Michigan basketball: How the Wolverines made it to Sweet 16 again
Tony Garcia and Carlos Monarrez discuss how Michigan basketball made it to Sweet 16 again in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday, March 21, 2026.
BUFFALO, NY — Nimari Burnett couldn’t help but shake his head as he thought about it.
As he sat in front of his locker at KeyBank Center, after Michigan rolled over Saint Louis to return to the Sweet 16. before the buses returned, he realized he’d be playing a former team one way or the other. His two former programs, Alabama and Texas Tech were set to meet in the NCAA Tournament second round. The winner would head to the Sweet 16 to face Michigan basketball at Chicago’s United Center, with a spot in the Elite Eight on the line.
The team on which he made his college mark, playing against a squad where it didn’t work out, in his hometown, the place where he became a freshman All-American, before he transferred to Prolific Prep and took the next step of his journey.
“It’s an exciting feeling,” Burnett said. “I was talking to my family about it the other day. “Just can’t wait to see who we’ll play.”
On Sunday night, the Crimson Tide and Red Raiders squared off in Tampa, Florida, with XXX prevailing, xxx.
And now, Burnett’s basketball journey will get a full-circle moment, on Friday
But it will be just one of several big moments for him.
‘I’d be making a dumb decision’
A year ago Nimari Burnett, his now-fiancé, Will Tschetter and his girlfriend all went out to lunch at Cafe Zola in downtown Ann Arbor.
had been eliminated in the Sweet 16 about a week earlier, and the two longest-tenured Wolverines wanted a well-earned time away from the game to enjoy some food, friends and laughs.
Burnett had just finished his fifth year of college basketball and all season long, he’d been telling his teammates it was likely his last.
In fact, Burnett didn’t go through U-M’s senior day activities in March 2025, because he’d done so the year before, under the previous staff, and didn’t want to make the moment about himself, given he’d already had one.
But on that late March afternoon, Tschetter couldn’t help himself — he had to know.
“I remember straight up asking him, ‘What are your thoughts on next year?’” Tschetter said Saturday in Michigan’s locker room at KeyBank Center. “That was when, I think, he’d made his decision, he was like, ‘Yeah, I think I’m going to pull the trigger and come back.’
“All year he’d been saying, like, ‘Nah, this is my last year.’ We were all getting the ‘Unc’ jokes in, because he was a fifth-year. But yeah, I mean we were all super, super happy when he made the decision. It’s been a great ride with him.’
Burnett made his return to the Wolverines official less than a month after that lunch, on April 21, 2025. He was optimistic, based on the roster coming together — transfers Elliot Cadeau, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara were already in the fold, with the possibility of landing Yaxel Lendeborg — that the 2025-26 season could be a special one.
The staff’s message and vision only convinced him further.
“I felt like last year was the best year of college, until this year,” Burnett said, his eyes almost reflective, as if he was processing it all in real time. “My collegiate career has been long, been through a lot of ups and downs and so I was uncertain of the future.
“But just trusting the staff, understanding they had high hopes of winning and they know how to recruit. I was like yeah, I’d be making a dumb decision [to leave].”
Of course, Burnett didn’t know all that would follow. But after everything he’d gone through to that point, he was more than willing to take the chance.
BALLING IN BUFFALO: Michigan basketball has its swagger back in Sweet 16 run
The winding journey
A McDonald’s All-American coming out of high school, Burnett began his collegiate career at Texas Tech. After one injury-shortened year in Lubbock, Burnett didn’t like the fit, so he opted to transfer to Alabama.
The move to the SEC brought a world of changes. In the months leading up to the season, Burnett tore his ACL, which sidelined him for the entirety of the 2021-22 season. His next season wasn’t much better, playing fewer than 15 minutes a game, with a mere nine starts.
He hit the road again, landing in Ann Arbor in 2023 under coach Juwan Howard. That season produced some of the worst results in program history. But Burnett stuck through it, agreeing to play for his fourth coach when Howard was replaced by Dusty May.
Its tough to argue with the results.
The sixth year in college has proven to be the best yet. Michigan (33-3, 19-1 Big Ten) has had a historic season, tying the program record for most wins in a season, setting a Big Ten record for wins in conference play and became the first Big Ten team in 50 years to sweep its road slate.
The Wolverines have gone 60-13 the past two seasons, with a Big Ten Tournament title, a regular-season crown and now, two straight Sweet 16s.
It’s clear that his story is reaching its climax.
‘Literally, it’s God’
Burnett is not a star for this Wolverines team. He’s a floor-spacer, a shooter, a trusted veteran who fills in the gaps. But he’s also exactly what makes a team like this click. He doesn’t require the ball, yet can make an impact quickly — like his 11 points Saturday against Saint Louis, including three 3-pointers, and a steal at center court that he took the other way for a contested layup.
He’s also capable of much more — his 31 points against Penn State last month were the most by any Wolverine this season — but he never forces that issue. It’s the player he developed into through the years.
Coming into college as a star, being relegated to a backup, then finding his final form in Ann Arbor. It’s only fitting every aspect of his journey comes to a crossroads as the Wolverines reach their most important weekend so far.
“I mean literally, it’s God,” Burnett said. “It’s so apparent. He couldn’t have drew it up better.”
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
