For the first time in eight years and seven tries, Michigan basketball beat Michigan State in East Lansing, thanks to an 83-71 win on Friday night.
The Wolverines got a legendary performance that day from Moritz Wagner. That was one of his best games as a Michigan basketball player.
The same can be said about Yaxel Lendeborg. This will be his only season in Ann Arbor, but he cemented himself in Michigan lore with a 25-point, 12-rebound performance that was critical in the Wolverines 11-point road win.
After surrendering an 18-point lead in the first half, it was Yaxel, Morez Johnson, and Elliot Cadeau, who turned the tide late. Will Tschetter made a big-time 3-pointer, plus the defense clamped down.
Michigan trailed in the second half for 16 seconds. One possession. Tschetter got the lead back with his triple, then Johnson made two free throws before an emphatic dunk put the Wolverines up three. Cadeau buried a triple to push it to six, before buckets from Lendeborg and Johnson sealed the win.
Cadeau had 17 points, three boards, and six assists in the win. Johnson added 12 points and four rebounds, while Trey McKenney pitched in with 10 off the bench. Jeremy Fears scored 31 points. Jaxson Kohgler scored 12 on 4-of-13 shooting.
Here are the gut reactions.
Dusty May's biggest win
Dusty May has beaten Ohio State and Michigan State this season. He didn't have an issue with OSU coming into the season. Michigan State was the monkey he needed to get off his back.
Last season, his Michigan team wasn't quite tough enough. It looked like it might not be on Friday, but over the last 6-7 minutes, the Wolverines erased that narravtive, securing the most significant win of May's young Michigan head-coaching career.
Winning in East Lansing is something great Michigan coaches do. This will be the first of hopefully many wins for May in the Breslin Center.
Yaxel makes his case for Big Ten Player of the Year
Maybe if Lendeborg didn't get a third foul, this game wouldn't have been as dramatic. May sat him for what felt like too long. Turns out, it was just right.
Lendeborg still played 35 minutes. He was 6-of-13 from the field and 13-of-15 at the line. He also grabbed six offensive rebounds, six defensive rebounds, and was stellar on defense. He had plus 16 in terms of plus/minus. Johnson was the only other player in double figures at plus 12.
He was the best player on the court on Friday and is the best player in the Big Ten.
Michigan basketball won a little backwards
I wouldn't have expected the Wolverines to shoot 47 percent on 2-point attempts and win the game. However, the Spartans shot 48 percent when it was all said and done.
Michigan State had an advantage, but it disappeared down the stretch. Both teams made 23 free throws, yet the Wolverines shot 38 percent from 3-point range. That won them the game. Cadeau, who made three shots from beyond the arc, might have been the biggest reason for that jump.
The Wolverines shot under 30 percent from three in the past two games. If that had happened again, it would have been an eighth-straight loss.
Instead, the ball went in, and Michigan will be tied for first place with the winner of Nebraska and Illinois come Sunday afternoon.