Middle Tennessee kept Michigan from blowing the doors off in the first half, but the Wolverines were not so hospitable in the second stanza. Yaxel Lendeborg caught the eyes of the NBA scouts with his best game of 2025. Here are three of the takeaways from Michigan's tune-up win before their litmus test trip to Las Vegas next week.
1. Michigan scored one more point then the 35 threes attempted in the first 20 minutes
A total of 62 trifectas were shot on Wednesday night. One more than the total points scored for the Blue Raiders. They are known for letting it rip from deep, and that continued as they made double the amount that the Wolverines did. Michigan basketball routed Middle Tennessee in the paint to the tune of 50-12, though. That's 10 more points than the Blue Raiders had in rebounds. Michigan's size advantages are giving teams fits in the early part of the season.
2. Yaxel Lendeborg was the only Wolverine who shot better then 75% from the hardwood
The transfer dynamo did it all for the Wolverines. He's collected two double-doubles in a row for the maize and blue since last Friday. His injury seems to have digressed and is now playing around full strength. Technically Malick Kordel was 100% from the paint, but his points came in the final minute of the victory and are not indicative to Lendeborg's. Aday Mara, L.J. Cason and Roddy Gayle Jr. were proficient off the bench.
I don’t know who needs to hear this.
— Jordan Stocks (@StockTalks21) November 20, 2025
But you’re just not going to win in March if your lead PG is Elliot Cadeau.
I was truly shocked when Dusty went out & got him & people acted like it was a huge pick up.
It was effectively a downgrade.
3. Middle Tennessee was held to 34 points below its season average
Michigan's defense has played two ironclad games in the last week on the defensive end of the court. Neither TCU nor Middle Tennessee have not scored any lower than they did when they faced off against the Wolverines. Leading scorer Kamari Lands had 11 in the loss for the Blue Raiders, while the Horned Frogs' most consistent bucket-getter was also defended below his double-figure mark that he set throughout the first month of the new season.