SLU’s Robbie Avila and Quentin Jones try to keep Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg from getting into scoring position during Saturday’s NCAA Tournament second round game at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo. (Photo: Ellie Parker)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| #9 SLU (29-6) | 39 | 33 | 72 |
| #1 Michigan (33-3) | 48 | 47 | 95 |
BUFFALO, NY — The Saint Louis University men’s basketball team set a new school record for wins in a season with 29, but saw that season end on Saturday, with a 95-72 loss to No. 1 seed Michigan, in an NCAA Tournament second round game at they KeyBank Center.
Junior Amari McCottry scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead Saint Louis, but it wasn’t enough, as all five Michigan starters scored in double figures, led by senior Big Ten Player of the Year, Yaxel Lendeborg, who finished with a game-high 25 points.
SLU finished its year with a 29-6 record, with the 29 wins being the most ever in a single season by any Billiken team.
The Wolverines (33-3) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year and seventh time since 2017.
They’ll play the winner of Texas Tech-Alabama game, which will be played Sunday evening. The Midwest Region semifinals and championship game will be played next weekend in Chicago.
SLU’s Quentin Jones tries to get around Michigan’s 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara during Saturday’s NCAA Tournament second round game at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo. (Photo: Ellie Parker)
The Wolverines’ size and depth proved too much for the ninth-seeded Billikens, who dropped to 0-6 in second-round games.
Michigan particularly took away the Billikens’ primary strength, their outside shooting game, limiting Saint Louis to five-of-17 on three-point attempts through the first half, and 10-of-32 overall.
Billikens senior Robbie Avila, who entered ranking third among NCAA centers with 211 career 3-point baskets, struggled to find his range, finishing 3-of-13 from the floor — including 3-for-10 on three-pointers.
“They’re so gifted,” SLU head coach Josh Schertz said. “They’ll be a tough out, not just for Saint Louis, but for anybody. You’ve got to make them play bad, and we weren’t able to make them play bad enough.”
#9 SLU 72
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04 | McCottry, Amari | * | 26 | 7-11 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 13 | Brown, Dion | * | 29 | 4-7 | 1-2 | 4-5 | 0-3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 |
| 21 | Avila, Robbie | * | 30 | 3-13 | 3-10 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 01 | Jones, Quentin | * | 26 | 3-7 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 0-3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 03 | Green, Trey | * | 20 | 1-6 | 1-6 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 11 | Dunlap, Brady | 21 | 3-5 | 3-5 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| 09 | Sharma, Ishan | 23 | 3-8 | 1-6 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 25 | Otieno, Paul | 11 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 00 | Thames, Kellen | 14 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2-6 | 1-4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 27-61 | 10-32 | 8-15 | 5-22 | 27 | 17 | 16 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 72 |
#1 MICHIGAN 95
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | Lendeborg,Yaxel | * | 32 | 9-13 | 3-5 | 4-4 | 0-6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 |
| 15 | Mara,Aday | * | 26 | 7-12 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 2-3 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 16 |
| 21 | Johnson Jr.,Morez | * | 27 | 5-9 | 0-2 | 5-6 | 3-5 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| 03 | Cadeau,Elliot | * | 37 | 4-10 | 3-5 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| 04 | Burnett,Nimari | * | 24 | 4-8 | 3-5 | 0-2 | 1-3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| 01 | McKenney,Trey | 23 | 3-4 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0-5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 11 | Gayle Jr.,Roddy | 20 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 3-4 | 2-4 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 05 | Goodman,Oscar | 1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| 42 | Tschetter,Will | 7 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 07 | Eisley Jr.,Howard | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 12 | May,Charlie | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 32 | Kordel,Malick | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 34-61 | 11-23 | 16-23 | 11-31 | 42 | 13 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 95 |
