Washington, D.C. — On many nights this season, the Wolverines have stifled opposing offenses, outrebounded foes on both ends by a considerable margin and won the battle in the paint.
But on Saturday, the Blue Devils turned the tables on them.
In a nonconference clash between two projected No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, top-ranked Michigan came up short and fell to No. 3 Duke, 68-63, at Capital One Arena in what was the most attended neutral-site game this season.
“We didn’t rebound the way we needed to. We made some timely errors. When you’re playing someone like Duke, they make you pay for every mistake, and they did that tonight,” Michigan coach Dusty May said. “But proud of our guys. I thought we fought, we competed, we overcame some adversity, we stayed together. There are several learning lessons that we’ll have from this film and from this game.”
BOX SCORE: Duke 68, Michigan 63
Yaxel Lendeborg had 21 points and seven rebounds to lead Michigan (25-2), which saw its 11-game win streak come to an end after it failed to secure a defensive rebound in the final 30 seconds when it was a three-point game.
Morez Johnson Jr. added 13 points and six rebounds. Aday Mara finished with 10 points while battling foul trouble. The frontcourt trio didn’t get much help as the Wolverines shot a season-low 40% for the game, including 28.6% in the second half, finished 6-for-25 from 3-point range and were outrebounded by a 41-28 margin.
Following a back-and-forth first half that featured 13 lead changes, was played within five points and ended with Michigan trailing by two, the Wolverines battled but could never get over the hump in the second half.
After Isaiah Evans hit a 3-pointer to give Duke a 41-35 advantage with 17:55 left, Johnson responded for Michigan with a sequence where he knocked down a 3-pointer from straightaway and blocked a layup by star freshman Cameron Boozer from behind.
Mara, who picked up three fouls in the first half and didn’t start the second half, followed suit with a sequence where he made a shot down low and blocked a shot to pull the Wolverines within 41-40 at the 15:34 mark.
The Wolverines, though, struggled to finish defensive possessions and gave up three offensive rebounds that led to three second-chance buckets for Duke (25-2) over a two-minute span. On offense, they were stuck in the mud, missed 16 of their first 20 shots of the second half and fell behind 53-46 with 8:59 to go.
“I thought their wall-ups were as good as we’ve seen this year. When you catch it on the interior, you’re getting some force. They’re going to punch you with their chest. I thought that was a difference maker for them,” May said.
“We definitely had difficulties finding a good rhythm. I thought their physicality had something to do with it, but we didn’t move and cut and get away from the ball like we normally do. We were gravitating toward it instead of getting away from it. … We never really found a good rhythm or flow together offensively.”
Despite going over six minutes without a basket and mustering five free throws over that span, Michigan kept hanging around before it went on a run after Boozer went to the bench with his fourth foul.
Mara tipped in a missed shot to snap the lengthy field-goal drought. Lendeborg capped a possession where Michigan grabbed two offensive rebounds with a 3-pointer. A 7-0 burst cut the deficit to 57-56 with 3:49 remaining.
The Wolverines, once again, couldn’t break through and pull in front. After Boozer checked back in, he scored seven straight for Duke, including a 3-pointer and a layup on a goaltend by Mara that made it 66-61 with 1:01 to go.
“There were times on the floor, we’re talking to each other like, ‘We can’t allow no more 2s.’ And that’s the first time I’ve ever heard anybody in our circle say that,” Lendeborg said. “It was kind of frustrating, because we felt like we were playing pretty good defense. They were just making tough layups, tough shots.
“There were times where they would get easier baskets, which was even more frustrating. We just have to be a lot more connected with our switching and our high hands, making them finish through our chest.”
Elliot Cadeau made two free throws to make it a three-point game with 51 seconds to go. Michigan got the stop on Duke’s ensuing possession but couldn’t get the rebound. The Blue Devils grabbed the offensive board and Evans made two free throws with 14.6 seconds left to seal it, as the Wolverines dropped their first game on the road this season.
Boozer finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, Evans scored 14, Caleb Foster added 12 points and Patrick Ngongba II had 11 points for Duke.
The Blue Devils shot 45.5% from the field, turned 13 offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points and outscored Michigan 34-24 in the paint.
“That was a game that didn’t feel like that was played in February. That felt like a March or April game,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “We have a ton of respect for Michigan, their staff and how good they are. I thought it was just a big-time game where our guys were ready to compete at a high level.”
Michigan’s frontcourt — Lendeborg in particular — shouldered the load from the jump and combined for the team’s first 14 points during a fast start that featured plenty of offense.
Mara scored on an alley-oop feed from Cadeau. Johnson hit a short shot in the paint. Lendeborg scored 10 straight for the Wolverines, including two and-1 layups and a 3-pointer, before he found L.J. Cason for a corner 3-pointer. Michigan started 9-for-11 from the field and grabbed a 19-14 lead with 14:37 left in the first half.
While Michigan was doing its damage inside, Duke was making the Wolverines pay with open looks from deep. When they doubled Boozer on a drive, Foster was left all alone for a 3-pointer. Less than a minute later, Foster shook free from Roddy Gayle Jr. for another uncontested deep ball during a 10-2 spurt that put Duke up, 24-21.
When both offenses started to cool off and the defenses settled in, Lendeborg kept rolling. After making his first five shots, he airballed a 3-pointer. On the next possession, he made up for it by swishing a deep ball, giving him 15 points midway through the half.
Things took a rough turn for Michigan. Mara picked up two fouls early on and went to the bench for the rest of the half when he picked up his third foul at the 7:08 mark. Less than two minutes later, Johnson picked up his second whistle. Not long after that, Cadeau suffered a left arm injury that sidelined him for a few minutes.
Despite being without Mara and Johnson over the final five minutes, dealing with Cadeau’s injury scare and Duke closing the half on a 6-0 run, the Wolverines trailed 35-33 at the break but were left chasing the Blue Devils the rest of the way.
“We’ve got to turn our focus back to the Big Ten, where we have four games remaining and every one of them is a Big Ten championship-caliber game,” May said. “Whether we won this or we lost, it’s going to be what can we learn from it? Let’s turn the page.
“Obviously, we want the best seed (in the NCAA Tournament) and we want more optionality across the board. Am I glad we lost? No. Are there a lot of lessons we can learn? Absolutely.”
@jamesbhawkins
