Bob Wojnowski: Pain can't derail Lendeborg or Michigan from a title path
Published in Basketball
INDIANAPOLIS — They’ve done it all year, to almost everybody. They just did it again, on the biggest stage, in the most spectacular fashion, and now the Wolverines look capable of accomplishing everything.
They hammered Arizona 91-73 Saturday night in Lucas Oil Stadium, and if they can do that to the No. 1 overall seed, they certainly can do it to Connecticut Monday night in the national championship game. Even with star Yaxel Lendeborg hampered by foul trouble and an ailing knee, Michigan dominated from the opening tip, never trailed and never was threatened.
These were the two titans of the Tournament, Michigan (35-3) and Arizona (36-2), and one titan fulfilled the billing. In front of a crowd of 72,111, the Wolverines swarmed and banged, matching the Wildcats’ size and physicality. It’ll take one more victory to complete the trek, but they’re piling up historic numbers, the first team to score at least 90 points five times in the Tournament.
The game never really got close, but the Wolverines did get one scare when Lendeborg crumpled to the floor after getting fouled by Arizona’s Motiejus Krivas. There was 8:51 left in the first half, and Michigan led 28-14, but Lendeborg was yelling in pain, clutching his left knee and ankle. He hobbled to the locker room with a towel over his head, and when he got inside, he broke down in tears.
“I was very, very scared,” Lendeborg said. “I was really worried. It definitely didn’t feel like I was gonna be OK. I was frustrated because I put in a lot of work to get here, and I was asking, why me?”
For a moment, Arizona had life and went on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to five. But Lendeborg wasn’t done, and after getting treatment at halftime, he returned, only to find his team had matters under control with a 48-32 lead.
There was some debate about whether it made sense for Lendeborg to go back in. Dusty May admitted he had visions of Connecticut’s comeback from a 19-point deficit against Duke a week ago and was taking no chances. Lendeborg was scheduled to get more tests on the knee Sunday. But he said there was no doubt he was going back in Saturday night’s game, and in his mind, no doubt he’ll play Monday night.
“Arizona’s making kind of a semi-run, and I told them if it gets under 20, I’m going in,” Lendeborg said outside the locker room, his knee wrapped in ice. “They kept saying no. Man, I’m in charge, it’s my body, I gotta go. I was telling them I’m good, they can’t stop me.”
Turns out Arizona couldn’t stop anyone. With Lendeborg out for a while, Aday Mara took over the rim-rattling duties, dunking and shooting his way to 26 points. Perhaps most impressive, Michigan’s guards – Elliot Cadaeu, Nimari Burnett and Trey McKenney — outplayed and shut down Arizona’s touted tandem of Jaden Bradley and Brayden Burries, who combined to shoot 8 for 24.
Burries was Burried along with the rest of the Wildcats, as Michigan’s defense forced a rash of turnovers. Cadeau, meanwhile, was running the show at a fevered pace, driving and dishing. You could argue he was UM’s best player despite shooting 2 for 14 in the first half. He finished with 13 points, 10 assists and four steals, in addition to six turnovers.
Even with the big lead, there was some tension. At least, right up until Lendeborg gingerly stepped onto the floor to start the second half, which looked a whole lot like the first half.
Mara dunked. Lendeborg hit a step-back 3. Lendeborg hit another stepback 3. Suddenly, it was 56-34, and Michigan was on its way to yet another rout, building a lead as large as 30. Arizona’s towering frontline, led by the 7-2 Krivas, was supposed to be the bully in this matchup, and got bullied.
“I was definitely amazed, and I usually don’t get too amazed anymore,” said Lendeborg, who finished with 11 points, 3 for 3 on 3s. “I didn’t think we were gonna go out there and dominate the way we did but I feel it’s become a standard for us. … And they added fuel to the fire before the game started. We heard a lot of people counting us out and that’s not a good feeling to have, especially after all we’ve done this year.”
Lendeborg said the team was watching a pregame show in the locker room and saw all three commentators pick Arizona to win. He didn’t remember who said what, but the Wolverines were duly riled.
They’ll need all the emotional and physical edges they can dig up against Connecticut (34-5), which has won two of the past three national championships and swatted Illinois 71-62 in the other Final Four semifinal. Michigan hasn’t won it all since 1989. The Big Ten hasn’t won it all since Michigan State in 2000. With UM’s Fab Five in attendance doing their own alternate broadcast, the Wolverines delivered the same type of flash and panache.
May and his staff put together a team of selfless passers and tenacious defenders, and if one element isn’t working, something else is. The freshman McKenney was lethal in the second half and finished with 16 points, part of another balanced effort.
“When you have a first-team All-American, potential player of the year (in Lendeborg) that just wants to be one of the dudes, it helps everyone else fall in line and just accept their role,” May said. “Our glue guys were awesome tonight. Aday was sensational. He was at the rim, catching lobs. He was a force down low.”
You can’t say you haven’t seen anything like this because Michigan has played like this pretty much all year, with 17 victories by 20-plus points. This one fell just short of the mark, but it added to the mantra stated back in November, when the Wolverines declared they wanted to have historic success.
They’re about to face a UConn team that already has posted historic success under Danny Hurley and has vast tournament experience. It’s fitting, I suppose. Everything the Wolverines have done all year, they haven’t knocked off an NCAA champ yet. Depending on Lendeborg’s health, they look as ready as ever to finish the job.
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