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Seth Greenberg, Jay Williams detail what Yaxel Lendeborg needs to bring for national championship

IMG_6598by: Nick Kosko04/06/26nickkosko59

Yaxel Lendeborg goes into Monday night’s national championship game a hurt player, there’s no doubt. However, when he’s on the floor, Lendeborg’s arguably the best player pound-for-pound, and is the biggest key to Michigan’s national title hopes against UConn.

ESPN’s Jay Williams and Seth Greenberg will tell you the same thing. As long as Lendeborg is on the floor, UConn could have matchup problems and they’ll have to account for the Wolverine.

“So all I’m going to tell you is that, yeah, so Lendeborg at 50% is better than no Lendeborg  at all,” Williams said on Get Up “And his ability to stretch the floor, his ability with a high basketball IQ to make decisions. Elliot Cadeau is the key to this engine, if he can set up the Yaxel the right way, him being on the floor is a monumental thing for this team because of the winning pedigree he brings to the table.”

Lendeborg’s knee is structurally intact, per Michigan’s trainer Chris Williams. Everyone was optimistic that he’d play Monday night and as of Monday morning, that hasn’t changed.

“He’s the one matchup that UConn doesn’t have a matchup for,” Greenberg said. “At six-nine, his ability to shoot the ball, stretching defense, putting it on the floor, his length, his ability to get deflections. He’s the toughest matchup in this game for UConn. So if he’s not at 100%, they maybe gap him, and he can’t impact the game in terms of getting deflections. He can’t impact the game getting to the offensive class, it’s significant. But if he’s on the court, just because he’s on the floor, UConn has to game plan for him whether he’s healthy or not.”

In Michigan’s two games prior to Saturday (the Final Four against Arizona), Lendeborg averaged 25 points, 9.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists, while shooting 58% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. Following Michigan’s win Saturday, Lendeborg confirmed he expects to play against UConn for the national title.

With Yaxel Lendeborg leading the charge, Michigan will have an opportunity to secure its first national title since 1989. The Wolverines will face off against UConn on Monday at 8:50 p.m. ET. The game will air live on TBS, TruTV and HBO Max.