The (#7) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played one game this past week, and they won it. On Wednesday (11/19/2025), they beat Middle Tennessee State 86-61 in Crisler Arena. Michigan’s record improves to 4-0.
What Happened?
After a couple tense, close games (beating Wake Forest by 1 point in overtime, then beating TCU by 4 points), it was refreshing to have a relatively low-stress game that turned into a blow-out win. The game was close for much of the 1st half, but Michigan woke up in the 2nd half and beat MTSU convincingly.
Game Flow
As I just mentioned, the 1st half of the game was close and tense. Michigan led for most of the half, but they built up a nice lead, then let it almost entirely slip away. MTSU had their last lead of the game at the 15:40 mark, up 9-8. Michigan then went on a 12-0 run, to take control, 20-9, with 10:34 left. They pushed the lead up to 12 points (23-11) at the 9:18 mark, then they let MTSU sneak back into the game. MTSU went on a 13-2 run, and got within one point (25-24) with 3:56 left in the half. Michigan woke up, and pushed their lead back up to 9 points (36-27) with 8 seconds left. Unfortunately, MTSU scored an “and one” at the buzzer, to cut the lead to 6 points (36-30) at halftime.
Michigan came out on fire to start the 2nd half, and quickly doubled their lead: 42-30 in the first 45 seconds. They slowly pushed their lead higher and higher, finally getting over 20 (61-40) at the 13:08 mark. They pushed the lead as high as 27 points several times, and kept it in the 24-26 point range the rest of the game, winning by 25 points.
Stats
The game stats were just OK. Michigan shot pretty well overall (31/67 = 46.3%), they shot 3-pointers terribly (5/25 = 20.0%), and they shot free throws pretty well (19/26 = 73.1%). They won the rebounding battle (48-40) and the turnover battle (13-15). They won this game with decent overall shooting and good rebounding. They still had a few too many turnovers, and the 3-point shooting continues to be a problem.
Who Started?
The starters were Nimari Burnett, Elliot Cadeau, Morez Johnson Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg, and Will Tschetter. Tschetter started in place of Aday Mara, who did fairly well off the bench.
Who Looked Good?
It was the Yaxel Lendeborg show, again. He was the leading scorer, with 25 points, and the leading rebounder, with 12 boards, giving him another double-double. He even had 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 blocked shot, and 0 turnovers. He was brilliant.
Cadeau was the only other starter in double figures, with 10 points.
Mara was the only other Michigan player in double figures, with 10 points off the bench. He also had 10 rebounds, for a nice double-double. He needs to work on his 3-foot jumpers; he missed several of them.
Johnson almost hit double figures, with 9 points, to go with 7 rebounds.
Roddy Gayle Jr. did a nice job off the bench, with 8 points.
L.J. Cason also did a nice job off the bench, with 8 points.
Who Looked Not-So-Good?
Tschetter started out strong, with Michigan’s first basket, a 3-pointer 33 seconds into the game, but that was it for him. He finished with 5 points on 1/3 shooting, all from deep, and a pair of free throws.
Burnett was quiet out there, again. He had 5 points on 2/6 shooting, 0/3 from deep.
Trey McKenney came off the bench and had a terrible game. He scored 3 points on lousy shooting: 1/10 overall, 1/7 from deep.
Who Else Played?
Oscar Goodman played for 3 minutes, and missed his only shot attempt, an easy put-back layup.
Winters Grady was finally recovered from his foot injury, and played 7 minutes. He missed his only shot, a 3-point attempt.
Malick Kordel played for 2 minutes, and scored 3 points. He made his only shot attempt (a dunk), and made 1/2 free throws.
Charlie May played in the final minute, but didn’t attempt a shot.
Who Didn’t Play?
The only scholarship player who didn’t play was Ricky Liburd.
The Scout Team players who didn’t play were: Howard Eisley Jr. and Harrison Hochberg.
What Does It Mean?
Middle Tennessee State is a notch up from “cupcake”, but not at the same level as Wake Forest or TCU. Still, this was a game that Michigan couldn’t afford to lose, and they played pretty well, especially in the 2nd half. Every win helps Michigan build their postseason resume, and this was a solid win.
This Week
This week, Michigan plays three games, all in the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas, NV. On Monday (11/24/2025, 10:30 p.m. EST, truTV), they play San Diego State, then on Tuesday (11/25/2025, 8:30 p.m. EST, TNT), they play (#22) Auburn.
Depending on how those games go, Michigan might play in one of these games:
- The championship third-place game at 7:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday (11/26/2025)
- The championship first-place game at 9:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday (11/26/2025)
- The consolation bracket first-place game at 8:00 p.m. EST on Thursday (11/27/2025)
- The consolation bracket third-place game at 10:30 p.m. EST on Thursday (11/27/2025)
Confusing? You bet. That’s only 4 games on Wednesday/Thursday, and there are 18 teams; are there 10 teams that will only play 2 games? I don’t know.
San Diego State is currently 2-1, with no noteworthy results. Last season, they were 21-10 (14-6 in the Mountain West). They had some big wins last season: (#21) Creighton and (#6) Houston. They lost in the 1st round of their conference tournament, but they went to the NCAA Tournament. They lost in the 1st round of the Big Dance. They don’t have any noteworthy players, but they do have some height: a 7-footer and a 7’1” guy. This could be a very challenging contest. Michigan should win, as long as they don’t commit too many turnovers and shoot a decent percentage from 3-point range.
Auburn is currently 4-1, with their only loss by one point to (#1) Houston. They were 32-6 last season, and were a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they beat Michigan 78-65 in the Sweet 16, before losing to Florida in the Final Four. They have a loaded roster, with some height: a 6’10” player and a 7-footer. This will be Michigan’s most difficult non-conference game until the Duke game in February. If Michigan really deserves to be ranked in the Top 10, they need to win this kind of game.
Check back next week to find out what happened and why.
Go Blue!
