Michigan
Yaxel Lendeborg’s biggest shot shows why Michigan basketball needs him
How Michigan basketball survived Big Ten Tournament test vs OSU
Free Press’ Tony Garcia and Carlos Monarrez discuss Michigan basketball’s tough game vs. Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
CHICAGO – Where was Yaxel Lendeborg?
The Big Ten player of the year was nearly invisible on the scoring sheet in Michigan basketball’s quarterfinal opener against Ohio State, and then again in the first half of a tight semifinal against Wisconsin at United Center on Saturday, March 14.
Then Lendeborg emerged. The true Lendeborg who has had so many big moments this season had one more, perhaps his biggest, when he appeared at the elbow with the clock ticking down.
Lendeborg took Elliot Cadeau’s pass and calmly launched a 3-pointer that swished in for the winning score with 0.4 seconds left. The Wolverines won, 68-65, improved to 31-2, and advanced to Sunday’s final against the winner of the Purdue-UCLA semifinal.
A day earlier, Cadeau said the Wolverines were the best team in the country even when Lendeborg wasn’t scoring. But on this day, it was clear U-M needed its best player in a showdown with the hot-shooting Badgers, who made 16 3-pointers (besting the 15 3s they made when they beat Michigan in Ann Arbor in January).
Austin Rapp led Wisconsin with 18 points and took over the game late, making five consecutive 3-pointers to pull Wisconsin ahead, 62-58, with 3:50 left. The Australian almost single-handedly erased the 54-39 lead Michigan built by coming out hot after from a 28-28 tie at halftime.
Wisconsin should have come in tired – and probably too tired to make so many 3s – after going to overtime against Illinois in Friday’s quarterfinal.
But feisty point guard Nick Boyd refused to even entertain the idea of fatigue or the need for rest.
“Ain’t no rest, you know what I’m saying? No rest,” he said Friday. “You’ve got to keep going. You get to play –Michigan, right? No. 3 or No. 2 team in the country. By the time you get out there and the lights is bright, ain’t nothing to think about.
“You talk about rest? We’ll play X amount of games and you’ve got to come out fighting. If you’re not excited and ready to go for a game like tomorrow, don’t even lace ’em up.”
Well, the Badgers laced ’em up, all right. And their footwear looked more like jackboots than sneakers as they started putting their foot on the Wolverines’ throats early, burying 3 after 3.
Even though the first half felt a lot more like a brick show to start off, Wisconsin established its perimeter offense early and started to distance itself from Michigan midway through the first stanza.
The Badgers were again spectacular on 3-pointers, hitting seven of 17 attempts – 41.2% – compared to the Wolverines’ 26.7%: four makes on 15 attempts.
Aleksas Bieliauskas led the Badgers with nine points in the first half, all courtesy of his 3-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc. He was also effective in Wisconsin’s January win, when he was 5-for-10 on 3s.
After Cadeau got into foul trouble – his second came just 8½ minutes in – and had to sit, the Wolverines looked less organized and the Badgers took advantage, pushing their lead to 18-11 with 9:43 left, then to eight, 26-18 with 4:26 left.
It was almost a miracle the Wolverines managed to enter halftime tied, 28-28. But they clawed back by going on a 10-2 run in the final 3:52 and playing tighter defense, led by Morez Johnson Jr.’s steal and block down the stretch, which was punctuated by Lendeborg’s 3-pointer with 11 seconds left – for his first points of the half on 1-for-5 shooting.
Contact Carlos Monarrez at cmonarrez@freepress.com and follow him on X @cmonarrez.
Dusty May is leaving Michigan for the Dallas Mavericks. What now?
Free Press sports writer Tony Garcia breaks down the “shocking” news of Michigan basketball coach Dusty May leaving for the NBA.
At the University of Michigan’s board of regents meeting on Thursday, June 25, interim president Domenico Grasso addressed the departure of former Michigan basketball coach Dusty May, calling the move a “bellwether” for college athletics.
May, who had reportedly agreed in principle to a contract extension with the Wolverines but had yet to sign it, left the program on Monday, June 22. One day later, he was in Brooklyn for the NBA Draft where his Dallas Mavericks selected his former player, Michigan forward Morez Johnson Jr., with the No. 9 overall pick.
“Our current system is in dire need of clarity and equitable reform,” Grasso said at the regents meeting. “Coach May told me that among his reasons for leaving were uncertainties and pressures involving the transfer portal and NIL support for student-athletes.
“He and I agree that the future of college sports is headed in the wrong direction.”
While Grasso did say the new “Protect College Sports Act” could provide “greater stability, clearer national standards and more consistent rules” to college athletics, he also said it has “deeply concerning provisions.”
