Michigan makes statement with 40-point win vs. Gonzaga - ESPN

LAS VEGAS — Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg said the Wolverines made a statement about their place in college basketball's hierarchy with a 40-point victory over Gonzaga in the Players Era title game Wednesday night.

«We know we're capable of national championships,» Lendeborg said after he accepted a diamond-encrusted ring for winning MVP following his team's 101-61 victory. «As long as we continue to grow together, we're going to be the best in the country and nobody will be able to stop us.»

Prior to the Players Era event, No. 7 Michigan had struggled in close wins over TCU and Wake Forest. During their three days in Las Vegas, however, the Wolverines beat San Diego State, No. 21 Auburn and No. 12 Gonzaga by 110 points combined.

Gonzaga, the No. 1 team on KenPom entering Wednesday, had scored 195 points combined in wins over Alabama and Maryland, which amplified the buzz around its matchup with Michigan, America's best defensive team.

But 10 minutes into the game, Michigan had a 33-14 lead and the Bulldogs clearly didn't have any answers.

«That's something that just doesn't ordinarily happen to us,» Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.

Michigan made history in ways Gonzaga will hope to soon forget. It was the first time a team in the Associated Press poll era had defeated back-to-back opponents by 30-plus points. (Michigan defeated Auburn 102-72 on Tuesday.) It was also the first time Gonzaga had lost a game by 40 points since 1990 and was the most lopsided defeat during Few's tenure as coach, which began in 1999.

Gonzaga's 24-point halftime deficit — Michigan led 53-29 at the break — was its largest in nearly 20 years, since 2007.

A befuddled Few said his team will have to learn from the loss but not be consumed by it.

«We got