Michigan won the NCAA men’s basketball national championship Monday night with a 69-63 victory over the UConn Huskies. Michigan didn’t win in a format that they are accustomed to, but they got the win nonetheless, and claimed their second ever national title, and first since 1989. The Big Ten Conference snaps its 26-year title drought, as the Wolverines cut down the nets to forever live in history.
The Game
If you had told me before the start of the game that Michigan would score less than 70 points, shoot worse than 40 percent from the field and be dominated on the boards, but still get the win, I would tell you that you are a fool. This is what happened, and it further proves that Michigan is one of the best teams in modern history. UConn executed their gameplan to perfection and it didn’t matter. UConn slowed Michigan down, hit more threes and played elite and physical defense, but Michigan overcame this struggle with interior scoring, and free throws. Michigan went 25/28 from free throws, including 20 makes in a row, that allowed them to prevail over the Huskies.
UConn head coach Dan Hurley knew that if they executed this gameplan, it would give them a chance in the game, but Michigan's size and interior defense was too much for the Huskies to handle. Michigan had scored 90 points in every game of this tournament so far, and yet, it was their defense that was the greatest strength of their team all year long. From early into the season, Michigan head coach Dusty May was preaching about how they could be the best defense in basketball, and last night they proved just that.
Transfer Portal
May built his Rome in one day from the transfer portal. They had some key returning players from the 2024-25 season, but they had to fill the void that former players Vladimir Golden, Danny Wolf and Trey Donaldson had left. May didn’t panic, instead he built his vision. It started out by locking in the No. 1 ranked player in the portal Yaxel Lendeborg, who committed to Michigan, despite receiving offers from many blue blooded programs. May then went out and collected Aday Mara from UCLA, the giant, and future Big Ten defensive player of the year. Mara is the center piece to the Michigan defense that dominated all season long. Michigan got Elliot Cadeau from North Carolina, who was a very talented play maker, but lacked in three point shooting. Finally Michigan grabbed Morez Johnson Jr. from Illinois, who made the final four as well this year.
Besides Yaxel Lendeborg, these portal pieces weren’t stars before getting to Michigan, but coach May has a keen eye for talent, and saw a vision with these guys in his system. All of the players bought in, and they preached their unselfishness all year long. May and his staff developed these players into stars, and they are center pieces to the 2026 national champion Michigan Wolverines.
Those who stay
Michigan has a motto that runs through their sports programs, and that is “those who stay will be Champions.” Nobody resembles this motto more than Will Tschetter and Nimari Burnett. Michigan went 8-24 in the 2023-24 season, and Tschetter and Burnett were both key parts of this team. Tarris Reed Jr. was also a key player on this team. Burnett and Tschetter stayed with the program, despite the coaching change, and won the national title over UConn and Tarris Reed Jr. They might not be the stars of this team, but they both played key roles in Michigan's success, and were part of Michigan's strength all year, which is their depth.
Where they stack up
Now the question is where does this Michigan team rank amongst the other national title teams recently. I think they belong in the conversation with teams including 2023 UConn and 2021 Baylor. Those teams dominated most teams in their path, and had dominant performances all season long, leaving them as the clear national champions.
The Big Ten runs college athletics
Starting out in the fall sports when Indiana football took home the championship, and Washington men's soccer, the Big Ten conference got a great start to the season. Then when basketball came around they didn’t falter. UCLA finished the women's tournament on top and then the next night Michigan took it home, as the Big Ten claimed both basketball titles. Michigan hockey and Wisconsin hockey are both currently in the Frozen Four, and have a strong chance to add another Big Ten championship this Saturday. UCLA is the No. 1 ranked baseball team and Nebraska is the No. 4 ranked softball team, so the Big Ten still has lots of opportunities to claim more titles in the five main sports. The conference is on an absolute roll, and doesn’t appear to be stopping.
The Wolverines snapped the 26-year Big Ten championship drought, and cut down the nets in Indianapolis. The tournament delivered on every stage from the First Four to the Final Four, and ended with a lot of emotions as always. The thrill of victory, and the heartache of defeat was felt Monday night, as the Maize and Blue raised up that national championship trophy.
