CHICAGO (AP) 鈥� Ja鈥橩obi Gillespie threw down a over Yaxel Lendeborg on a fast break and stared at the All-American.
It was the sort of play that might have energized Tennessee, except Michigan had the game in hand. The Volunteers were well on their way to yet another exit.
Sixth-seeded Tennessee will have to wait at least another season for its first trip to the Final Four after getting pounded by Lendeborg and top-seeded on Sunday. It was the third straight year that coach Rick Barnes’ Volunteers lost in the Elite Eight.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of different ways to get there,鈥� said Barnes, who plans to return for a 12th season at Tennessee. 鈥淏ut if you want to break through, you鈥檝e got to get here first. You鈥檝e got to put yourself in position to do that. We鈥檝e been able to get here three years in a row, and it鈥檒l be hard to get back to winning games just in the tournament. That first game of the tournament in the hardest one. But our goal would be to keep getting back and kicking and hopefully we can knock the door down.鈥�
Tennessee got knocked down in the first half, with Michigan reeling off 21 consecutive points and turning the game into a romp. The Vols missed 10 straight shots and went more than six minutes without scoring.
The Wolverines displayed too much size and athleticism, and won by 30 or more for the 11th time this season while handing Tennessee its most lopsided loss of the season.
Lendeborg scored 27 points as Michigan advanced to its first Final Four since 2018 and ninth in all. The Wolverines will face Arizona in the national semifinals.
As for Tennessee?
Gillespie, a senior who transferred from Maryland, led Tennessee with 21 points. The first-team All-Southeastern Conference guard shot 8 of 22. The only other Vols player to score in double figures was Felix Okpara with 10 points.
鈥淚鈥檓 blessed to have the career I did,鈥� said Gillespie, playing for his third school in four seasons. 鈥淚 enjoyed every year. I鈥檓 forever grateful for coach Barnes for just bringing me back home and allowing me to be the point guard of a great team. Yeah, just giving me this opportunity, I鈥檓 forever grateful for that.鈥�
Guard Ethan Burg, who played professionally in Israel for two years before joining the Vols last summer, credited the coaches for pushing him in ways he hadn’t been pushed. He choked up at times and wiped his eyes with a March Madness towel.
鈥淚’m just grateful that we got to this point,鈥� he said. 鈥淣o one really gave us a chance. Not social media. Not anyone. Nobody really gave us a chance, but we believed. We believed in each other. We know how hard we worked. I wish this game could have ended differently.鈥�
Instead, the season ended on a familiar note for Tennessee, with the Vols losing to a No. 1 seed in a regional final for the third year in a row.
Last season, they got suffocated by Houston in the first half, scoring just 15 points on the way to a knockout. In 2024, Purdue鈥檚 Zach Edey went off for 40 points as the Boilermakers won The Vols’ only other Elite Eight appearance was in 2010 under Bruce Pearl, when they lost to Michigan State.
Tennessee regrouped from a loss to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament by in the NCAA, ending a terrific season for the RedHawks. The Vols to reach the Sweet 16 for the fourth year in a row, and in Chicago on Friday to advance to the regional finals again.
Barnes got to the Final Four with Texas in 2003, when the Longhorns lost to Syracuse in the national semifinals. But that’s the closest the 71-year-old coach has come to a national championship in 39 seasons.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got to shoot the ball better,鈥� Barnes said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e so inconsistent doing that. We still have to be better finishing around the rim. You鈥檝e watched us all year and we missed too many of those shots. Obviously our defense got us here. It really did. It鈥檚 no question. We鈥檝e had games where we鈥檝e struggled to score, but you鈥檙e playing against an outstanding team today that was scoring. But just simply, we all have to get better. We all have to keep working at it.鈥�
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