ANN ARBOR — Yaxel Lendeborg did what he does – fill up the box score with shots inside and out. Jeremy Fears Jr. did what he does – dish out assists (and get whistled for another foot-related technical foul).
And in the end at Crisler Center on Sunday, March 8, it was Michigan basketball finishing off a dominant Big Ten regular season with an 90-80 win over Michigan State basketball. Lendeborg led the Wolverines with 27 points while true freshman Trey McKenney scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half.
Sunday's victory was the 19th in conference play for the Wolverines (29-2, 19-1 Big Ten), the most in league history. The win also gives U-M a season sweep of MSU for the first time since the 2017-18 season (though that featured one regular-season game and one Big Ten tourney game; U-M hadn't swept a two-game regular-season series since 2013-14). The Wolverines will now go to work to see if this season can reach the heights of that 2017-18 season – an appearance in the national championship game – or perhaps even higher.
The Spartans (25-6, 15-5 Big Ten), meanwhile, got 23 points from senior Jaxon Kohler, Fears had 22 points and eight assists and while Carson Cooper added 19 points.
Next up for Michigan State
The Spartans came in with a triple-bye locked up; the only question was whether they’d be the 2-seed at the Big Ten Tournament next week in Chicago (with a win or a Nebraska loss to Iowa) or the 3-seed (with a loss and a Nebraska win).
The 2-seed takes the court in the first game of the second session at United Center on Friday (6:30, Big Ten Network) and will face either 7-seed Purdue, 10-seed Indiana, 15-seed Northwestern or 18-seed Penn State. The 3-seed’s game will start approximately 25 minutes after the end of the 2-seed game (around 9 p.m.); potential opponents are 6-seed UCLA, 11-seed Minnesota or 14-seed Rutgers.
Next up for Michigan basketball
The Wolverines came into Sunday knowing their Big Ten Tournament destiny: a triple-bye through to the quarterfinals next week. The tourney starts Tuesday at United Center in Chicago, but U-M won’t take the court till noon on Friday (BTN) against a foe to be determined. Their potential opponents: 8-seed Ohio State, 9-seed Iowa, 16-seed Oregon or 17-seed Maryland.
“Waiting for a basketball game to break out’
A game of early runs – MSU opened up a 5-0 lead, followed soon after by a 11-0 U-M run for a seven-point lead 6:36 in – was derailed partially by a series of rough fouls. First, after an original call of a foul against Elliot Cadeau, a review caught Fears appearing to deliver a back-kick to Cadeau’s groin, reminiscent of the several other leg-related controversies for Fears this season. Later, Aday Mara was whistled for pushing Cooper to the ground on a rebound opportunity. And, finally, McKenney picked up a technical foul. The dueling fouls led Michigan coach Dusty May to quip in a mid-game interview, “We’re just waiting for a basketball game to break out.”
And, eventually, it did.
U-M’s Lendeborg led all first-half scorers with 19 points on 5-for-7 shooting and added three rebounds, while MSU’s big three of Fears, Cooper and Jaxon Kohler chipped in 10, 11 and 12 points, respectively.
The Spartans appeared to have taken control with an 11-2 run late in the first, but Lendeborg hit a layup with 1:19 left in the half to make it a two-point game and, after a stop, Nimari Burnett buried a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left to send the Wolverines into the half up, 42-41.
This story will be updated.
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball powers to sweep of Michigan State in finale