The Michigan Wolverines may have earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but it did not go according to plan for them in the Big Ten Championship. Not only did they fall in the conference title bout to Purdue, but star forward Yaxel Lendeborg suffered a scary ankle injury. Michigan has a loaded roster, but he has been the guy Dusty May has gone to all season long to carry the team in the clutch.
Thankfully, it does not look like this ankle injury will be keeping him out of the NCAA Tournament...
Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg told me he has a low ankle-sprain and expects to play in the Wolverines’ NCAA Tournament opener.
— Alejandro Zúñiga (@ByAZuniga) March 15, 2026
Michigan earned the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region. The Wolverines will take on the the winner of the UMBC Retrievers and the Howard Bison in their First Four game to determine the No. 16 seed. Frankly, Lendeborg does not need to play very much at all in that first-round game. However he will need to be called upon in the Round of 32 game between either No. 8 Georgia or No. 9 Saint Louis.
Michigan should be able to get to the Sweet 16 quite comfortably, but injuries can always take a toll.
Yaxel Lendeborg expects to play in first round of the NCAA Tournament
Should Michigan be able to get past the combination of UMBC/Howard and Georgia/Saint Louis, we could be looking at a Sweet 16 game vs. the likes of either No. 4 Alabama or No. 5 Texas Tech. Yes, the Crimson Tide still has to play No. 13 Hofstra and the Red Raiders will have to play No. 12 Akron, but look for chalk to prevail in Michigan's half of the Midwest Region. The Elite Eight could get dicey...
On the other side of the region, Michigan could potentially face either No. 2 Iowa State, No. 3 Virginia, No. 6 Tennessee, or No. 7 Kentucky in the Elite Eight. Again, Michigan is the No. 1 seed in this region for a reason. That being said, if Lendeborg is not himself as the tournament goes along, that could be quite problematic for Dusty May's team. This puts even more pressure on Elliot Cadeau on offense.
Ultimately, Michigan should be grateful that Lendeborg is not expected to miss any time with his ankle injury. Having him out in the Round of 32 could have seriously jeopardized the Wolverines' chances of advancing. If he is able to give it a go moving forward, anything short of a trip to the final four should be met with great disappointment for the Michigan faithful. This team is just too good...
For now, Michigan fans will have to take the Purdue loss in stride and see if the guys can really quickly.