Michigan basketball cleans up Big Ten awards after dominant regular season

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The No. 3-ranked Michigan Wolverines capped off a historic regular season with multiple members of the basketball program winning awards.

The Wolverines finished the regular season with a 29-2 record, capturing the Big Ten regular season championship outright in the process.

Along the journey, Michigan went 11-0 on the road, setting a record for most wins in Big Ten history with 10 in a season.

Wolverines finished the regular season undefeated in true road games for the first time since joining the Big Ten in 1917.

Michigan’s 18th conference win is tied for the most in the Big Ten all-time, tying the 1974-75 Indiana Hoosiers during the 18-game era.

They also finished the regular season on a 15-game Big Ten winning streak, improving to 19-1 in the conference and setting a school record for most wins in a season.

Since moving to a 20-game schedule during the 2018-2019 season, the Wisconsin Badgers (2021-22), the Illinois Fighting Illini (2021-22), and the Purdue Boilermakers (2022-23) have all finished with an 18-2 record.

With those achievements, players and coaches were all but certain to be recipients of some awards, and a multitude of them did just that.

On Tuesday (March 10), star forward Yaxel Lendeborg was named Big Ten Player of the Year in both the league’s coaches and the media for the Wolverines.

The achievement hasn’t been given to a Michigan man since Nik Stauskas (2014) and Trey Burke (2013) went back-to-back.

Following Sunday’s 90-80 victory against the Spartans, Lendeborg told reporters that he had three goals: to win the Big Ten championship, win player of the year, and to win a national championship with the Wolverines.

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Lendeborg led all scorers with 27 points while shooting 8-12 from the field, 5-6 from three, and 6-6 from the charity stripe.

It was the first time in his career that he had over 25 points and made five three-pointers.

“I think it’s pretty obvious why he’s player of the year. He does everything on the basketball court, and he’s incredibly unselfish while doing it, and he’s just scratching the surface of how good he can be,” head coach Dusty May said on March 8.

Lendeborg finished the season averaging 14.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 blocked shots, and 1.2 steals per game while averaging just shy of 30 minutes per game.

The New Jersey native scored in double figures in 24 of Michigan’s 31 games and grabbed 10 rebounds in a game on seven occasions.

Lendeborg was named to the All-Big Ten First Team and to the Big Ten All-Defensive First Team by coaches and media.

Speaking of coaches, May was named Big Ten Coach of the Year by the media, after leading the men in maize to the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and their 16th conference championship in program history.

Under May’s leadership, Michigan won 24 games by double digits, including 13 by 20 or more, 10 by 30 or more, and a Big Ten record seven wins by 40 or more points, along with one victory by 50 or more points.

Big man Aday Mara was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, joining Wolverines legend and two-time winner Gary Grant (1987-1988).

Mara led the Big Ten ranks and was fifth in the country with 80 total blocked shots and 2.58 blocks per game.

Mara was also selected to the All-Big Ten Third Team.

Fellow big man Morez Johnson Jr. was selected to the Big Ten All-Defensive Second Team by the coaches and Third Team by the media.

Sixth man Trey McKenney was selected to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, while starting point guard Elliot Cadeau was named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention.

The Big Ten also named Lendeborg, Johnson Jr., and Mara to the All-Defensive Team, taking three of the starting five spots.

Program staple, Will Tschetter, was named All-Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree.

Look for the Wolverines to take the court on Friday (March 13) at 11 a.m. Central Time in Chicago during the Big Ten Tournament.