Yaxel Lendeborg puts Duke above rest of stacked Big Ten after epic game

The Michigan Wolverines squared off against the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday in a rare non-conference game late in the season. The game ended up being a loss for Michigan, 68-63, and following the game, Wolverines big man Yaxel Lendeborg had high praise for Duke as far as where the Blue Devils would stack up against the Big Ten Conference, as per The Field of 68.

“I would say this team defensively is a lot better than everybody else in the Big Ten so far, in my opinion,” Lendeborg said. “They have a lot of athletes, a lot of really, really good defenders and know how to be in the gaps and play off each other, which is really, really tough to beat. Especially when shots aren’t falling. But this is a great learning point for us, and something to build on.”

In the loss, Michigan shot only 40 percent (22-of-55) from the field and 24 percent (6-of-25) from the 3-point line, which suggests the Duke defense played an impactful role.

As far as Yaxel Lendeborg, however, the Michigan big man and projected NBA Draft pick had a solid shooting night. He went 7-of-15 (46.7 percent) from the field and 3-of-9 (33.3 percent) from the 3-point line. Lendeborg also had the unenviable task of trying to slow down Duke star freshman Cameron Boozer.

Lendeborg had declared for the NBA Draft after last season and spending two years playing at UAB. He opted to withdraw his name from the draft and enter the transfer portal before committing to Michigan for his final season of college basketball eligibility.

He’s appeared in 27 games, including 26 starts, at a little over 29 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 14.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.5 blocked shots with splits of 49.8 percent shooting from the field, 30.8 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 82.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

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