After Friday’s four-point victory over Ohio State, Michigan head coach Dusty May was asked if he liked close games. “If we win, yes, I love it,” he quipped. He must have loved Saturday’s game against Wisconsin.
In a contest that started out slowly but heated up late, Michigan prevailed in a thriller thanks to a last-second three-pointer by Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg.
“What a fabulous basketball game,” May said. “The kind of a modern Big Ten game where teams were fighting, clawing, scrapping, competing at the highest level, but also making some high-level shots and plays.” May wasn’t wrong. In a Big Ten tournament full of exciting finishes, this one ranked near the top.
Not that it started that way.
Neither team could get much of anything going early. Led by Aday Mara, Michigan was able to keep Wisconsin’s Nick Boyd and John Blackwell from attacking the basket like they’d done in previous games. Boyd and Blackwell accounted for 15 first-half points, but needed 16 shots to do so. As a team, the Badgers shot just 32% from the floor in the first half, but on the strength of seven three-pointers, kept Michigan on its heels for much of the first 20 minutes.
For Michigan, it was the second game in a row in which the Wolverines couldn’t really get rolling offensively. With point guard Eliot Cadeau on the bench in foul trouble for much of the half, the Wolverines looked rudderless offensively and fell behind 26-18 with just over four minutes remaining.
Michigan found its footing, however, and finished the half on a 10-2 run. When Yaxel Lendeborg connected on a three-pointer in the waning seconds of the half to tie the score, the Wolverines went to the halftime locker room with momentum.
Michigan came out of the locker room a different team.
Asked what was discussed during halftime, May said, “The gist was, look, we’re big boys here. We can live with whatever the results are, but we’re not going out like that. We’re going to be aggressive. We’re not going to be afraid of failure. We’re going to let it rip.”
Let it rip, Michigan did. With Cadeau back orchestrating the offense, the Wolverines started the second half on a tear, outscoring the Badgers 26-11 to build a 15-point lead with just under ten minutes to play.
But before Michigan could get too comfortable, Wisconsin’s Austin Rapp got hot. The 6’ 10” sophomore from Australia connected on five consecutive three-pointers, including an almost preposterous four in less than two and a half minutes, the last of which put the Badgers up by four with less than four minutes to play.
Asked what it was like being on the other side when a player gets as hot as Rapp was for the Badgers, Lendeborg shook his head and replied, “You just feel helpless.”
You could understand why. With a performance that was beginning to echo Dante DiVincenzo’s masterpiece against Michigan in the 2018 national championship game, Rapp single-handedly put the Badgers on the precipice of advancing to Sunday’s final.
But Michigan, as it has done so often this season, didn’t panic. I wrote after Friday’s nail-biter against Ohio State that one of Michigan’s more underrated attributes is its composure. In tense games and tense moments, the Wolverines rarely appear rattled. Such was the case again Saturday.
“We know we just need to stay level-headed and keep our composure in those moments,” Cadeau said afterward.
And that the Wolverines did.
A pair of baskets by Mara tied the score, and after Cadeau and Boyd traded clutch threes, Michigan found itself with the ball for one final possession in a tie game.
“The play call was for me to get the ball down low in the post,” Lendeborg said. “I didn’t do a good job sealing. AC (Cadeau) had a driving angle. I tried to clear it out for him, and he kept his composure. Didn’t force up a bad shot. Looked for the open guy, and I happened to be there to make the shot.”
When the initial play didn’t materialize, May said he considered calling a timeout. “I did a quick scan,” May said. “I thought with Eliot Cadeau, the floor’s busted, they’re out of their shell, they’re scrambling, I think he’s going to make something good happen.”
“Typically,” May continued, “When the game gets like that, if you have really good players and guys that know how to play, they find something better than you can organize against a set.”
And so it was, as Cadeau found an open Lendeborg who connected on his second three-pointer of the day to seal the game. The first game-winning shot of his career, Lendeborg told reporters.
Despite the loss, Wisconsin showed that it will be a tough out in the NCAA tournament. With one of the best backcourts in the country and a number of good shooting big men, you don’t want to see the Badgers on your side of the bracket.
Michigan, despite not yet playing its best basketball, advanced to the conference championship game, where it looks to do what no team has done in nearly a decade: Defend its championship.
After a hard-fought, emotional win, May reflected. “I was proud of our guys. They were able to regulate their emotions, get back together and figure out a way to win. When you get this late in the season, you’ve got to figure out some different ways.”
Something Michigan did Saturday.