Michigan Basketball’s X factor to get to the Final Four

The Michigan Wolverines are four wins away from winning the National Championship, and the road runs straight through a gauntlet — Alabama, and then either Tennessee or Iowa State. There are no easy matchups left, but as the Wolverines have shown all season long, they have an answer for just about everything. That answer moving forward is Yaxel Lendeborg.

The Big Ten Player of the Year and First-Team All-American has been the most versatile weapon on one of the country’s most complete rosters. With a 6-foot-9 frame that allows him to guard multiple positions, the athleticism to finish above the rim and the shooting range to punish defenses from deep, Lendeborg is the rare player who can single-handedly change the complexion of a game on both ends of the floor.

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On Saturday against Saint Louis, Lendeborg tallied 25 points (9-for-13 from the field and 3-for-5 from three) and six rebounds. He had highlights galore – flushing posterizing dunks, sinking deep three-pointers and euro-stepping his way through the Billikens defense. But what he also did that was so instrumental is he brought defensive intensity on both the perimeter and in the paint, disrupting Saint Louis’s game plan and holding it to low-percentage shots.

“Dominican LeBron,” Nimari Burnett said of Lendeborg after the game. “It’s as simple as those two words, but also just his aggression going to the basket. At that point in the game, we were up 10 or so, but it gave us another boost to extend the lead and continue to have good defensive intensity. But like I said, those two words, Dominican LeBron.”

The Billikens only made 31 percent of their three-point attempts and had just three offensive rebounds, all of which came early in the game. Michigan held the Billikens to 19 points in the last 15 minutes and change. Their best player, Robbie Avila, was 3-of-13 from the field and 3-for-10 from deep.

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Lendeborg and Aday Mara helped get Avila into foul trouble early, and even though…

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Publish date : 2026-03-25 12:00:00

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