No one would have blamed Michigan coach Dusty May if he rested his star player in the second half of the 2026 Men’s NCAA Tournament Final Four on Saturday night.
Yet May opted to bring his hobbled star Yaxel Lendeborg back into the 91-73 win over Arizona despite a first-half leg injury Lendeborg suffered, and despite a big lead for the Wolverines for much of the game.
Why? May has learned from previous NCAA Tournament experience that a lead is never safe.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Morez Johnson Jr. #21 of the Michigan Wolverines dunks the ball against the Arizona Wildcats during the first half in the Final Four of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 04, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Morez Johnson Jr. #21 of the Michigan Wolverines dunks the ball against the Arizona Wildcats during the first half in the Final Four of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 04, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Michigan Wolverines forward Morez Johnson Jr. (21) scores against the Arizona Wildcats in the first half during a semifinal of the Final Four of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Yaxel Lendeborg #23 of the Michigan Wolverines reacts with teammates against the Arizona Wildcats during the first half in the Final Four of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 04, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Yaxel Lendeborg #23 and Trey McKenney #1 of the Michigan Wolverines react while playing against the Arizona Wildcats during the first half in the Final Four of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 04, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Aday Mara #15 of the Michigan Wolverines shoots the ball against Motiejus Krivas #13 of the Arizona Wildcats during the first half in the Final Four of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 04, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Head coach Dusty May of the Michigan Wolverines looks on against the Arizona Wildcats during the first half in the Final Four of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 04, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Morez Johnson Jr. #21 of the Michigan Wolverines dunks the ball against the Arizona Wildcats during the first half in the Final Four of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 04, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Morez Johnson Jr. #21 of the Michigan Wolverines reacts while playing against the Arizona Wildcats during the first half in the Final Four of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 04, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Morez Johnson Jr. #21 of the Michigan Wolverines defends Motiejus Krivas #13 of the Arizona Wildcats during the first half in the Final Four of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 04, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Elliot Cadeau #3 of the Michigan Wolverines shoots a three pointer against the Arizona Wildcats during the first half in the Final Four of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 04, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Elliot Cadeau #3 of the Michigan Wolverines reacts while playing against the Arizona Wildcats during the first half in the Final Four of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 04, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Michigan Wolverines center Aday Mara (15) in action against the Arizona Wildcats in the first half during a semifinal of the Final Four of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) shoots over Michigan Wolverines guard Elliot Cadeau (3) in the first half during a semifinal of the Final Four of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Michigan Wolverines center Aday Mara (15) shoots over Arizona Wildcats center Motiejus Krivas (13) in the first half during a semifinal of the Final Four of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Michigan Wolverines guard Trey McKenney (1) in action against Arizona Wildcats forward Ivan Kharchenkov (8) in the first half during a semifinal of the Final Four of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Michigan Wolverines guard Elliot Cadeau (3) shoots over Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) in the first half during a semifinal of the Final Four of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Michigan Wolverines forward Morez Johnson Jr. (21) shoots against the Arizona Wildcats in the first half during a semifinal of the Final Four of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Arizona Wildcats forward Ivan Kharchenkov (8) goes to the basket against Michigan Wolverines center Aday Mara (15) in the first half during a semifinal of the Final Four of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Michigan Wolverines guard Elliot Cadeau (3) shoots against Arizona Wildcats center Motiejus Krivas (13) in the first half during a semifinal of the Final Four of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
Arizona Wildcats guard Brayden Burries (5) shoots over Michigan Wolverines guard Elliot Cadeau (3) in the first half during a semifinal of the Final Four of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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Arizona vs Michigan, Final Four championship stakes. See photos
A general view as Motiejus Krivas #13 of the Arizona Wildcats and Aday Mara #15 of the Michigan Wolverines jump for the ball during the first half in the Final Four of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 04, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana
“Well, apparently you guys missed the UConn-Duke game,” May said postgame. “The game was already decided that we were playing Duke tomorrow. They were up 19, correct, in the second half? And who won?
“So, being out — you’re playing Arizona, one of the best teams — statistically, the number one or two team all year in the country and you’re up 20 with 10 minutes left, with eight and a half minutes left. We didn’t feel quite as confident as you guys did that we could just put the kids to bed. And he came in and Elliot [Cadeau] was in foul trouble, and so he just held it down.
“So yeah, obviously we felt like the game was still in hand.”
Michigan led by as many as 30 points at 77-47 with 10:31 remaining in the second half, following a 3-pointer from Trey McKenney. However, Arizona did outscore the Wolverines 15-4 for the next 4:22 of game time, cutting the lead to under 20 for the first time since the 18:16 mark of the second half.
Lendeborg had subbed out of the game with 13:02 left in the game, with Michigan leading by 22. He checked back in with 7:10 remaining, and the lead was down to 20 with Arizona shooting a second free throw.
Cadeau, Michigan’s starting guard, agreed with his coach about not taking any chances.
“We felt like we had a lot of games like this. And we learned from them,” Cadeau said. “Some games, the teams actually came back. So we stressed in the huddle to keep our foot on the gas because it’s March, it’s April. Anything can happen, like they could come back from a 30-point deficit.”
Despite Lendeborg being hobbled for the majority of the game, he finished with 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field in 14 minutes of play.
His teammates were not shocked at all by the resiliency shown by Lendeborg in Michigan’s biggest game of the season to date.
“I think it just shows the guy who Yaxel is. I mean, he just wants to put it all on the floor for Michigan, and he wants to give the fans what they came here for,” McKinney said.
“I’m just really grateful to have him as a teammate. He’s one of the best players in the country, and he really showed that tonight. But he’s selfless as well. So I’m just really grateful to be around him.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Yaxel Lendeborg injury: Dusty May explains why he kept playing star in blowout
