Michigan
4-0,0-0Big Ten
Middle Tennessee
3-1,0-0CUSA
Dominant Second Half Powers U-M Past Middle Tennessee, to Fourth Straight Win
11/19/2025 9:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The seventh-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team used a smothering second-half effort to coast in an 86-61 win over Middle Tennessee on Wednesday night (Nov. 19) at Crisler Center. The Wolverines' fourth straight win to open the season marks their best start since an 11-0 beginning to the 2020-21 campaign.
After holding just a six-point lead at half, U-M limited Middle Tennessee (3-1) to 28 percent shooting from the field and 19 percent from three in the second stanza, pouring in 34 of 50 total paint points in the final 20 minutes to pull away from MTSU.
Leaders and Best
Yaxel Lendeborg secured his 100th collegiate game with 10+ rebounds in his 19th career 20-point double-double. He ended his productive night with a season-high 25 points and 12 rebounds, adding three assists, two steals and a block.
Aday Mara logged his third double-double of the campaign with 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, while Elliot Cadeau also contributed 10 points in the win. Overall, 10 Wolverines made it onto the scoresheet with a season-high 13 earning minutes.
Second Half
A Morez Johnson Jr. three-point play and treys from Cadeau and Lendeborg opened up Michigan's double-digit lead just two minutes into the second half, where it would remain for the remainder of the evening.
Michigan's offense shifted down low, where 16 points in the paint in just six minutes were fueled by Lendeborg and-ones on back-to-back possessions. The Wolverines (4-0) stretched a 12-2 run to open up a 20-point lead just over halfway through the final frame.
U-M continued to run the Blue Raiders off the line, conceding just three baskets from long range in the second half. Michigan's lead ballooned to as many as 27 points with three minutes to play on the back of Lendeborg, allowing the Wolverines to coast to their fourth consecutive win of the young season.
First Half
MTSU silenced the Crisler crowd early, sinking three of its first six shots from deep. Coming out of the first media timeout, U-M rebounded by holding the Blue Raiders scoreless for seven minutes while forcing seven turnovers during a 13-0 Wolverines run.
Michigan remained stout defensively, forcing a season-best 10 first-half turnovers, but seven Blue Raiders three pointers and an and-one layup at the buzzer cut U-M's halftime lead to 36-30.
What's Next
The Wolverines will head to the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas, Nev., next week, starting with a matchup against San Diego State on Monday (Nov. 24) at 7:30 p.m. PT inside Michelob ULTRA Arena.
Notes
• The Maize and Blue outpaced Middle Tennessee with 14 fast-break points to the visitors' zero.
• Lendeborg and Cadeau are now the only Wolverines to hit three-pointers in all four games, shooting 11-for-32 (34.4 percent) combined from behind the arc.
• Michigan forced Middle Tennessee into 15 turnovers, the most by a Wolverines opponent in a game so far this season.
• Freshman Winters Grady earned his first career minutes in the win, and graduate student Will Tschetter added five points in his first start since March 13, 2024.
• U-M logged its fourth straight contest with 40+ rebounds, wining the rebounding battle 48-40.
