The Michigan Wolverines’ biggest win of the season has been painted with a grey brush. Dusty May’s side brushed aside No. 10 Illinois 84-70 to grab the program’s first outright Big Ten regular-season championship since 2014.  They dominated, even leading by as many as 21 points in the second half. However, in the process, they have lost one of their most important players in LJ Cason for the title push. 

Sophomore guard LJ Cason will miss the rest of the season with an ACL tear, the school announced. Cason suffered the ACL tear in the Illinois game. Cason grabbed a long defensive rebound late in the first half and tipped it over his first defender. To get in the paint. As momentum was taking him forward, Cason made a clever pass but fell forward on his knee. He stumbled after getting up and was  immediately subbed out. Yet, the guard returned in the second half but his stay lasted only for 3 minutes before it was evident that the injury was serious. 

“This isn’t how I wanted my season to end, but I trust God’s plan, and I’ll attack rehab the same way I approach everything—with focus and determination,” Cason said in a statement. “We’ve got many goals as a team, and I’ll be locked in supporting my brothers every step of the way.”

Coach May also put out a statement believing that Cason will come back stronger from this process. “First and foremost, our hearts hurt for L.J.,” said May. “You never want to see a young man who has poured so much into this program have something like this happen. However, if there’s anyone equipped to handle this and the rehab process, it’s LJ. He’s resilient, he’s disciplined, and he has an incredible support system around him.” The fanbase is praying for the same, with some even criticizing Dusty May for putting Cason back in the second half. 

Dusty May Under Scanner As Fans Send Their Prayers To LJ Cason

“Damn. Win it all for LJ 🙏,” wrote a fan.  “That is a damn shame. Sorry to see players get hurt,” commented another. Michigan is already in pole position to get the No. 1 seed for the NCAA tournament. Their current NET ranks No. 2, only behind Duke. The Wolverines are serious contenders with one of the most impactful players in the country, Yaxel Lendeborg, on this team. While injuries might not be the ideal scenario for such a team at such a pivotal point of the year, they could use it as fuel to make one last push. And yet, some think this injury could have been avoidable. 

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It did not look good, even when Cason injured himself the first time around. After Michigan scored with Cason on the ground, he could not return to defense. May subbed him out, but after the game he revealed that it was Cason who insisted on returning. 

“I asked him five or six times, ‘Are you sure?’ because I just don’t like to see guys play on a wobbly wheel,” Dusty May said postgame. “He wanted to go and he came in and made an impact in the second half. But yeah, there was a point where it just wasn’t worth it regardless of the outcome.” Now, whether he injured his ACL the first or second time around is unknown. 

“Gotta feel bad for LJ after how great he was playing this season,” another fan wrote. “Also gotta wonder why dusty put him back into the game after his first semi-injury when this game really didn’t matter.”

Cason has been one of the Wolverines’ best bench players this season. He is averaging 8.4 points and 2.4 assists on 50.3% shooting from the floor and 40.2% shooting from three in 18.6 minutes per game. Cason really stepped up in February when he was averaging 11.8 points per game. So many fans think it’s questionable why May needed to put one of his pieces on the floor with the score line reading 51-43 and risk injury even if LJ insisted on it. Now, Cason is out for around 9 months, which is the standard recovery time from ACL injuries. 

“Brutal loss, but this will definitely test the depth of the team,” commented another fan. Michigan has had one of the best backcourts in the country this season. Elliot Cadeau has impressed at point guard, averaging 10.1 points and 5.1 assists. But who will give him cover from the bench now that LJ Cason is out? Nimari Burnett, Trey McKenney and Roddy Gayle Jr. aren’t considered as primary facilitators.

In addition, LJ provided a meaningful variety to Cadeau off the bench. Cadeu is more of a creator, while LJ Cason leans towards scoring. This provided May with more flexibility, which is now compromised. No other guard has played meaningful minutes this season. This injury has given Dusty May some questions at a critical juncture of the season.