At The Buzzer: Michigan 91, Arizona 73

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Rapid reaction to Michigan’s 91-73 win over Arizona in the NCAA Tournament Final Four.

THE MOMENT

INDIANAPOLIS — One minute, Yaxel Lendeborg was limping back from the locker room, carefully jumping in place on the court and gingerly jogging back and forth in front of the scorer’s table.

The next minute, Michigan’s superstar blew the game wide open.

After appearing to hurt his leg in the first half and only playing five minutes, Lendeborg hit two huge threes at the start of the second half to cushion the Wolverines’ double-digit lead.

It seemed impossible, but Lendeborg went from delicate warm-up stretches at halftime to singlehandedly changing the game with just a few possessions. The graduate guard’s first 3-pointer put Michigan up 21 points. He stepped into his second three at the right wing, drained it, and Lucas Oil Stadium roared.

Lendeborg clearly wasn’t at full speed, jogging noticeably slower after some Wildcats in transition, but his ability to make shots didn’t go anywhere. For an added bonus, the Wolverines built such a significant lead in the second half that Lendeborg could afford to sit for most of it and get some more rest ahead of Monday’s game.

Lendeborg ended with 11 points, but his two 3-pointers in the second half were some of Michigan’s loudest buckets of the game.

THE TAKEAWAY

If the depth of this Michigan team isn’t its greatest superpower, then it’s the Wolverines’ ability to play — and dominate — through any type of adversity.

Even without their best guy on the floor, the Wolverines looked more than capable of winning it all. Michigan won the paint battle on both ends of the floor, made more than enough threes to stay ahead and didn’t exhibit any major dips throughout forty minutes.

The Wolverines didn’t waver when Lendeborg was sidelined, they didn’t flinch when junior center Aday Mara or sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. got in foul trouble and they were relatively undisturbed when the Wildcats strung together a few mini-runs.

Michigan didn’t just tread water when Lendeborg, or Johnson, or Mara was out. The Wolverines were utterly dominant. Then one or two of Michigan’s ‘Big 3’ returned, and the Wolverines blew Arizona entirely out of the water.

For all the hype leading up to this game, Michigan turned a Final Four matchup against a more-than-competent opponent into a rout. The Wolverines have so many ways to win, and that was evident Saturday.

THE STAR

After a season of Aday Mara dominating opposing big men in the Big Ten, the junior center who spearheads the Wolverines’ frontcourt was supposed to finally meet his match in Motiejus Krivas, Arizona’s 7-foot-2 Lithuanian. Instead — once again — Mara couldn’t be stopped.

Mara scored 26 points, grabbed nine boards, blocked two shots, and altered countless more in 29 minutes, and anchored Michigan defensively.

Mara was always going to be a key part of Michigan’s game plan on Saturday, but the complexion of his night was poised to change when he picked up two fouls in the first half.

Except, it didn’t. Mara picked up his second foul with seven minutes left in the opening frame, then came back in and scored seven more points. He made it look easy with an array of alley-oops and emphatic dunks, and was key in limiting the Wildcats around the rim.

THE STAT

The Wolverines continued their red-hot shooting in this tournament, going 12-for-27 from beyond the arc. The inevitable battle in the paint was never going to be a stalemate; thus, Michigan’s ability to drain threes would either balloon its lead or shrink its deficit.

The Wolverines went with the former Saturday, making 3-pointer after 3-pointer to turn a close game into a comfortable one. Up and down the roster, Michigan made threes: junior guard Elliot Cadeau had three, freshman guard Trey McKenney made four and Lendeborg was a perfect 3-for-3 from deep. Senior guards Roddy Gayle Jr. and Nimari Burnett each had one as well.