LAS VEGAS — Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg said the Wolverines made a statement about their place in college basketball’s hierarchy with a 40-point victory over Gonzaga in the Players Era title game Wednesday night.
“We know we’re capable of national championships,” Lendeborg said after he accepted a diamond-encrusted ring for winning MVP following his team’s 101-61 victory. “As long as we continue to grow together, we’re going to be the best in the country and nobody will be able to stop us.”
Prior to the Players Era event, No. 7 Michigan had struggled in close wins over TCU and Wake Forest. During their three days in Las Vegas, however, the Wolverines beat San Diego State, No. 21 Auburn and No. 12 Gonzaga by 110 points combined.
Gonzaga, the No. 1 team on KenPom entering Wednesday, had scored 195 points combined in wins over Alabama and Maryland, which amplified the buzz around its matchup with Michigan, America’s best defensive team.
Editor’s Picks
2 Related
But 10 minutes into the game, Michigan had a 33-14 lead and the Bulldogs clearly didn’t have any answers.
“That’s something that just doesn’t ordinarily happen to us,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.
Michigan made history in ways Gonzaga will hope to soon forget. It was the first time a team in the Associated Press poll era had defeated back-to-back opponents by 30-plus points. (Michigan defeated Auburn 102-72 on Tuesday.) It was also the first time Gonzaga had lost a game by 40 points since 1990 and was the most lopsided defeat during Few’s tenure as coach, which began in 1999.
Gonzaga’s 24-point halftime deficit — Michigan led 53-29 at the break — was its largest in nearly 20 years, since 2007.
A befuddled Few said his team will have to learn from the loss but not be consumed by it.
“We got absolutely throttled, so I’ve never been involved with anything like that, so this is going to be a great challenge and learning experience for me,” he said. “But that being said, we have had an incredible November up to this point, prior to two hours ago. We can really draw on that and then we can certainly be humbled when they watch film with me and we’ll move forward.”
In the final game of this year’s Players Era event before the field expands to 32 teams, Michigan collected $1 million in additional NIL compensation with its win in the championship and Gonzaga took home $500,000.
Michigan’s size played a significant role in earning the Wolverines the seven-figure prize.
With Graham Ike (6-foot-9), Braden Huff (6-10) and Tyon Grant-Foster (6-7) in its starting rotation, Gonzaga usually enjoys a size advantage over its opponents. But Michigan’s starting frontcourt includes 7-3 Aday Mara, 6-9 Morez Johnson Jr. and the 6-9 Lendeborg.
The biggest Wolverines towered over Gonzaga’s crew and used that disparity to shut the water off for a Bulldogs squad that had torched its first two opponents in Las Vegas but made just 34% of its field goal attempts and finished 3-for-22 from beyond the arc Wednesday.
Ike, a force for Gonzaga all season, finished 0-for-9. Overall, Michigan made just 38% of its shots around the rim, well below its 62% mark this season, according to Synergy Sports data.
Coach Dusty May said his team’s cohesiveness, not only size, contributed to the defensive effort.
“I think now we’re starting to just take a lot more intelligent risks, calculated risks, whatever you want to call them,” he said. “And then ‘when I take a risk, then I have a teammate cover my back’ because they’re getting used to playing with each other.”
The offensive production also fueled Michigan’s win. Lendeborg (20 points, 11 rebounds, four steals, two blocks) led a group of five Michigan players who registered double figures. The Wolverines also made 60% of their field goal attempts and shot 48% from 3.
With their display Wednesday night, the Wolverines seemingly forced their way into the conversation about the best team in America.
“A lot of the guys on the team felt like we were being disrespected because of our first couple of games’ struggles, so today we were just putting the world on notice that we’re here to be the best team in the nation,” Lendeborg said. “We’re going to continue to do that.”
ESPN Research contributed to this report.
