Michigan has all the answers in Sweet 16 vs Alabama in March Madness
Michigan basketball used a dominant second half to shrug off Alabama in the Sweet 16 in Chicago in the NCAA Tournament, March 27, 2026.
CHICAGO − With four players coming in via the transfer portal and a highly regarded freshman expected to play a big role, Michigan basketball coach Dusty May knew he needed to bring his team together.
In the last week of August, the Wolverines went up north for an extended Labor Day weekend to a sprawling farm in Charlevoix, that belonged to Matt Lester, a big-time donor and founder of Champions Circle, Michigan’s NIL collective.
The team rode on ATVs, personal watercraft and boats, had family dinners and even roasted marshmallows around a campfire, taking their on-court connection into the wilderness.
The belief was that unity would come in handy when times got tough. That time has now arrived, with 1-seed Michigan set to face 6-seed Tennessee in the Elite Eight at United Center on Sunday, March 29 (2:15 p.m., CBS).
“That was a super special trip,” Will Tschetter recalled. “A lot of great bonding, getting to know one another off the court. Sometimes we’re so caught up – we see each other at [the Player Development Center] every day or Crisler – so to be able to see people not touching a basketball, it really forces you to get to know them as people.
“That helps when things go south, things aren’t going well, you can rely on ‘Man I know you as a person, not a co-worker or player, I know you as one of my friends. … I think that was one of the biggest things that helped us develop.”
The Wolverines continued these sorts of exercises throughout the year, like a family-style “Jeopardy” game that featured personal questions about everybody during their two-game swing through the Pacific Northwest in January, but, as point guard Elliot Cadeau said, the foundation for it all was laid along the shoreline of Lake Michigan.
Tschetter has been in Ann Arbor for five years under two different regimes. He said none of the team-building exercises during his time in Ann Arbor matched the Charlevoix trip. He called it a conscious effort by the coaching staff to make sure everybody got to know one another.
“I’d say just having 16 of us in a tiny bunkhouse was probably the highlight,” he laughed. “We were like on cots, all over this house. It was definitely entertaining.”
‘Giant camp sleepover’
For star forward Yaxel Lendeborg, whose collegiate career began at an Arizona junior college and then continued at UAB, this was unlike anything he’d ever done with a team before.
Gathered around the television watching Michigan football play its season opener against New Mexico, he saw firsthand the passion that goes into U-M athletics, even from players supporting other teams on campus.
Even for other players who’ve previously had extravagant trips, this felt different. Charlie May, Dusty May’s son, opened his career at Central Florida. His sophomore year, the team took an overseas trip to Italy.
That was longer and more extravagant, but this reminded him of his childhood.
“I don’t even know how to explain this place. I mean, there was a weight room in there, a cold tub, it was almost like a giant spa,” he said. “Then, in the basement, there were like four rooms and just like cots everywhere down there.
“It was like a giant camp sleepover. It was funny.”
The activities were endless: A giant field that was like a driving range, spike ball, and of course, cards while watching Michigan football beat New Mexico, 34-17, in the season opener.
Once the fun outdoors ended, players started trickling in from the fire, to the cots, but that’s when the “NBA 2K” games started, with some staying up until 5 a.m. gaming.
“So it was some people trying to sleep, but then we had a bunch of dudes cracking jokes all night,” Charlie May said. “There was a lot going on.”
‘A conscious effort’
There’s not a player on U-M’s roster who has reached a Final Four.
The holdovers from last year’s team had made a Sweet 16, as had Cadeau at North Carolina in 2024. Lendeborg had played in one game in March Madness in his career while Aday Mara (UCLA) and Morez Johnson Jr. (Illinois) had never made it out of the first weekend.
The talent on Michigan’s roster entering the season was undeniable, but that was only half the battle. Michigan still had to foster a culture of buy-in, built on pillars of selflessness and camaraderie.
“There have been team building activities, but this was definitely a conscious effort to make sure our guys got to know each other,” Tschetter said.
Dusty May wanted to create bonds that will last a lifetime. It’s worked.
Lendeborg has said multiple times in recent months this has been the best year of his life. Mara has implied the same. Burnett, who has six years in college, says he’s never played on a team like this before.
Now, after a trip in August that started it all, Dusty May and company are on April’s doorstep.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
