By Tiffany Williams –
Buffalo got a front-row seat to a demolition job, and it wasn’t subtle, pretty, or debatable. It was a statement. Michigan Wolverines didn’t just beat Saint Louis Billikens 95–72 at KeyBank Center — they overwhelmed them, exposed them, and then buried them under a landslide of efficiency, size, and cold-blooded shot-making.
This was supposed to be a game. It turned into a warning.
Michigan shot 56 percent from the field. Fifty-six. In an NCAA tournament game where defenses are supposed to tighten and nerves are supposed to show up. Not here. Not with this group. Saint Louis tried to hang around early, even grabbed a brief lead, but once Michigan decided to flip the switch, the gap between these teams looked more like a power conference contender versus a mid-major that wandered into the wrong gym.
Let’s start with Yaxel Lendeborg, because he set the tone like a hammer to glass. Twenty-five points on 9-of-13 shooting, knocking down threes, finishing inside, getting to the line and cashing in every single free throw. Efficient doesn’t even cover it. That’s domination with discipline. Saint Louis had no answer, no adjustment, no resistance that lasted more than a possession or two.
Then there’s Morez Johnson Jr., who quietly piled up 15 points and eight rebounds, bullying the glass like it owed him money. And Aday Mara? Sixteen points, five rebounds, five assists, and four blocks. Four. Blocks. That’s not just protection at the rim—that’s intimidation. That’s telling every Saint Louis player, “Don’t even think about it,” and then backing it up again and again.
Elliot Cadeau orchestrated everything with eight assists, controlling tempo like a veteran point guard who’s been here before, even if the moment is supposed to be bigger than that. It wasn’t bigger than him. Nothing about this game looked too big for Michigan.
And N.C. Burnett? Eleven points, three triples, efficient, clean, and right on time. No wasted motion. No wasted possessions. Michigan’s offense moved like a machine—precise, ruthless, and impossible to slow down once it got rolling.
Meanwhile, Saint Louis looked like a team trying to keep up with a train already at full speed.
Robbie Avila shot 3-of-13. That’s not a typo. Three of thirteen, including 3-of-10 from deep. He kept firing, but nothing stuck. When your primary option is that inefficient, you’re not just fighting the opponent—you’re fighting math, and math always wins.
Anya McCottry tried to hold things together with 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting, but it felt isolated, like a good performance trapped inside a bad team night. Quinten Jones added seven, Davion Brown chipped in 13, but none of it mattered because the defense couldn’t hold and the rebounding battle wasn’t even close.
Forty-two rebounds for Michigan. Twenty-seven for Saint Louis. That’s a 15-rebound gap in a tournament game. That’s effort, size, positioning—and yes, it’s dominance.
And don’t ignore the blocks. Nine for Michigan. One for Saint Louis. That’s the difference between a team protecting the paint and a team watching layups go in or getting swatted into the third row.
Saint Louis did force seven steals, tried to create chaos, tried to speed things up. It didn’t matter. Michigan stayed composed, turned it over just nine times, and never let the game slip into that uncomfortable, upset-friendly territory.
The biggest number might not even be on the stat sheet in bold, but it’s the one that tells the story: Michigan led for 88 percent of the game. Eighty-eight percent. Saint Louis led for eight percent. That’s not a battle. That’s control from start to finish with only a brief interruption.
And when Michigan built the lead, they didn’t let it hover. They stretched it. The largest margin hit 25 points, and it felt every bit that wide.
Saint Louis shot 31 percent from three and 53 percent from the free-throw line. That’s not how you win in March. That’s how you get sent home early, wondering what went wrong. Michigan, on the other hand, drilled 48 percent from deep and 70 percent at the line. Clean, efficient, and relentless.
Off the bench, Michigan kept the pressure on. Will Tschetter added eight points in 23 minutes, knocking down shots and contributing on the glass. Even in limited minutes, the Wolverines got production up and down the roster. No drop-off. No weak link to exploit.
That’s the scary part.
Because now they’re moving on to the Sweet 16, and whoever comes next—either Texas Tech Red Raiders or Alabama Crimson Tide—isn’t just facing a team that won. They’re facing a team that just made a statement about how high its ceiling might be.
This wasn’t about surviving and advancing. This was about sending a message.
Michigan didn’t blink. Michigan didn’t stall. Michigan didn’t play down to the moment. They elevated, executed, and erased any doubt about who controlled this game.
And Saint Louis? They didn’t collapse as much as they got exposed. There’s a difference. Collapse implies you had it and lost it. Saint Louis never really had it. Not once Michigan settled in, found its rhythm, and started imposing its will.
March is unforgiving like that.
One team sharpens. The other gets sliced apart.
On this night in Buffalo, there was no mystery about which was which.