Rapid reaction to Michigan’s 86-61 win over Middle Tennessee State.
The Moment
In the first play of the second half, graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg drove to the rim, drawing a second defender. He kicked it out to graduate guard Nimari Burnett in the corner, who swung it to junior guard Elliot Cadeau. Cadeau’s 3-pointer rattled out, but Burnett corralled the offensive board, kicking it back out to Cadeau, who nailed the three from the exact same spot.
It was an offensive possession in great contrast to many of Michigan’s in the first half, and it ended with the Wolverines’ first 3-pointer in over twelve minutes. After 20 mostly underwhelming offensive minutes, it looked like Michigan had something going early.
From there, the Wolverines’ offense never looked back, going on a 30-12 run in the next 10 minutes and outscoring Middle Tennessee 50-31 in the second half.
The Takeaway
Michigan is still figuring out its rotations.
Four games into the season, the Wolverines have rolled out three different starting lineups. Michigan coach Dusty May opted to bring junior center Aday Mara off the bench Wednesday, starting junior guard Elliot Cadeau, graduate guard Nimari Burnett, sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr., graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg and graduate forward Will Tschetter. They didn’t stay on the court for long.
May subbed every few minutes throughout the first half, and nine Wolverines played at least nine of the first twenty minutes. The results, at least before halftime, were mixed.
Mara, Lendeborg and Johnson were as impactful as ever underneath the rim, eliminating shots in the paint whether or not they got a hand on the ball. On offense, Michigan couldn’t make a three-pointer for the last 12 minutes of the first half. It’s hard to imagine that the constant personnel changes helped the Wolverines’ rhythm, but they missed some easy layups as well.
May was more decisive with lineups in the second half, mostly subbing during media timeouts. Testing different configurations in the first half and sticking with what worked in the second half proved successful, at least against Middle Tennessee.
Against San Diego State and Auburn in Las Vegas, May probably wants things ironed out a bit more — this game gave him some good data to work with.
The Star
Yaxel Lendeborg: 25 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists in 27 minutes
Lendeborg’s impact was mostly defensive in the first half. Despite only being credited with one block, his presence alone often negated shots at the rim, and he grabbed some key rebounds throughout. He shot the ball just four times and went to the line only once, contributing seven points in 14 minutes.
In the second half, Lendeborg took over. He stopped passing up opportunities when he had the ball, instead driving to the rim with intention and putting up numbers as a result. Lendeborg had 18 points on 8 shots in the second half, highlighted by a big 3-pointer early and two and-one baskets less than a minute apart.
The Stats
Michigan scored on 45.9% of its possessions in the first half, and 60% in the second half. The Wolverines weren’t exactly night-and-day from deep — 3-for-14 in the first half and 2-for-11 in the second — but points in the paint soared from 16 to 34. Michigan made the easy shots early in the second half and never slowed down.
Four Factors
Royalman10
One thing I have noticed is that Morez, Yax, and Roddy have been really good at making contested layups against multiple defenders
Bmbeach
Rapid reaction indeed! This was a fun and informative read. Keep up the good work Sam!