The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1543210
MARCH 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 65 ❱ MICHIGAN BASKETBALL Three Best Players 1. Graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg: The 6-foot-9, 240-pounder is doing a little bit of everything for Michigan, having earned KenPom MVP honors in three of the last eight games and posted double-doubles three times in that span. Lendeborg scored 26 points and brought down 12 rebounds in the 83-71 win over Michigan State Jan. 30. Contrast all that activity with his game against Penn State, in which he scored only 6 points but grabbed 7 boards and dished 8 assists, and that illustrates how complete of a player he is. Lendeborg is healthier now after dealing with a nagging calf injury much of January. 2. Sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr.: The 6-foot-9, 250-pounder leads the Big Ten with a two-point field goal shooting percentage of 70.0 in conference play, and ranks top 10 in the league in both offensive (11.6 percent) and defensive (22.6 percent) rebounding rate. John- son has scored in double figures in six of the last eight contests, adding double-digit boards in three of those. The Wolverines needed every bit of his efficiency in the 75-72 victory over Nebraska Jan. 27, with the Illinois transfer post- ing 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, 2 assists and 12 rebounds. 3. Junior center Aday Mara: The Big Ten's leader with 2.7 blocks per game, Mara is one of the most impactful defenders in the coun- try. The Wolverines rank in the 99th percentile nationally, allowing only 93.7 points per 100 possessions, when he's on the floor, according to CBB Analytics. His offense is improving, too, exemplified by his career-high 24-point out- burst in the 82-61 win over Ohio State Feb. 8. He hit the first two three-pointers of his career in that one, too. Mara has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games, includ- ing going off for 20 points on 10-of-11 shooting from the field in the 82-72 victory over Wash- ington Jan. 14. Key Moment Michigan trailed Michigan State, 59-57, with less than seven min- utes to go at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center Jan. 30, before outscoring the Spartans, 26-12, from that point on. Michigan scored on 11 of its final 12 possessions, producing 26 points (an elite 2.17 per possession) down the stretch. The Wolverines came away with points on each of their last nine trips down the floor and held MSU in check on the other end. That magnificent play late in the game led to Michigan's first win over MSU in East Lansing since Jan. 13, 2018, and second in over a decade. Best Highlight Michigan took down two top-10 opponents in consecutive games, beating Nebraska (75-72) Jan. 27 and Michigan State (83-71) Jan. 30. That marked the first time the Wolverines beat top-10 teams in con- secutive games since taking down No. 4 Ohio State and No. 9 Iowa in late February 2021. It's the fourth time in the last 10 years that U-M has accomplished that feat, too, with the other occurrences being in November 2019 (No. 6 North Carolina, No. 8 Gonzaga) and March 2018 (No. 2 Michigan State, No. 8 Purdue in Big Ten Tournament). The Wolverines had a raucous crowd at Crisler Center versus the Corn- huskers, carrying them across the finish line, and had enough road fans in the building at MSU to chant "Let's go, Blue!" as time ticked down. It was an epic week for the Maize and Blue. Bold Prediction Based on bracket projections and conventional wisdom, Michigan will play its first weekend NCAA Tournament game(s) in Buffalo, N.Y. — the closest site to Ann Arbor. The other options are Greenville, S.C., Oklahoma City, Okla., Portland, Ore., Tampa, Fla., Philadelphia, San Di- ego and St. Louis. Since the Wolverines are a projected No. 1 seed, along with Arizona, UConn and Duke, per ESPN's Joe Lunardi's latest bracketol- ogy breakdown, U-M would be the pick to head to Western New York. — Clayton Sayfie Superlatives For U-M's Eight Games From Jan. 14 To Feb. 8 Graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg tallied 26 points and 12 rebounds in the 83-71 win over Michigan State Jan. 30. In U-M's blistering 22-1 start, he is averaging a team-high 14.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL