Yaxel Lendeborg and Michigan Struggle, Still Beat Ohio State

Even 22 points from Bruce Thornton in a last-gasp effort to stave off the approaching end of his Ohio State career wasn’t enough for the Buckeyes.

It was close. But at this point, Michigan feels inevitable.

Friday’s 71-67 win over Ohio State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament only hammered home that point. The Wolverines did so much wrong, clearly felt the absence of the injured L.J. Cason and got almost nothing offensively from Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg. They made their first four three-pointers, then missed 12 of their next 13. And yet they still found answers for everything the Buckeyes threw at them, constantly pushing Ohio State to the end of the shot clock in possession after key possession.

“Our defensive presence was there late in the game,” Michigan’s Trey McKenney told Hoops HQ. “Their stars were getting hot but I think our defensive presence was there and we made them shoot a lot of tough shots. We definitely didn’t play our best game as a team today. We have a long way to go.”

The Wolverines have so many ways to hurt an opponent at both ends of the court, and sometimes they don’t need to bring all of their weapons to bear, but they needed many of them Friday when Ohio State refused to wilt.

Like a team-high 17 points, 13 of those in the second half, from the defensive-minded Mara. Or using the freshman McKenney to defend the ball down the stretch, something Michigan coach Dusty May said he would have been unlikely to risk earlier in the season.

“Every game presents different challenges,” May said. “Yax had an off night because they played him a little differently and had a game plan centered around stopping him. It’s the same thing. Each night we have to figure out what’s the best way for our team to win that night and just roll with it. Luckily we have a locker room full of dudes that embrace that.”

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Thornton, backpedaling on defense in transition, found himself at the fulcrum of that conundrum. He pointed desperately for an OSU teammate to pick up McKenney, as he had to choose between the two opposing players bearing down on him. No one got there, and McKenney was left wide open at the top of the key for an easy three-pointer.

Or Ohio State forward Devin Royal, pump-faking Roddy Gayle Jr. out of his shoes at the free-throw line, only for McKenney to help from behind and block what Royal thought was a wide-open jumper.

And all that with Lendeborg held to only six points on 1-for-4 shooting (after going 18-for-29 over the previous three games, including 27 in the Wolverines’ second win over Michigan State). “I played bad on both sides of the ball today, which is definitely on me and my effort,” Lendeborg said. “But I definitely will do a lot more. Just play a lot more intense.”

This was only the third single-digit game the Wolverines have played in the past three weeks — one of them was the loss to Duke in Washington — underlining not only how comfortable they were closing out their 19-1 record in Big Ten play, but the deep reserves of confidence they were able to draw upon Friday for their 30th win of the season.

Michigan still faces a difficult rematch Saturday against Wisconsin — the only Big Ten team to beat the Wolverines — and a potential third meeting with Michigan State looms in the final. But in the league that was the last of the power conferences to determine its champion with a tournament, it’s hard to shake the sense that this weekend’s proceedings in Chicago may be a bit superfluous. As it was in the old days, perhaps the trophy was handed out in the regular season after all.

Because if Ohio State, at its peak, couldn’t beat Michigan, playing like that, how much hope is there for the rest of the Big Ten?