Mid-Eastern chart leaders Howard Bison and Yaxel Lendeborg’s Michigan Wolverines will face off in the NCAA Tournament matchup on March 19 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. Both teams have had a great run this season.
Howard went 11-3 in the conference and 24-10 overall. It will be their second NCAA Tournament matchup after an 86-83 win over the UMBC Retrievers. The Bison also won their MEAC Tournament final against the North Carolina Central Eagles.
The Wolverines, on the other hand, haven’t played a game since their Big Ten Tournament loss against the Purdue Boilermakers. Outside of the tournament loss, they were arguably the best team in the conference this season.
The Wolverines went 19-1 in the conference and 31-3 overall. They were the only team in the entire conference without a single away game loss after 11 matchups. All of that is a thing of the past now as they have a bigger challenge ahead.
Michigan would like to revive itself following the tournament loss. However, that isn’t going to be a cakewalk for them, considering the number of injured players on the report. Michigan has listed three players on the injury report.
Ricky Liburd is redshirting the season and is ruled out. Winters Grady is listed as questionable due to an undisclosed injury, and LJ Cason, their star guard, is out for the season with a torn ACL. The Bison, on the other hand, have a relatively healthier roster.
They only have one player on the injury report, and even that could be a positive game-time decision. Howard has listed Shane Frazier as questionable for the next game with an undisclosed injury. Chances are that he might lace up for the Michigan game.
Yaxel Lendeborg Was Approached by Kentucky
Yaxel Lendeborg is having a great run this season, averaging 14.6 points, 7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1.2 steals per game. He is shooting nearly 51% from the field. He recently revealed that when he was contemplating joining the Wolverines, Kentucky approached him with a lucrative offer.
“They started the number with $7 to 9 (million),” he said. “They were pretty much going off on the route like we’ll pay him anything to get here.”
Despite having a great offer in front of him, Lendeborg didn’t let it change his decision. The reason why he withdrew from the NBA Draft and committed to Michigan was that he wanted to play for Dusty May.
While he could’ve made a few extra millions playing for Kentucky, Lendeborg stayed true to his reason and went with the Wolverines.
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