“Rather than looking to conferences such as the Big Ten as models of athletic and academic excellence, it imposes restrictions that disproportionately affect the institution,” he said. “Among the most troubling provisions are targeted limits on conference expansion and realignment, as well as harmful restrictions on student athletes’ ability to benefit from additional NIL opportunities. These measures will reduce universities and conferences’ flexibility to adapt to changing conditions for student innovative opportunities.
“We want what’s best for the Big Ten and for Michigan. We are not going to sacrifice competitive advantage that we built for more than a century. We stand ready to work with legislators on a bill that will establish a system in which every university can compete and thrive for generations to come.”
May spent just two years in Ann Arbor but made a lasting mark on the program. He went 64-13 during his time, won the 2024-25 Big Ten Tournament championship, the 2025-26 Big Ten championship and finished his time in Ann Arbor defeating UConn, 69-63, to win the national championship on Monday, April 6.
“When my family and I came to Ann Arbor two years ago, we hoped we could help bring Michigan basketball back to where it belongs,” May said in a goodbye statement to U-M. “This wasn’t an easy decision. An opportunity came along that was right for my family and something I felt I needed to pursue, but that doesn’t change how much these last two years have meant to us.
“Thank you for trusting us, believing in us and making these last two years so much fun. It was an honor to coach at Michigan and wear the Block M.”
On Tuesday, June 23, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel officially announced assistant basketball coach Mike Boynton Jr. would be appointed as interim head coach.
That set a clock for the transfer portal to open for U-M players on Friday, July 24, 31 days after Boynton’s appointment as interim.
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.
What’s New?
Updated 33 seconds ago
Tourists bemused as Louvre closes early due to heat
France’s heat closed the Louvre in Paris early on June 24, 2026.
Reuters
Get ready to sweat, Michigan.
The summer’s first big heatwave is expected to start on Monday, bringing a four-day stretch of potential 90-plus-degree temperatures to much of the state, across the Midwest and parts of the East Coast.
The National Weather Service is advising Michiganians to limit time outdoors and stay hydrated in the leadup to Independence Day.
The heatwave is projected to peak on Tuesday, the final day of June, when virtually the entirety of Lower Michigan and surrounding states will be considered at major risk of heat-related effects, according to NWS.
Anyone without access to cooling or hydration or who must engage in prolonged outdoor activity or strenuous labor will face a significantly elevated risk of heat-related illness, including heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
The NWS office in Marquette said above-normal humidity is expected to accompany the high temperatures, elevating the risk.
About 16 people a year die from heat and heat-related illnesses in Michigan, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Relief will be minimal, experts advised. Thunderstorms are unlikely during the heatwave, AccuWeather reported, and overnight lows are expected to drop only into the mid-70s, according to NWS.
‘Heat dome’ bringing near-record temperatures
AccuWeather attributes the warmup to a “heat dome,” which is a high-pressure system that traps hot air and prevents cooling. The weather system will bring above-normal temperatures throughout the central and eastern states. St. Louis could log eight straight days of at least 90 degrees.
Lower Michigan is expected to see this summer’s first consecutive 90-plus-degree days. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are all currently expected to climb past that mark.
Currently, the hottest day on record this year in Detroit was May 18, when the mercury climbed to 90 degrees, according to NWS data.
High temperatures are likely to approach daily records during next week’s heatwave. Detroit’s record highs for June 29 through July 2 are 96, 96, 98 and 99, respectively. The weather service currently projects highs of 91, 97 and 95 for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. A high for Thursday is not yet available.
On average, temperatures during this time of year top out around 81 or 82, NWS data shows.
The high temperatures approach the United States as Western Europe swelters under a record-setting heatwave that is expected to persist through the end of the week. On Wednesday, Britain and France both logged the hottest June days on record, Reuters reported.
mreinhart@detroitnews.com
-
News3 minutes ago
The Maine Town That Actually Wants a Data Center
-
Lifestyle36 minutes ago‘The Bear’ is back in the kitchen
-
Technology48 minutes agoAndroid 17’s new foldable gaming mode could make flippy phones more fun
-
World51 minutes agoShark attack survivor wakes from 10-day coma and shares first words with family at her hospital bedside
-
Politics56 minutes agoTrump administration pledges $150M in aid, deploys Navy warships after deadly Venezuela earthquakes
-
Sports1 hour agoSecond Lady Usha Vance joins celebrity-filled crowd for Team USA’s group-stage finale in LA
-
Technology1 hour agoDebt collection letter for debt you don’t owe? What to do now
-
Business1 hour agoNewsom blesses Uber ballot measure truce — but fight over car crash lawsuits continues
