Five takeaways from Michigan’s rivalry sweep over Michigan State

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In the final game of the regular season, the No. 3 Michigan men’s basketball team looked in control for nearly the entirety of Sunday’s hard-fought battle with in-state rival No. 8 Michigan State. Despite foul trouble and a passionate game marred by technical and flagrant fouls, the Wolverines held strong.

Sunday’s game didn’t matter for Michigan in terms of clinching a title or for tournament seeding, but the Wolverines still played with the same intensity and fight they have all season long. And at the end of the day, Michigan became the first program to win 19 games in the Big Ten and made a strong case for the best Big Ten team in decades.

Now that confetti has flown and the nets are cut down following Sunday’s win, here are five takeaways from the Wolverines’ in-state rivalry win over the Spartans.

Yaxel Lendeborg looked like the Big Ten Player of the Year

With the high tensions of the rivalry, Michigan needed its best player to shine. Graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg delivered on every level for the Wolverines on Sunday afternoon.

Lendeborg finished with 27 points on 8-for-12 shooting and 5-for-6 from three, in addition to going 6-for-6 from the free throw line. He shot the lights out and recorded highlight play after highlight play, whether it be putting forward Coen Carr on the floor with a crossover or slamming home a reverse dunk.

Defensively, Lendeborg was active in the passing lanes and had a key block on center Carson Cooper during a crucial stretch early in the second half. Lendeborg was often tasked with guarding Carr and preventing him from completing athletic plays or stopping Jeremy Fears Jr. from facilitating the offense.

“Excited for the awards to come out, because I think he’s going to be justly recognized for how important he’s been to our team and the University of Michigan,” Michigan coach Dusty May said.

Conference awards will be announced Tuesday at noon on the Big Ten Network.

Lendeborg put up a Big Ten Player of the Year-worthy performance against one of the conference’s top teams, cementing his legacy.

“If they’re in here for one year or five years or six years, barring an injury, we want them to leave this place better than they found it,” May said. “We want them to have an impact. And when you walk around Ann Arbor and you ask anyone about Yaxel Lendeborg and the type of imprint he’s left here, it’s phenomenal, just because of who he is on a daily basis.”

And what better legacy to leave than dropping 27 points on senior night against Michigan State.

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