Yaxel Lendeborg is best player out there. Toughest, too.

INDIANAPOLIS — Yaxel Lendeborg kept it together, barely, as he limped away from the court in the first half.

He’d worked so hard. Come so far. And now he feared it was all over, his hopes for a national championship ruined by an injured left knee and once-again throbbing ankle.

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“As soon as I got in the tent, I started crying,” Lendeborg said, his left knee heavily wrapped. “… I definitely felt like I did all this for nothing in the moment. I definitely had to calm down for a little bit, speak with myself, get out of my thoughts.

“The training staff, they were being very nice to me, just being genuine, assuring me that I’m going to be OK.”

OK? If Lendeborg isn’t the best player in the country, he is for sure the toughest.

As his Michigan teammates got up a couple last shots before halftime ended, Lendeborg returned to the court with a trainer. He walked on his tip toes. He ran the width of the court. He hopped on both feet. And when the second half began, Lendeborg was on the floor with the rest of Michigan’s starters.

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Despite spraining his left MCL and aggravating the ankle injury he suffered in the Big Ten tournament, Lendeborg would play nine minutes in the second half. He made two 3-pointers in an 80-second span and grabbed two rebounds as Michigan routed fellow No.1 seed Arizona, 91-73.

MORE: Michigan-Arizona was supposed to be game of the year. What happened?

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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….

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Publish date : 2026-04-05 05:46:00

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