Chicago gave Michigan basketball 'bitter taste'; redemption on the line
"I know we're going to have a bitter taste walking in there because we lost the championship there," Michigan basketball's Yaxel Lendeborg said
In a season full of history, milestones and jubilation, one particular evening sticks out like a sore thumb. Michigan basketball was sullen, dejected and flat-out disappointed after Purdue knocked off the top-seeded Wolverines on March 15 in the Big Ten Tournament championship game at United Center in Chicago. The Boilermakers snatched history from the Wolverines' grasp as they looked to cap their record-breaking regular season with a tournament title, which would've been the first banner sweep in program history, dating back to the tourney's origin in 1998.
Now, not even two weeks after that Sunday bummer, the Wolverines will head back to Chicago as the top seed in the Midwest region of the 2026 NCAA Tournament in the Sweet 16 round, with a chance to avenge one of the few disappointments on the season: Top-seeded Michigan faces 4-seed Alabama on Friday, March 27 (7:35 p. m. , TBS/truTV).
"I know we're going to have a bitter taste walking in there because we lost the championship there," Yaxel Lendeborg said after Michigan polished off Saint Louis in the seciond round, in Buffalo, New York. "I feel like it's going to provide a bit of extra motivation for us. Just super excited to get back ...
play in front of our fans and play our hearts out for those guys. " The levels of redemption run even deeper. Last season, U-M advanced to the Sweet 16 and led 1-seed Auburn by nine midway through the second half.