Michigan
25-2,15-1Big Ten
Duke
25-2,13-1ACC
Wolverines Fall Short Against No. 3 Duke at Capital Showcase
2/21/2026 10:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The top-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team was defeated by third-ranked Duke 68-63 on Saturday night (Feb. 21) in the Capital Showcase at Capital One Arena. The contest featured 13 lead changes in the first half, but Duke led for the entire second half; Michigan cut the lead down to one point with under four minutes to play, but the Blue Devils held on for the win.
Leaders and Best
Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr., and Aday Mara were the Wolverines' double-digit scorers, combining for 44 of U-M's 63 points. Lendeborg had a game-high 21 points, with seven rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Johnson scored 13 points, with six rebounds and three blocks, while Mara finished with 10 points and two blocks.
Second Half
Duke (24-2) opened the second half with two scores to cap a 9-0 run that started with four minutes left in the first half. Johnson knocked down a three-pointer with 16:58 to play, the first for Michigan (25-2) in 13 minutes. Mara made his presence known after entering the game with 15:57 in the second half. He scored from the right side and blocked a shot on the other end. The block was part of six consecutive Blue Devils misses.
Johnson scored again after an unsuccessful coach's challenge from the Wolverines, but no scoring ensued for the next two minutes. The next four Wolverine points came off free throws with six straight field goal misses. Duke, meanwhile, went 3-for-4 over that stretch, to hold a 53-48 advantage with 7:47 to go.
The seven-minute miss streak ended with 5:31 to play after a Mara tip-in off a rebound. He drew a foul on the next possession and made both free throws. On U-M's next possession, a Lendeborg triple from the top of the key after two offensive rebounds finished a 7-0 run in two minutes and brought U-M within one, 57-56 with 3:49 remaining.
Elliot Cadeau connected on his first field goal of the night, a three-pointer that came with just under 100 seconds to go. He then drew a foul and made both free throws to cut the Duke lead to 66-63. However, Michigan could not fight all the way back and took the loss.
First Half
U-M started 5-for-5 on two-point field goals over the four minutes prior to the first media timeout. Lendeborg scored 10 consecutive Wolverine points in two minutes, and L.J. Cason broke Lendeborg's scoring streak with a three-pointer with 15:02 on the clock. The middle of Lendeborg's scoring sparked a streak of five consecutive Wolverine baskets, but U-M faced a 22-21 deficit with 11:50 to play.
Michigan then faced a three-minute scoring drought until Lendeborg snapped it with a triple from the right wing. Mara headed to the bench after collecting three fouls in six minutes, which was followed by the Wolverines going scoreless for another three minutes. Johnson put an emphatic end to that, throwing down a two-hand slam. Cason made consecutive shots for a 32-29 lead with 3:11 remaining in the first half.
U-M struggled from beyond the arc in the first half. After starting 2-for-4, it missed eight of the next nine attempts and finished 3-for-10 on field goals to end the half. Michigan scored just five points over the final five minutes to help Duke pull ahead 35-33 at halftime.
What's Next
After playing four of the last five games away from Ann Arbor, the Wolverines will return to Crisler Center for a matchup against Minnesota. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
Notes
• This game was the first between U-M and Duke in more than 12 years, when the teams met in Durham, N.C., on Dec. 3, 2013, as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Duke won that contest and has now won 11 of the last 12 meetings.
• The loss is the first contest this season (five games) that U-M has trailed at halftime and not come back to win.
• Lendeborg had his first 20-point performance of the month. Including tonight, he now has four games of 20 points or more.
• Mara has recorded multiple blocks in a game for the 22nd time this season. He now averages 2.8 blocks per game, which leads the Big Ten. Lendeborg has recorded multiple blocks in five consecutive games and falls just outside the top five in the Big Ten in blocks per game.
• Michigan shot 40 percent from the field, with 22 field goals, the lowest in any game this season. The previous low in both categories happened against TCU on Nov. 14, with 23 made field goals on 43.4 percent shooting.
• For the second time this season, Michigan scored 30 points or fewer in a half. Exactly 30 points were scored in the second half of tonight's game, and Michigan scored 27 points against Nebraska on Jan. 27.
• This was Michigan's first appearance in Washington, D.C., since 2017, when the team won the Big Ten Tournament with four victories in as many days after the team plane slid off the runway en route to the nation's capital.
