In a triumphant return to his former school, Morez Johnson Jr. produced 19 points and a game-high 11 rebounds to lead No. 3 Michigan to an 84-70 victory over No. 10 Illinois on Friday night in Champaign, Ill., that clinched the Wolverines’ first Big Ten title since 2021.
Johnson, a physical sophomore who transferred from Illinois to Michigan on April 1, and his teammates appeared to be fueled by the boos each time Johnson touched the ball. Aday Mara scored 19 points on 8 of 9 field goal shooting and Yaxel Lendeborg added 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists as Michigan (27-2, 17-1) snapped a nine-game losing streak to Illinois.
Keaton Wagler, shadowed by the taller, longer Lendeborg most of the night, scored a game-high 23 points but shot 7 of 17 and committed a game-high four turnovers for Illinois (22-7, 13-5), which has dropped four of its last six. Kylan Boswell added 15 points.
Ten students directly behind the Illinois bench painted “MIRK > MOREZ” on their chests to assert their preference for Illinois freshman David Mirkovic, who posted 12 points and 10 rebounds in the power forward spot that Johnson likely would have held had he not transferred.
In the early going, Illinois’ students had plenty to cheer about. When Wagler swished a stepback 3-pointer over the 7-foot-3 Mara while getting fouled, then drained the accompanying free throw, Illinois held a 16-11 lead with 13:03 to go.
Michigan responded with 11 straight points to take the lead for good, capped by a rare Johnson 3-pointer at the 9:45 mark as Illinois sagged off and dared him to shoot.
The Wolverines kept transforming turnovers and long Illinois misses into fast-break points to take a 38-31 halftime lead. L.J. Cason fed Johnson on a 3-on-1 break for a layup with 1:11 to go, then Johnson converted a tip-in at the 0:42 mark to lead all first-half scorers with 13.
Each time Illinois dug into Michigan’s lead in the second half, the Wolverines had an answer. Jake Davis swished a 3-pointer for the Illini, so Lendeborg swished a 3-pointer. Wagler made two free throws, so Johnson bullied Wagler in the post and threw down an enormous dunk that he capped with a primal scream.
Wagler drove past Lendeborg for a layup to make it 47-41, so Michigan fed Mara for a 5-footer and a pick-and-roll slam. Five minutes later, Mara went on a personal 7-0 run to give the Wolverines a 66-52 lead with 9:12 to go. Trey McKenney followed with back-to-back 3-pointers to force Illinois to take a timeout trailing 72-54 with 7:27 left.
Illinois never got closer than 14 again.
Michigan shot 52.5% (31 of 59) from the floor and 62.1% (23 of 37) on shots inside the arc. They also converted 14 of 17 shots from the free throw line.
–Field Level Media
