The Revenge of the Portal: Lendeborg Cooks the Tide in Chicago
CHICAGO — If you’re an Alabama fan, Friday night felt like being stood up by a prom date, only for that date to show up at the dance with a better-looking person and then proceed to win Prom King.
In a 90-77 Midwest Region semi-final track meet, Yaxel Lendeborg didn't just lead Michigan to the Elite Eight; he performed a 40-minute interpretive dance titled "Should Have Recruited Me Harder." The Big Ten Player of the Year—who once sat in the transfer portal hoping for a "Roll Tide" text that never came—instead dropped 23 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists on Bama’s head. It turns out the only thing more dangerous than a 1-seed is a 1-seed with a grudge and a jump shot.
The Bench Mob and the Missing Edge
Michigan (34-3) officially set a school record for wins, and they did it by leaning on a bench that outscored Alabama’s reserves 33-6. Trey McKenney and Roddy Gayle Jr. came off the pine like they were shot out of a cannon, combining for 33 points.
Meanwhile, Alabama’s Labaron Philon Jr. did his best to carry the state on his back, putting up a staggering 35 points. But by the second half, Bama’s "edge" had seemingly vanished into the Chicago wind.
“Our edge, well, didn’t start on with an edge,” admitted Latrell Wrightsell Jr. When your edge doesn't have an edge, you’re basically playing with a butter knife in a gunfight.
The Great Three-Point Bombardment
The first half was less of a basketball game and more of a contest to see who could set the nets on fire first. The teams combined for 74 shots in the first 20 minutes. The shot clock was essentially a decorative wall hanging that neither team felt like using.
Alabama led 49-47 at the break, but then Dusty May reminded his team that defense is, in fact, legal. Michigan tightened the perimeter, Lendeborg started snatching passes like a free safety, and the Wolverines imposed their will so hard that Nate Oats could only watch his longtime friend Dusty May secure the bragging rights for the next several coaching conventions.
By the Numbers:
33-6: The bench scoring margin. Michigan’s subs could have beaten Alabama’s subs in a separate game of 3-on-3.
0: The number of minutes played by Alabama’s Aden Holloway, whose March 16 arrest for felony drug charges remains the ultimate "what if" for the Crimson Tide.
17:04: The exact moment Lendeborg stole a baseline pass and ignited the run that turned the United Center into Ann Arbor West.
Next Up: Michigan faces Tennessee on Sunday. It’s the Midwest Region final, and if Lendeborg plays like the "best player in the country" again, the Vols might want to consider double-teaming him at the airport.