2025-26 SLU BILLIKENS MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 3, 2025 (Monday) | 7 pm | Home | SEMO | Chaifetz Arena |  | W, 92-67 (1-0) |
| November 6, 2025 (Thursday) | 7 pm | Home | Chicago State | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 108-86 (2-0) |
| November 10, 2025 (Monday) | 7 pm | Home | Lindenwood | Chaifetz Arena |  | W, 109-66 (3-0) |
| November 15, 2025 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | Grand Canyon | Chaifetz Arena |  | W, 78-64 (4-0) |
| November 21, 2025 (Friday) | 7 pm | Home | Purdue-Fort Wayne | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 91-60 (5-0) |
| November 27, 2025 (Thursday) | 6 pm | Neutral | Santa Clara | Palm Desert, Calif. |  | W, 71-70 (6-0) |
| November 28, 2025 (Friday) | TBA | Neutral | Minnesota or Stanford | Palm Desert, Calif. |  | L, 78-77 (6-1) |
| December 2, 2025 (Tuesday) | 9 pm | Away | Loyola Marymount | Los Angeles, Calif. | | W, 91-70 (7-1) |
| December 7, 2025 (Sunday) | 2 pm | Home | Central Michigan | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 107-65 (8-1) |
| December 13, 2025 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | San Francisco | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 85-75 (9-1) |
| December 17, 2025 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Bethune-Cookman | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 112-53 (10-1) |
| December 21, 2025 (Sunday) | 2 pm | Home | New Hampshire | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 93-79 (11-1)) |
| December 28, 2025 (Sunday) | 2 pm | Home | Principia | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 114-33 (12-1) |
| December 31, 2025 (Wednesday) | 3 pm | Home | Saint Joseph’s | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 102-79 (13-1) |
| January 7, 2026 (Wednesday) | 6 pm | Away | VCU | Richmond, Va. | | W, 71-62 (14-1) |
| January 10, 2026 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Away | La Salle | Philadelphia, Pa. |  | W, 84-72 (15-1) |
| January 14, 2026 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Fordham | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 78-56 (16-1) |
| January 17, 2026 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Home | Richmond | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 88-63 (17-1) |
| January 20, 2026 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Duquesne | Pittsburgh, Pa. | | W, 81-77 (18-1) |
| January 23, 2026 (Friday) | 4:30 pm | Away | St. Bonaventure | St. Bonaventure, N.Y. |  | W, 97-62 (19-1) |
| January 27, 2026 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Home | George Washington | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 79-76 (20-1) |
| January 30, 2026 (Friday) | 7 pm | Home | Dayton | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 102-71 (21-1) |
| February 3, 2026 (Tuesday) | 8 pm | Away | Davidson | Davidson, N.C. | | W, 91-82 (22-1) |
| February 7, 2026 (Saturday) | 2 pm | Home | La Salle | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 82-58 (23-1) |
| February 13, 2026 (Friday) | 7:30 pm | Away | Loyola Chicago | Chicago, Ill. | | W, 86-59 (24-1) |
| February 17, 2026 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Rhode Island | Kingston, R.I. | | L, 81-76 (24-2) |
| February 20, 2026 (Friday) | 6 pm | Home | VCU | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 88-75 (25-2) |
| February 24, 2026 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Dayton | Dayton, Ohio | | L, 77-62 (25-3) |
| February 28, 2026 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | Duquesne | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 91-76 (26-3) |
| March 4, 2026 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Loyola Chicago | Chaifetz Arena | | W, 91-76 (27-3) |
| March 7, 2026 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Away | George Mason | Fairfax, Va. | | L, 86-57 (27-4) |
| March 13, 2026 (Friday) | 10:30 am | Neutral | #9 George Washington | Pittsburgh, Pa. | | W, 88-81 (28-4) |
| March 14, 2026 (Saturday) | 12 pm | Neutral | #4 Dayton | Pittsburgh, Pa. | | L, 70-69 (28-5) |
| March 19, 2026 (Thursday) | 8:45 pm | Neutral | #8 Georgia | Buffalo, N.Y. |  | W, 102-77 (29-5) |
| March 21, 2026 (Saturday) | 11:10 am | Neutral | #1 Michigan | Buffalo, N.Y. | | L, 95-72 (29-6) |