INDIANAPOLIS — Yaxel Lendeborg assumed the worst midway through the first half on Saturday night after he stepped on the foot of Arizona's Motiejus Krivas while attacking the rim off the dribble.
Michigan's first-team All-American wingfeared he would not play again in Indianapolisafter his left ankle rolled and his left knee buckled.
"I definitely felt like I did all this for nothing in the moment," Lendeborg said afterMichigan's 91-73 annihilation of Arizonain the second of Saturday's two national semifinals. "I definitely had to calm down for a little bit, speak to myself, get out of my thoughts."
Thankfully for Lendeborg, the diagnosis didn't turn out to be as bad as he expected. He said he sprained the MCL in his left knee and re-injured the ankle that he tweaked during the Big Ten tournament last month.
A hobbled Lendeborg returned after halftime, lacking his usual explosiveness but sinking a pair of 3-pointers. The 6-foot-9, 240-pound senior reentered the game once more with just over seven minutes to go when he sensed his teammates needed him after Arizona pulled to within 19.
When Lendeborg met with reporters after Saturday's game, he wore a black brace on his left ankle and had an ice pack wrapped around his left knee. Asked if there was any chance he would not play in Monday's national title game against UConn, Lendeborg grinned and said, "Absolutely not."
"I'm playing no matter what," he said, later adding, "Unless I wake up and I get up and fall off my feet, I'm going to be in that game."
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When Lendeborg wasn't in the game during the second half, he rode an exercise bike behind the Michigan bench, clapping and screaming as his teammates made big play after big play in his absence. The Wolverines led by 10 after six minutes, by 18 just before halftime and by as many as 30 midway through the second half.
What was billed as a showdown between college basketball's two best teams this season never materialized because Michigan imposed its will. The 7-foot-3 Aday Mara scored a career-high 26 points on 11-for-16 shooting, while 6-10 Morez Johnson Jr. added 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. The massive Michigan frontline also walled off the paint and contested everything at the rim, making it difficult for Arizona to get its usual easy buckets inside.
The other difference maker was Michigan drilling 44.4% of its 3s. When a team with maybe the best frontcourt in college basketball is also hitting from behind the arc, the Wolverines go from elite to unbeatable.
"I think a lot of it is simply matchups," Michigan coach Dusty May said. "We just felt like if a team relies on scoring 15 feet and in, with Aday and Morez and Yaxel and Nimari Burnett and Roddy Gayle, because of our and length size, it's going to tough to score enough points 15 feet and in if we're making some shots and in a decent rhythm offensively. I think that's what happened tonight. I do think we matched up well with Arizona, better than some other teams we played."
That doesn't seem to bode well for a UConn team that is elite scoring in the paint but hit-and-miss from behind the arc. The Huskies will have to shoot better than they have all season from 3-point range and hope that they don't face a full-strength Lendeborg.
How will Michigan adjust if Lendeborg lacks his usual explosiveness or struggles to stay in front of his man defensively? After Saturday, it's safe to say the Wolverines aren't too worried.
"Yaxel at whatever percentage he's at, 80%, 70%, 60%, we'll take it," Michigan forward Will Tschetter said. "That dude, he's brought us so far this year. I have no doubt he'll give it his all on Monday night."