Lendeborg Plays Through MCL Sprain, Vows Monday Return
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- Yaxel Lendeborg suffered a left MCL sprain and left ankle sprain roughly 11 minutes into the first half when his left foot landed on Arizona's Motiejus Krivas' right foot during an attempted dunk, somersaulting backward in pain on the baseline.
- Lendeborg finished with 11 points on just four shots in 14 minutes of action during Michigan's 91-73 national semifinal win, draining two second-half three-pointers in a four-minute span to push the lead to 22.
- Lendeborg told reporters he will play in Monday's national title game against UConn, stating flatly: "I will be on that floor in that game."
- Michigan trainer Chris Williams told ESPN he is "very confident" Lendeborg will play Monday, detailing a 24-hour round-the-clock regimen of ice, compression, massage, a Hivamat Mat, and a Class 4 laser — and joking Lendeborg might "move into my room."
- Lendeborg returned to start the second half wearing a compression sleeve and admitted he was limited on defense, saying "I was very scared to guard out there" and joking he'd be a "corner 3-point shooter" Monday because he felt no pain on the plant.
- Lendeborg picked up two fouls in the game's first 90 seconds, cried in Michigan's injury tent behind the bench, retreated to the locker room twice before halftime, and spent much of the second half on an exercise bike adjacent to the bench.
- Coach Dusty May defended putting Lendeborg back in late despite a 30-point lead, citing UConn's 19-point comeback against Duke: "Apparently you guys missed the UConn-Duke game."
Why it matters: Lendeborg's availability and effectiveness shape Michigan's chances in Monday's national championship against a UConn team that just erased a 19-point deficit against Duke. With Lendeborg himself conceding he can shoot but can't plant or defend, the Wolverines may be forced to deploy their best player as a one-dimensional specialist in a one-game showdown — a tradeoff May's own comeback warning implicitly acknowledges.
