Dusty May just robbed Yaxel Lendeborg of his extra motivation to send Alabama packing

Two wins down, four more to go. That is all that separates the Michigan Wolverines from winning their first national championship on the hardwood in over a generation. After getting past Howard in the first round and Saint Louis in the second, up next for the Wolverines will be the Alabama Crimson Tide on Friday night in the Sweet 16. This game has a special meaning to it for forward Yaxel Lendeborg.

Lendeborg famously transferred over from UAB to Michigan this past offseason. He was courted by plenty of other teams, including Kentucky... However, he claims to be slighted by the fact that the flagship school of the University of Alabama system did not want him. That may or may not be true, but Lendeborg was going to try to use that as an extra level of motivation when taking on the Tide.

NBC Sports' Nicole Auerbach reported what Lendeborg had to say ahead of the Sweet 16 in Chicago.

Lendeborg went a step further by saying that Alabama "could have at least called" him last offseason.

Of course, Dusty May cut Lendeborg at the heels by saying he and Nate Oats have a friendly rapport.

And here is video evidence of May saying that Alabama did in fact recruit Lendeborg last offseason.

So according to May, Alabama did try to recruit Lendeborg... It kind of feels like the time that Michael Jordan made up a story about a poor Washington Bullets player who slighted him pre-game so he could have extra motivation in that one. As is the case with most people who are built differently and are highly competitive, they need to have an adversary, real or imagined, as a source of motivation.

FanDuel Sportsbook has Michigan as a massive 9.5-point favorite over Alabama in the Sweet 16.

Dusty May, Yaxel Lendeborg aim to put Alabama behind them in Sweet 16

One of the reasons why Michigan is such a sizable favorite over Alabama has something to do with this. Alabama will once again be shorthanded with star guard Aden Holloway out once again for his legal issues. Although Oats and the Crimson Tide have had success going with a big lineup, this plays right into what Michigan wants to do. Lendeborg, Aday Mara, and Morez Johnson Jr. like to rim-run it...

Overall, May and Lendeborg are going to need to lean on each other if they want Michigan to do what it has not done as a basketball program since 1989. No matter what the betting odds say, Michigan feels like the team most likely to run the gauntlet en route to a national championship this April. Duke is beat up. Nobody outside of the West Coast seems to trust Arizona. It might be the Wolverines' time.

Ultimately, anything short of a trip to the Final Four should be viewed as disappointment for May's team this season. They have only lost three games up to this point, and none of which have been on the road. That being said, two of the three were in neutral-site affairs. That is the same type of crowd split Michigan can expect in their next one-to-four games. They just need to get past Alabama first.

Michigan may not end up winning it all, but it would be shocking to see them fall vs. Alabama Friday.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.