CHICAGO − In the big picture, Yaxel Lendeborg is the best player on the Michigan basketball roster.
That’s not to say the Wolverines can’t win when he’s not starring.
But when he does? When he puts up 23 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, reaching benchmarks matched just two other times in the past 41 NCAA tournaments (by Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade in 2003).
Well, it tends to paper over his teammates’ occasional individual struggles, such as, say, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara’s combined 15 points ( on 7-for-18 shooting), 13 rebounds and four turnovers in top-seed Michigan’s 90-77 victory over 4-seed Alabama for a spot in the Elite Eight.
Of course, getting big games from Elliot Cadeau (17 points, seven assists and one turnover), Roddy Gayle Jr. (16 points, one short of his season high) and Trey McKenney (17 on just seven shots) helps, too.
“Each game it’s going to be someone else, someone different,” Mara said. “We realized that today, the big men, our job was screen for Yax, screen for Elliot and they’re going to create offense. So we tried to do that as best we can.”
But again, the Wolverines’ Big Ten player of the year was the engine that drove the Wolverines’ return to the Elite Eight for the ninth time in 42 seasons.
“We had about five guys not anywhere near their good stuff, let alone their best stuff,” coach Dusty May told his team after the game. “That shows how capable we are.”
Backcourt boost
It wasn’t all Lendeborg. Late in the first half, U-M began to pull away. Gayle buried a 3 from the corner. McKenney knocked one down from the left wing, then another from nearly the same spot as part of a 14-3 run that made it 47-41.
Gayle mean-mugged McKenney after the the final one, and by the time the freshman was back on defense, he couldn’t help but let out a roar.
“When you hit those 3s and get the crowd into it … in the moment, you’re just feeling it,” McKenney said. “Just a lot of energy.”
Gayle and McKenney combined for 33 points; Alabama’s entire bench registered six. Cadeau completed the guard trio, with the Wolverines noticeably weaker, as May noted, when he had to sit in the first half.
With a final Alabama push before halftime, Michigan trailed 49-47 after 20 minutes. Then Lendeborg took over.
‘NBA player in college’
He opened the second half with a step-back 3, simply shaking his head in silent celebration. Then he added an putback to extend the lead followed by a full-court outlet pass that hit Nimari Burnett in stride for a dunk.
“He loves those full-court passes,” Burnett said. “As soon as I saw he got the ball, I was out. And it’s like, if you throw a touchdown pass, I’m going to catch it.”
That came after Lendeborg was on the receiving end of a full-court heave from Gayle − May called it a 30-70 ball that Lendeborg turned into a mismatch − to draw a foul and sink two free throws.
There wasn’t much he didn’t do: A bounce pass to Gayle on a baseline cut for an layup and three-point play. A 3 from the left wing after the Tide went under a screen. An aggressive drive and scooping finish in traffic after Alabama briefly got back within six.
Does it surprise his teammates? Not entirely.
“I mean, no because I see it every day in practice,” Mara said. “But at the same time, yes, because he’s so dominant. I would say that he’s an NBA player playing in college. The way he plays, the way he dominates every game, he does everything.
“He’s playing full-court defense and, at the same time, making all the shots when he’s playing offense.”
After a season spent dominating with a three-big lineup, it wasn’t working Friday. So May switched it up: McKenney tied a career high with 28 minutes and Gayle’s 27 was two short of his high. Johnson’s 24, meanwhile, were his fewest in the past 14 games.
In the biggest moments, Michigan turned to its backup options – a choice made much easier by Lendeborg’s dominance.
Now, U-M is on the brink of a Final Four, with a matchup against 6-seed Tennessee on Sunday afternoon (2:15 p.m., CBS), and three wins from its final destination.
“We’ve felt like we had a team that can cut down the nets on the last Monday and we haven’t shied away from that,” May said. “We’ve talked about it. Obviously that comes with a different level of pressure and expectation, but I don’t think that it’s hindered us at all.”
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.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: As Michigan basketball advances, Yaxel Lendeborg remains unstoppable
Reporting by Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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