Dusty May has another Championship under his belt.
After winning the Big Ten title during his first season with the Michigan Wolverines basketball program, he and his team are bringing home another significant Championship, this time from Las Vegas, Nevada.
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The No. 7 Wolverines won their third straight game in as many nights on Wednesday, defeating the No. 12 Gonzaga Bulldogs, 101-61, in the 2025 Players Era Championship. It was another dominant effort by Michigan, tallying three straight 30 plus-point victories, and a 110 point-differential in the overall Tournament. As a reward, the Wolverines were gifted an additional $1 million to their NIL collective.
Here is how it all went down.
First Half
Michigan came out hot for a third night in a row, knocking down its first five shots to take an early 13-3 lead. Yaxel Lendeborg tallied two triples, Morez Johnson Jr. racked up another and-one down low and Elliot Cadeau took a Gonzaga turnover and scored an easy bucket the other way, forcing Bulldogs’ coach Mark Few to call a timeout before the first whistle.
Out of the first TV timeout, Michigan continued to attack the ‘Zags in waves. Aday Mara scored six quick points, including a dunk from the charity stripe, and Roddy Gayle Jr. made an immediate impact off the bench with an-and-one basket in the paint, leading to a 11-3 Wolverines’ run and a 24-8 lead.
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Gonzaga did find some rhythm behind Emmanuel Innocenti and Jalen Warley’s three straight buckets to cut the Michigan lead, but Will Tschetter got into the scoring column with a three-pointer, taking a 13 point lead into another stoppage.
If the Wolverines didn’t need more fire lit under them, a missed call by the referees sparked another run, all thanks to the three-point line. Trey McKenney, Nimari Burnett and Cadeau all drained deep triples, while Gonzaga’s best player, Graham Ike, continued to stay cold, going 0-for-7 from the field to start the contest. Before Few could call another timeout, Michigan led 38-19 with eight minutes to go in the first half.
Desperate to stay in the game, the Bulldogs put together a small 9-4 run behind Braden Huff’s six straight points, but Michigan took control back pretty quickly after that, going on its own 11-1 run, courtesy of eight Lendeborg points and help from McKenney and Burnett, taking a 24 point lead into halftime against the No. 12 team in the country.
The Wolverines shot 61 percent from the field and converted eight-for-14 attempts from three in the first half, while Gonzaga shot just 32 percent overall and a mere 2-for-12 from behind the arc, leading to the largest deficit for the Bulldogs since 2007.
Halftime: Michigan 53, Gonzaga 29
Second Half
The start of the second half was the opposite to the start of the first. With turnovers riddling both programs – four on Michigan to two for Gonzaga – it was hard for either side to get into a rhythm. With threes failing to fall, the Wolverines hunkered down on defense, holding the Bulldogs to 3-for-14 from the field in seven minutes of play, while the offense ran through Johnson Jr. and Mara down low to grow their lead to 34.
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The Bulldogs did string together a couple of buckets, but Michigan gladly traded twos for threes, getting whatever it wanted, whenever it wanted. The Wolverines went on another 15-2 run, which included two made triples by McKenney and two ‘dunk-contest’ worthy slams by Lendeborg, taking an 87-43 lead with more eight-and-a-half minutes to go in the fiesta.
Satisfied with the score, May took out his starters at the 6:21 mark of the second half, and Michigan’s bench enjoyed its third straight game of meaningful playing time, coasting the Wolverines to victory, 101-61.
The 40-point loss marks Few’s largest loss in his Gonzaga coaching career, and for May, the win has the potential to catapult Michigan into the top spot in next week’s rankings.
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Final Score: Michigan 101, Gonzaga 61
Up next
Michigan will enjoy the flight home to spend Thanksgiving with their respective families and prepare for its first Big Ten matchup of the season against Rutgers in Crisler Center on Saturday, December 6th at 4 p.m.
The Scarlet Knights are coming off of three straight losses to Central Connecticut, Tennessee and Notre Dame, and will have a tall mountain to climb against the hottest team in the country.
Michigan stat leaders
F Yaxel Lendeborg: 20 points (6-of-9 FG), 11 rebounds, 4 assists
G Trey Mckenney: 17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
F Morez Johnson Jr: 11 points, 5 rebounds
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G Nimari Burnett: 14 points, 6 rebounds
C Aday Mara: 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks
G Roddy Gayle Jr.: 9 points (3-for-3 from three)
Gonzaga stat leaders
G Tyon Grant-Foster: 14 points (6-of-13 FG), 8 rebounds
G Braden Huff: 14 points, 6 rebounds
F Adam Miller: 9 points
