As Michigan looks to win its first national title since 1989 on Monday night, all the talk regarding the Wolverines is if they will have their star player on the court. Yaxel Lendeborg suffered a sprained MCL, along with a rolled ankle on Saturday night in Michigan’s dominant win over Arizona.
Lendeborg left the game, but later returned to start the second half for Michigan. He saw just 14 minutes of game action, and while Lendeborg suffered two injuries, he is fully expected to play on Monday night against UConn. His name was not listed on the Wolverines’ availability report ahead of the game, and coach Dusty May also believes we will see Lendeborg on the court.
“Yeah, all imaging has come back clean, and he’s getting treatment and doing rehab all day today,” May said on Sunday. “I’m sure he’ll give it a go tomorrow, but that will be entirely up to him and the medical staff. They’ll tell me if he can go, and if he can — we were laughing. He played the second half like a 38 year old at the YMCA — and a really good 38 year old at the YMCA.
“Whatever version of Yaxel we get it’s going to be somebody that helps us play better basketball.”
While May jokingly called Lendeborg a 38-year-old, he did make a difference for the Wolverines on Saturday. The game appeared to be well in hand, but even a one-legged Lendeborg came into the game and drilled two three pointers in the second half, and made the Wildcats respect his shot.
Lendeborg likely won’t be 100% in the game, but his imaging came back clean, and even a 75% Lendeborg is better than what most teams can put on the court.
Defending UConn with an injured Lendeborg
While Michigan would like a healthy Lendeborg for its offense, it’s also important to have him for its defense. The versatile big is one of the Wolverines’ best defenders on the team, and can seemingly come out of nowhere to impact a shot.
UConn’s offense comes down to a science, and the Huskies aren’t too concerned with having a lot of possessions. UConn ranks No. 306 in the country in terms of possessions each game, and the Huskies will only take quality shots.
The Huskies will screen you to death and look for an open shooter. If Lendeborg is hobbling around, it only makes defending UConn even more challenging.
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“It’s going to be a challenge, healthy or injured or somewhere in between,” May said. “Obviously, the most difficult thing about UConn is their ability to get from one thing to the next to the next to the next. There’s no stoppage. Once they get you in action, they keep you in action. They have amazing counters and layers to their offense.
“It’s going to take an extremely disciplined and focused approach every single possession because if you let your guard down, they take advantage of it, and we’ve played teams like this in our league.
“I think Iowa is a great example of a team that plays not stylistically similar but philosophically. They challenge everything. Their physicality jumps out. It’s going to be a lower possession game than we’re used to.
“Like I said, if we’re not committed to defending the full shot clock every single possession and finding a way to rebound those long threes, then it’s going to be a tough night for us.”
The Wolverines and Huskies are set to tip off at 8:50 p.m. ET.
