The No. 1 Michigan Wolverines dropped their second game of the season, losing to the No. 3 Duke Blue Devils in Washington D.C., 68-63. Here are seven takeaways from the Wolverines’ heartbreaking loss.
Championship feel in the nation’s capital
Since the opening tip, the atmosphere in Capital One Arena had everything a Final Four matchup would have. From the dueling chants that pierced your ears to the weight each possession felt, both Michigan and Duke understood the stakes of this game, even if it didn’t have actual implications on their respective conference standings or their seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Foul trouble keeps Aday Mara on the bench in first, Cameron Boozer in the second
The referees were not messing around, and fans of both teams understood very quickly the whistle was going to blow a ton on Saturday night. The refs’ first victim was Aday Mara — despite what appeared to be two clean blocks, he was tagged with two fouls within the first 10 minutes of the game. He was subsequently called for a third foul at the 7:08 mark and had to sit the rest of the half. He also missed substantial time in the second.
After Mara was taken out of the game, the Blue Devils put together a 6-0 run after being down six points, tying it up at 33 with 1:10 in the first half. That momentum took Duke to the locker room, and the Blue Devils did not lose their lead the rest of the game.
As for the Blue Devils, while it was a relatively clean first half, star forward Cameron Boozer picked up his fourth foul at the 8:42 mark of the second half, sending him to the bench and forcing the Blue Devils to play without him. Down 53-48, Michigan attacked the paint, and Morez Johnson Jr. and Mara scored seven and six points, respectively, to bring the Wolverines within one point.
When Boozer checked back into the game, he immediately drew a foul, hit both free throws, and then made a three-pointer to extend Duke’s lead to six with less than two minutes left. After Cadeau closed the gap once again, Boozer was awarded a goaltending to extend the lead to two possessions. His presence was felt when he was off the court, and it was felt even more when he was back on.
Michigan young guards step up in first half
With about 10 minutes into the matchup, Elliot Cadeau went to the bench holding his arm. After being tended to, a big arm brace was put on him and he was out for a bit. As a result, the Wolverines turned to their young guard combo, L.J. Cason and Trey McKenney, who kept Michigan in the game. Cason knocked down a couple threes and was unafraid of contact at the rim, giving him seven first-half points. McKenney locked down on defense, switching on Boozer multiple times in the first half and not getting picked on.
After five minutes of assessing Cadeau, he was cleared to return to the game, but that did not stop their contributions. Late into the second half, May went with McKenney and Cadeau to lead the backcourt, and the freshman put the clamps on Duke. McKenney forced two steals on back-to-back possessions, allowing Michigan to stay close.
Both teams ice cold beyond the arc
One of the biggest strengths of each of these teams is their ability to guard the perimeter, and it was on full display. Despite getting good looks and setting up guys all around the three-point line, the three ball was a non-factor for most of the game. Michigan shot just 3-for-13 in the first half, while Duke converted on just 4-of-12 shots from behind the arc in that same time span.
The second half was even uglier, as Michigan converted just 3-of-12 from three while Duke went 2-for-7. The low-scoring game should tell you all you need to know about each of these teams’ perimeter defense, as it forced both coaches to go down low in almost every possession.
Yaxel Lendeborg playing himself into the NBA Draft lottery
Michigan benefitted from having nine players make a field goal in the first half on Tuesday at Purdue. On Saturday, Nimari Burnett, Cadeau and Roddy Gayle Jr. didn’t have a point 24 minutes into the game. Michigan never let the game get away from it largely thanks to Yaxel Lendeborg taking over and looking like a lottery pick.
Lendeborg started the contest shooting 5-for-5 from the field, as well as drawing contact and racking up Duke’s foul total. He finished the first half with 16 points and four rebounds while committing just one foul and one turnover in the process.
He went cold in the second half, but Lendeborg did grab two offensive rebounds on the same possession and patiently got to his spot along the three-point line to hit the biggest shot of the game, bringing Michigan within one point with 3:24 remaining.
Although the Wolverines lost the game, Lendeborg’s emergence when the rest of his team became non-existent is a good sign to come down the stretch into the tournament.
Duke dominates in the rebound battle
The Blue Devils outmatched the Wolverines on the offensive and defensive glass on Saturday night, winning the rebound battle 41-28. Duke also had a whopping 13 offensive rebounds.
Down by three points with less than 20 seconds to go, Duke missed a layup that could have allowed Michigan to control the last possession of regulation. However, the Blue Devils secured their 13th offensive rebound of the game, putting Isaiah Evans at the free throw line to shut the door on the Wolverines.
Part of the discrepancy is due to Mara’s foul issues, but if these two teams were to meet again in March, May needs to have an answer on the boards.
