Takeaways From Michigan's Thrashing of No. 10 Illinois, Winning Big Ten Outright

Another top-10 showdown? Not an issue for Michigan. The Wolverines weren't in the mood to share a Big Ten title — they wanted to take it in a dominating way.

Michigan led 38-31 at halftime over Illinois, but the Wolverines weren't going to give the Illini a pulse in the second half. Michigan eviscerated Illinois and left Champaign with a major 84-70 win over the Illini.

The Wolverines' big men played great and Michigan dominated the glass against one of the better rebounding teams out there. With the win, Michigan won the Big Ten regular season outright with two games left to be played.

Here are a few takeaways from the Wolverines' win.

The Morez Johnson Jr. revenge game

Morez Johnson was did a great job as a true freshman for Illinois last season. In 30 games, he averaged seven points and nearly seven rebounds per game. But after one season with the Illini, Johnson transferred to Michigan — where he has shined.

Johnson entered Friday's game averaging 13.3 points and over seven rebounds per game, and he was one of the best players on the court. Illinois' fans didn't get to Johnson. The name calling, shouting, and photos didn't bother him — his half smile on his first free-throw attempt showed that.

Instead of getting flustered, Johnson knocked down a three, battled down low, and flashed his athleticism on his way to scoring 19 points and grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds in his return to Champaign.

Aday Mara was an unstoppable force

While Morez Johnson had his revenge, it was Aday Mara who was an unstoppable force in the paint. The UCLA transfer shot the ball once in the first half and scored four points, but the final 20 minutes were another story.

Illinois couldn't stop him. Mara scored 19 points and 14 came in the second half. The Wolverines were feeding him in the paint, but he was also going up and being aggressive on the glass to give himself chances for some points.

The Wolverines' trio of big men was all on their A-game against Illinois, and once again, when that happens, Michigan will be hard to stop.

Yaxel Lendeborg's slow start, hot second half

After shooting the ball just three times in Tuesday's win over Minnesota, Yaxel Lendeborg was looking to create his shot early against Illinois. But it didn't go to plan. The UAB transfer scored five points in the first 20 minutes, shooting 2-of-6 from the floor — while airballing two three-point attempts.

But the star Wolverine came back to life in the final 20 minutes. Lendeborg scored 11 points in the second half to give him 16 points in the game. The big man made things happen outside of scoring, too. He grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists in the game.

Michigan fans were expecting Lendeborg to come in and average 20 points per game, but he allows the game to come to him and gets his teammates involved — the winning way.

L.J. Cason's health will be a major factor

Cason has been more than advertised coming off the bench this season. In fact, he's arguably the best point guard in the nation and it appeared he was on track to have another big game off the bench.

But late in the first half, Cason stole the ball, passed between his legs and got up limping. He hobbled into Michigan's locker room as the half expired, and Dusty May inserted him back into the game early in the second half.

Cason went strong to the rim and made a shot, but then on the following possession, he appeared to re-injure his leg — hobbling again. Cason wouldn't re-enter the game.

Michigan is a deep team, but its bench is on a whole different level with Cason playing the way he is. The Wolverines are fighting for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and Michigan hopes to he doesn't have to miss any time.