WASHINGTON – On a day in which the path for Michigan basketball to the No. 1 overall seed in the 2026 NCAA tournament seemed clearer than ever, the No. 1 Wolverines received a reminder that the tourney will be anything but a walk in the park.
A back-and-forth battle at Capital One Arena on Saturday, Feb. 21, finished with No. 3 Duke prevailing, 68-63, as Michigan made just six of 24 3-point tries in snapping an 11-game win streak.
Earlier in the day, the NCAA tourney selection committee released its top 16 projected seeds for March Madness; Michigan was slotted in as the top squad – placed in the Midwest region, with a regional in Chicago – and Duke was No. 2. Those rankings looked prescient as the Wolverines and Blue Devils were virtually even for much of Saturday night.
Yaxel Lendeborg finished with 21 points and seven rebounds, while star guard Elliot Cadeau struggled with his shot en route to eight points. Cadeau also sat during the first half with an apparent left arm injury, and Aday Mara was limited early due to foul trouble.
Ones to watch
The first half showed how small a margin exists between the No. 1 and No. 3 teams in the nation – per the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll – in the battle for the top overall seed in next month’s NCAA Tournament; Duke went into the break up by two, thanks to a 6-0 run, but the teams went back and forth for most of the half, trading the lead 13 times (with five ties). Still, Michigan led for 10:29, to 4:32 for Duke, thanks to its scorching work inside the arc – 11-for-14.
That made up for a rough time outside the arc, as the Wolverines hit just three of 13 3-point tries over the first two minutes. Two of those makes (on four tries) belonged to Lendeborg, who accounted for nearly half of U-M’s first-half offense, at 16 points. L.J. Cason (seven points) and Morez Johnson Jr. (six) supplied most of the rest, as Aday Mara played just six minutes while struggling with foul trouble.
Even with the individual struggles, Michigan might have taken a lead into the second half if not for a familiar foe: turnovers. The Wolverines had just one more giveaway than the Blue Devils, but Duke turned the six U-M giveaways into nine points, while Michigan had just two points off five takeaways.
What’s next for Michigan basketball
The Wolverines (25-2, 15-1 Big Ten) return to conference play at home against Minnesota (13-14, 6-10) on Tuesday (8:30 p.m., Big Ten Network). The Golden Gophers have won three of four Big Ten games, including a rout of Rutgers on Saturday afternoon when Cade Tyson hit seven of nine 3-pont tries en route to 27 points. Minnesota is just 3-10 at Crisler Center dating back to February 2019, but one of those wins was the Gophers’ most recent visit, a 73-71 squeaker on Jan. 4, 2024 in U-M’s final season under coach Juwan Howard.
This story will be updated.
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball falls to Duke in battle of NCAA 1-seeds