Michigan beats Wisconsin 68-65 on last-second Yaxel Lendeborg 3-pointer to advance to Big Ten final

Yaxel Lendeborg put No. 3 Michigan in the Big Ten tournament final, hitting a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left for a 68-65 win over No. 23 Wisconsin on Saturday.

The Big Ten player of the year finished with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, making big shots for the Wolverines when they mattered most.

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Aday Mara led Michigan with 16 points, asserting his size advantage inside in the second half, also grabbing 8 rebounds while blocking 5 shots. Elliot Cadeau answered Michigan’s questions about guard play, scoring 15 points and hitting 3-of-5 3-pointers.

Wisconsin appeared to run out of gas in its Big Ten tournament semifinal versus Michigan on Saturday. The Badgers fell behind 52-39 midway through the second half and it began to look as if playing three games in three days had tired them out.

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Then Austin Rapp caught fire from 3-point range. The sophomore forward from Melbourne, Australia could not miss, hitting five consecutive shots from behind the arc. That powered a 17-2 run for the Badgers, giving them a 62-58 lead with 3:50 remaining in the game.

Rapp finished with 18 points and 6 rebounds for Wisconsin, shooting 6-for-10 on 3-pointers. Nick Boyd followed with 14 points, adding 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. John Blackwell tallied 13 points and 4 assists.

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Michigan answered with a layup by Mara and 3-pointer from Cadeau to go back on top, 65-62. Boyd then hit a 3 to tie the score for Wisconsin with 29 seconds left. Yet that gave Michigan the final possession and Lendeborg made sure Wisconsin didn’t get another chance.

Both teams struggled with their shooting against tough defenses in the first half, resulting in a 28-28 tie at halftime. Michigan particularly struggled on 3-point shots, going 4-for-15 from behind the arc, while Wisconsin went 7-of-17. Yet like the end of the game, Lendeborg hit a 3 on the Wolverines’ final possession before halftime to tie the score.

Wisconsin struggled to open the second half. Against Michigan’s increased half-court trapping, the Badgers missed their first six shots before Blackwell hit a short jumper to end the skid. That allowed the Wolverines to take a 37-31 advantage and Cadeau scored five consecutive points to expand the lead to 11 points.

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The Wolverines move on to the Big Ten championship game on Sunday, awaiting the winner of Purdue-UCLA.