yaxel Lendeborg, the 6-foot-8 Swiss Army knife and Big Ten player of the year who transferred in from UAB this offseason and led the way with 27 points (10 of 19 from the field), 7 rebounds and 4 assists. He\u2019s one of four impact pieces May brought in out of the portal, joining fellow skyscrapers Aday Mara (7-foot-3) and Morez Johnson Jr. (6-foot-9) to establish one of the most imposing frontcourts in the country.<\/p>\n
May has been at the forefront of the \u201cbig ball\u201d movement that has defined the top of the sport this season. It started in his final year at Florida Atlantic \u2014\u00a0one season after the Owls\u2019 Cinderella Final Four run playing small ball \u2014\u00a0and snapped into place at Michigan last year with a pair of 7-footers.<\/p>\n
Michigan went bigger still this season. Lendeborg\u2019s talent picked the lock offensively, swinging open the doors of possibility for an offensive-minded coach like May. Mara\u2019s length put a wall in front of the rim. Johnson\u2019s tenacity brought an edge. The Wolverines have the No. 1 defense and a top-five offense according to KenPom.com this season, and the combination of those three are a huge reason why.<\/p>\n
It was on full display against Tennessee, particularly during a 21-0 first-half run that blew the game open. That five-minute stretch swung an early 2-point Tennessee advantage into a 19-point Michigan lead, which climbed to 22 by halftime. The second half felt optional.<\/p>\n
Lendeborg continued his stellar March Madness, part of a 50-point weekend that further burnished his \u201cDominican LeBron\u201d nickname. Mara and Johnson each scored in double figures as well, helping limit Tennessee to just 32 percent from the floor. The Vols shot just 5 for 26 from 3-point range and 12 for 25 on shots at the rim. Michigan had eight blocks, each to the delight of a heavily maize-and-blue crowd.<\/p>\n
The backcourt chipped in as well, led by fellow transfer Elliot Cadeau with 8 points and 10 assists. Trey McKenney, Nimari Burnett and Roddy Gayle Jr. combined for 30 points, as the members of May\u2019s expertly crafted roster complemented each other in perfect harmony.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew what he wanted the roster to look like,\u201d said assistant coach Mike Boynton Jr., a thread of net looped through the snapback on his Final Four hat. \u201cHe\u2019s got a tremendous vision, and then he has an unbelievable ability to empower people to do their jobs at a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Much of that was evident on the court, with Mara\u2019s size, Lendeborg\u2019s versatility and Cadeau\u2019s \u201csavant\u201d point guard play, which he flashed with an incredible no-look pass<\/a> just before halftime.<\/p>\n But it also showed up off the court. May talked about building the foundation in his first season and elevating it this year, describing Johnson and Cadeau as \u201cabsolute psycho competitors\u201d that meshed well alongside a \u201cfun-loving guy\u201d like Lendeborg.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you bring transfers in, they could all have their own agenda,\u201d said Boynton. \u201cDusty\u2019s ability to get them to lean into each other is what makes us a little bit different.\u201d<\/p>\n It extends to his staff, too. May brought a number of assistants with him from FAU, but he also added Boynton, a former head coach at Oklahoma State, and Justin Joyner, who will leave to take the head job at Oregon State after this season, deputizing both to focus on the defense.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all have strengths and we all have weaknesses,\u201d said May. \u201cWe\u2019re going to live in our strengths, but we\u2019re also going to try to help each other with our weaknesses.\u201d<\/p>\n The result is a team with very few of the latter.<\/p>\n Michigan was No. 1 in KenPom\u2019s efficiency ratings after the win on Sunday, bunched closely with Arizona and Duke. According to those metrics, the Wolverines also would have been the No. 1 team for 24 of the past 25 seasons, better than everyone except last year\u2019s Duke squad.<\/p>\n