There are moments in March where a team stops looking like just another contender and starts to feel like something bigger. That’s what Michigan looked like on Saturday.
The Wolverines didn’t just beat Saint Louis. They overwhelmed them. They ran, they shared the ball, they attacked in waves, and for long stretches, it felt like you were watching a throwback to one of the most iconic eras in college basketball history.
In a 95-72 win over a very good Saint Louis team, Michigan looked fast, fearless, and deep. The kind of team that doesn’t just win games in March, but leaves an impression doing it.
And on the other side, it marked the end of a college career that deserved a better ending.
Michigan plays with that familiar swagger again
It’s impossible to watch this Michigan team at its best and not think about the past.
Not in a literal sense. The game is different now. The players are different. But the feel is similar. The confidence. The pace. The way multiple players can take over at any moment.
This team doesn’t rely on just one star. It comes at you in waves.
Yaxel Lendeborg set the tone with 25 points on an efficient 9-of-13 shooting. Aday Mara controlled the interior with 16 points, five rebounds, and four blocks. Morez Johnson Jr. added 15 points and eight rebounds. Elliot Cadeau orchestrated everything with 12 points and eight assists, while Nimari Burnett chipped in 11.
Five starters in double figures. Twenty assists as a team. Forty-two rebounds. It was complete.
And it’s why the comparisons, even loosely, start to show up. When Michigan is moving like this, sharing like this, playing this freely, it feels different.
Saint Louis had its moment but couldn’t keep up
Give Saint Louis credit. This wasn’t a fluke team.
The Billikens came in 29-6 and played like it early. They scored 39 points in the first half and had stretches where their offense looked sharp enough to hang.
Robbie Avila, as he’s done all season, made an impact with nine points and five assists. Amari McCottry led the way with 14 points, and Dion Brown added 13.
But the problem was simple. Michigan never slowed down.
Every time Saint Louis made a push, Michigan answered with something bigger. A run. A three. A defensive stop that turned into easy points the other way.
By the second half, the gap just kept growing.
The final chapter for Robbie Avila
March has a way of turning games into endings, and that was the reality for Robbie Avila.
One of the most unique and productive players in college basketball saw his career come to a close in Buffalo. And even in a loss, it doesn’t take away from what he’s meant to Saint Louis.
He wasn’t the flashiest player on the floor, but he was one of the smartest. A matchup problem in his own way. A player who could score, pass, and make everyone around him better.
Those players don’t always get the spotlight they deserve in March. But they’re the ones coaches trust and teammates lean on.
And for Saint Louis, Avila was everything.
Michigan still looks like a problem
There’s a difference between winning and looking like a team built for this.
Michigan checks both boxes right now.
At 33-3, with a Big Ten title already secured, the Wolverines are not sneaking up on anyone. But performances like this make it clear they might still be getting better.
They have size. They have guard play. They have depth. And maybe most importantly, they play with a confidence that shows up in every possession.
That’s what made those great Michigan teams in the past so dangerous.
And that’s what this team is starting to feel like now.
Not just a contender.
Something more.