Dusty May’s new-look, 7th-ranked Wolverines led by transfers Yaxel Lendeborg and Elliot Cadeau
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No. 7 Michigan (27-10, 14-6 Big Ten)
Dusty May turned over most of the roster for his second season after a successful debut, extending the program’s Sweet 16 streak to six years after winning the Big Ten Tournament. He replaced eight departed players and one of the new arrivals is perhaps the top player in the transfer portal, former UAB star Yaxel Lendeborg, who is a preseason All-America player.
Players to watch
The 6-foot-9, 240-pound Lendeborg can score, rebound and defend well enough to be regarded as one of the top players in college basketball. Point guard Elliot Cadeau led North Carolina in assists the previous two years and started 68 games over two seasons. Guard Roddy Gayle averaged nearly 10 points a game last year after transferring from Ohio State and has 107 games of experience, including 71 starts.
Departures and arrivals
Lendeborg averaged 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds last season. He was a two-time first-team All-American Athletic Conference pick and two-time AAC defensive player of the year. Morez Johnson Jr., 6-9, 255-pound forward, averaged seven points and seven rebounds in 17-plus minutes last season for Illinois. Aday Mara, a 7-3 Spaniard, transferred from UCLA. Guard Trey McKenney, who won Michigan’s Mr. Basketball award last year, was the nation’s 21st-ranked recruit. Danny Wolf, Vladislav Goldin and Phat Phat Brooks departed as did Scottie Pippen’s son, Justin, after coming off the bench as a seldom-used freshman.
Top games
Michigan opens the season Monday at home against Oakland. The Wolverines are in the Players Era Championship, which also includes No. 2 Houston and No. 5 St. John’s. Home games include No. 22 Wisconsin (Jan. 10) and No. 22 Michigan State (March 8) in the regular season finale. Road games include the rival Spartans (Jan. 30), No. 1 Purdue (Feb. 17) and No. 17 Illinois (Feb. 27). A matchup with No. 6 Duke on Feb. 21 in Washington breaks up the Big Ten schedule.
Facts and figures
Michigan has its highest preseason ranking since it was No. 6 in 2021 and is a popular pick to finish second in the Big Ten behind the top-ranked Boilermakers. … Lendeborg joined Larry Bird (Indiana State) as the only players to have 600 points, 400 rebounds and 150 assists in a college basketball season. … The Wolverines will raise Trey Burke’s No. 3 to the rafters at Crisler Center on Jan. 23 against Ohio State.
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Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball