Michigan forward Jassel Rendeborg (23) tries to pass the ball against Michigan State forward Jackson Koller (0) during the first half at the Chrysler Center in Ann Arbor, Sunday, March 8, 2026. Yaxel Lendeborg poured in 27 points on just 12 shots as No. 3 Michigan swept the season series against No. 8 Michigan State in the Big Ten regular-season finale Sunday afternoon in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Morez Johnson Jr. had 18 points and seven rebounds, Roddy Gayle Jr. had 15 points and Trey McKennie had 12 points off the bench for Michigan (29-2, 19-1), which finished with its best Big Ten record since Indiana went undefeated in 1975-76.
Jaxon Kohler had 23 points and eight rebounds to lead Michigan State (25-6, 15-5), and Jeremy Fears Jr. had 22 points and nine assists. If Nebraska wins against Iowa, the Spartans will settle for a No. 3 seed in next week’s Big Ten Tournament.
Michigan missed its first seven shots and Michigan State took a 7-3 lead, but the Wolverines went on an 11-0 run that included the first of three technical fouls in the 10th minute of the first half.
At the 14:24 mark, officials’ replay determined that Fears was entitled to a technical foul after Cadeau used the back of his leg to hit Elliot Cadeau in the groin shortly after he was whistled for an attempted foul. That turned into two Lendeborg free throws.
Just 61 seconds later, Aday Mara received a technical foul for shoving Carson Cooper (19 points) from behind after a Gayle layup. Fear hit both free throws to put Michigan on a run.
With 10:44 on the clock, McKenney hit a breakaway layup but knocked the ball out of the hands of Kohler as he prepared to inbound the ball. Fears’ subsequent free throw cut Michigan’s lead to 18-14.
Three Michigan big men (Mara, Johnson and Will Tschetter) were benched late in the first half with two fouls before Michigan State went on an 8-0 run to take the lead. But Lendeborg fed Nimari Burnett (10 points) on a 3-pointer with about two seconds left to give the Wolverines a 42-41 advantage at halftime.
The second half often turned into a highlight reel as the Wolverines and Spartans battled it out to the finish line. With 30 seconds to play, Kohler hit a 3-pointer to give Michigan State a 56-53 lead. Rendeborg responded with an acrobatic dunk driving the baseline, but Koenka countered with a dunk toward the face of a Michigan defender to regain the three-point advantage.
Michigan took the lead on a Gayle basket in the paint with 10:32 to play, but the Wolverines wouldn’t pull away until the final three minutes.
Lendeborg threw an alley-oop to Johnson for a blistering dunk that made it 78-72 with 2:34 left, and the Wolverines held off the Spartans on four straight possessions to build an 83-72 advantage.
–Field level media
