Dusty May dunked on everyone questioning him for bringing Yaxel Lendeborg back

There aren’t many people, even Michigan fans, who would’ve said the Wolverines would stomp Arizona if you told them Yaxel Lendeborg would play just 15 minutes in the game. But that’s what happened. 

Lendeborg did a stint on the sidelines after reckless early foul trouble, then when he came back, things went from bad to worse as he rolled his ankle driving to the basket and apparently sprained his MCL in the process. Yet, despite his injuries, he emerged on the floor in the second half with a knee brace and knocked down two threes that Ian Eagle appropriately categorized as “inspirational.” 

Lendeborg subbed out of the game with 13:02 left in the second half with Michigan ahead 66-44, and just about everybody assumed it was for good. Then, six minutes of game time later, with the lead trimmed down to a very comfortable 19 points, Dusty May brought the Big Ten Player of the Year back to limp around for another two minutes and help extend the lead back to 22. 

May has been to the Final Four before, three years ago with FAU, and has admitted he and his team were just happy to be there. This time, he arrived in Indianapolis to win two games, not just one. He even spent the first game of the Final Four scouting UConn in person.

With that in mind, sending a First-Team All-American back into the game with a freshly rolled ankle and a sprained MCL ahead by 19 seemed like an unnecessary risk. May, of course, disagreed when questioned about it in the postgame press conference. 

“Well, apparently you guys missed the UConn/Duke game,” May retorted. “The game was already decided, and we’re playing Duke tomorrow. They were up 19, correct, in the second half? And who won?” 

Yaxel Lendeborg’s late-2nd-half stint was still reckless

To May’s quote, Duke did not lead by 19 in the second half. The Blue Devils’ 19-point lead, the biggest of the game, came with 5:01 remaining in the first half and was whittled down to 13 by halftime. By the 7:00 mark of the second half, when Lendeborg returned for the final two-minute stint, UConn had cut the Duke lead to seven. 

May’s sentiment holds some validity. “We didn't feel quite as confident as you guys did that we could just put the kids to bed." 

And that’s understandable, but even after Lendeborg hit two threes in the second half, he was still clearly limited to a point where you could argue his presence on the floor wasn’t just detrimental to his health for Monday night, but for Michigan’s chances of protecting the lead to get to Monday night. 

For a team that has said all year that they have nine starters, there was no reason to risk the most important one late on Saturday night. May’s response was witty and shut down further questioning, but his argument doesn’t hold much water.