Alabama
25-10,13-5SEC
Michigan
34-3,19-1Big Ten
Men's Basketball Falls to Michigan in Sweet 16, 90-77
3/27/2026 11:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide ends the season with a 25-10 mark and school record fourth-consecutive Sweet 16 appearance
CHICAGO – The Alabama men's basketball team's season came to an end as it fell to No. 1 seed Michigan, 90-77, Friday in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. The Crimson Tide finished with 2025-26 season with at 25-10 overall record and set school records with four consecutive Sweet 16 appearances and a fourth straight 25-win season.
Labaron Philon Jr. led the Tide with a career-high tying 35 points to go along with seven boards and four assists to lead Alabama. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (15) and Aiden Sherrell (10) also scored in double figures in the loss.
Yaxel Lendenborg topped Michigan (34-3) with 22 points, 12 boards and seven assists to lead four players in double figures.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"First off, I have to give Michigan a lot of credit. There's a reason why they're a one-seed. They're big, strong, athletic and physical. I thought our guys did a great job of being up two (at halftime), and the way we closed the first half, but the start of the second half wasn't what we were looking for. Michigan imposed their will at the start of the second half. I give their coach and players a lot of credit.Â
"I will say this, the guys that I coach have been one of the more enjoyable groups I've ever coached in my life. We had no locker room issues or attitude issues. The leadership has been great all year. I love these guys, and it's disappointing to lose, but the most disappointing thing is that I don't get to coach this group again. The adversity they have faced and their response to it and how they have handled things, I will be using these guys as examples of how to do things the right way for a long time."
Team Stats
- Alabama finished the night with 14 made three-pointers on 47 attempts, bringing the season total to 450 made threes which stands as the third most by any team in a single season in NCAA history
- The 47 threes attempted were the second-most in a game by Alabama in its tournament history, while the 14 made treys stand as fourth-best
- With his 35 points tonight, Labaron Philon Jr. finished the year with 725 points to become just the third Alabama player in school history to 700 or more points in a single season which stands as third-mostÂ
- Aiden Sherrell recorded one block tonight, bringing him to 76 on the season, bringing him to a tie for seventh all-time in UA single-season history
- Alabama's 28 second half points tied for the lowest the team has scored in a half all season (first half at Tennessee)
- Michigan outrebounded Alabama 46-32 for the game, including owning 25-12 advantage over the game's final 20 minutes
- Alabama shot 36 percent (25-of-69) from the field, 30 percent (14-of-47) and 93 percent (13-of-14) from the charity stripe
- In comparison, Michigan was 50 percent (33-of-66) from the floor, 48 percent (13-of-28) from deep and 55 percent (11-of-20) from the foul line
First Half
- An 11-2 Alabama run over the first 3:44 of game play allowed the Tide to take an 11-4 lead at the first media timeoutÂ
- Coming out of the TV timeout, Michigan went on a 12-2 run to take its first lead of the game, 14-13, with 13:43 remaining in the half
- The pace of the game picked up, with both teams trading buckets for the next eight minutes, with the Tide remaining on top, 38-33, with 5:02 left in the half
- A 14-3 Michigan run saw the Wolverines take its largest lead of the half, 47-41, with 1:58 left to play in the stanza
- The Tide would respond with Labaron Philon Jr. scoring eight straight points for a personal 8-0 run to end the half, taking a 49-47 lead into the locker room
- Philon finished the first half with 19 points to go along with five rebounds and three dimesÂ
- UA finished the half a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripeÂ
Second Half
- Michigan came out of the half red hot on both ends of the floor, turning a 23-8 run over the opening 7:09 of the half into a big 13-point advantage (70-57) at the 12:51 mark
- The Tide tried to hang tough and used a 7-0 run to cut the lead to single-digits, 75-67 with 7:49 left on the clock
- However, UA missed its next four shots, allowing Michigan to bring the lead back to where it was, 84-72 with 3:37 left
- The Tide would not get any closer as the Wolverines would secure the 13-point win
