With hopes for a shot at another Big Ten tournament title needing a final-minute game-winner, No. 3 Michigan turned to its top scorer to keep winning in the Windy City.
Yaxel Lendeborg and the top-seeded Wolverines will look to repeat as conference tournament champions and lock down a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament when they meet No. 18 Purdue in the championship game Sunday afternoon in Chicago.
On the road last month, Michigan (now 31-2) defeated the No. 7 seed Boilermakers 91-80 behind 17 points from Elliot Cadeau, but Sunday’s matchup came about largely by big shots from Lendeborg.
The 6-foot-9 senior produced two key moments in Saturday’s 68-65 semifinal win over No. 5 seed Wisconsin, the most obvious being a tiebreaking 3-pointer off a pass from Cadeau from the right corner. He buried a 24-footer with 0.4 seconds left in the rematch of last season’s tournament title game.
“(My teammates) strive for me to make plays like that, and I’ve always dreamed of hitting a shot like that,” said Lendeborg, the squad’s leading scorer who totaled 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. “Today was my moment to finally come through, and I did.”
While Lendeborg was crucial at the end, he said his team’s composure was equally important, especially in a first half when the Wolverines made just eight of 30 shots, including his trey at the end of the half to knot it 28-all.
“It’s all about composure, and we talk about how unselfish this team is,” said Lendeborg, the Big Ten Player of the Year. “We all love each other and all play for each other. And Aday (Mara) really got it going, so we decided to play through him, and everybody fell in line.”
Mara produced 16 points, eight rebounds, five blocked shots and two assists as Michigan survived Wisconsin’s three-quarter-court heave to advance to Sunday’s game.
A win Sunday over the Boilermakers (26-8) would allow the Wolverines to cut down the nets for a fifth time to end the Big Ten tournament, though the 1998 title was vacated due to NCAA sanctions.
Following a 73-66 win over banged up UCLA in the second semifinal, Purdue is a team brimming with confidence over the three tourney games, according to coach Matt Painter.
“(This run) is just building some confidence more than anything,” Painter said of his club, which went 2-4 to close out the regular season dating back to the Michigan setback. “Just trying to execute offensively and be efficient and be better on the basketball from a defensive standpoint.
“When we’re better on the basketball, it really helps us.”
Big man Oscar Cluff has been on the basketball, being the first to come up with it most of the time after missed shots.
He produced his eighth double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds in Saturday’s win, owning the paint against the Bruins with nine offensive boards.
The 6-foot-11 bearded Australian had eight points in the final 3:41 as Purdue pulled away for the win.
“He’s had some games like that,” Painter said. “He had 10 offensive rebounds against Nebraska in the regular season. He’s been a horse for us, just being physical down there posting up and getting every rebound.”
A win over Michigan would give the Boilermakers their third conference tournament title and first since 2023.
–Field Level Media
