Michigan basketball dominated the Big Ten regular season. That doesn't mean anything in the Big Ten tournament, though.
The Wolverines will enter the Big Ten tournament in Chicago as the No. 1 seed. They won't have to play until Friday afternoon.
Following the season sweep of Michigan State, with the 90-80 win on Sunday, Dusty May told his team they have nine games left to play. A championship is at stake this week, and make no mistake, Michigan basketball wants to win it, again.
Here are three adjustments, not that many are needed, that could lead to a Big Ten tournament championship.
More Trey McKenney
It felt like one adjustment that Dusty May might make after LJ Cason suffered a season-ending injury was to play Trey McKenney more. He hasn't, though. His minutes have been about the same.
Nimari Burnett has played a little more in the past two games, while Roddy Gaye has averaged 24.5 minutes. He has averaged 19.7 during Big Ten play. Burnett is at 19.9. McKenney was already fifth on the team in Big Ten play (20.5 minutes). Still, it makes sense to play him a little more.
He can play the backup point guard spot. He can also play off the ball. His defense, outside of a few lapses, has been exceptional, and his 3-point shooting has been a weapon.
McKenney can be Michigan's secret weapon, but he needs more minutes.
Mara might need to be auto benched
One of the worst things that can happen for Michigan is for Aday Mara to get in foul trouble. The 7-foot-3 big man changes the defensive ability of the Wolverines.
His rim protection can't be replicated by anyone else on the roster. He could easily Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
Against MSU, he got a foul and stayed on the court before picking up a second. That forced him out for most of the first half, and Michigan State took advantage. Mara missed some time against Duke, too.
I'm not a big fan of pulling guys out with one foul, but Mara is so important, it might be better to take him out for a few minutes, than risk him being out the entire half.
Either way, keeping him on the floor as much as possible will be critical.
Lean on Yaxel more
Yaxel Lendeborg scored 26.5 points per game in two games against Michigan State. He had 21 against Duke and 20 against Gonzaga.
He wants the ball in his hands. Now, that's it's March, May should try to get him more shots, or at least get the ball in his hands more.
Lendeborg is averaging 3.1 assists per game. He's shooting 34 percent from 3-point range and 50.8 percent overall (65 percent on 2-pointers).
The deeper Michigan gets into the postseason, the more it will need to rely on Yaxel's ability to win one-on-one matchups, while also creating for others. His defense is essential, and he's as impactful as anyone on the roster on offense.
Yaxel is shooting the ball three fewer times per game than last season, which makes sense. Yet, Lendeborg has shot the ball 10 times or fewer 14 times this season.
That shouldn't happen this week in Chicago or the NCAA tournament, unless it's a blowout.