Brendan Grudberg ’28
Sports Editor
On Monday night, the Michigan Wolverines defeated the Connecticut Huskies in the 2026 NCAA DI Men’s Basketball Championship by a score of 69-63. The game, played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, was a great finale to another college basketball season full of exciting moments.
The Wolverines came in as 6.5 point favorites over the Huskies (DraftKings), as their placement in the national title game was far from a fluke. Michigan had suffered just three losses all year headed into the championship, all of which came against nationally ranked opponents and by margins less than 10 points.
As for the tournament, you may as well have slept through Michigan’s games leading up to this, as their lowest margin of victory was 13 (Alabama, Sweet 16) in their march to the championship game. Their star studded starting five infamously featured five transfers from the previous offseason, headlined by revitalized former 5-star recruit Elliot Cadeau (UNC), human skyscraper Aday Mara (UCLA), and JUCO success story Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB). Second-year head coach Dusty May came in with a hungry, deep, and extremely talented squad in his pursuit of a ring.
However, the Huskies had been playing their best basketball all year heading into the tournament. It’d be foolish to characterize them as any kind of underdog — head coach Dan Hurley has established himself as one of the game’s immortals after winning two straight national championships in 2023 and 2024 — but throughout the 2025-26 regular season, there was reason to believe that UConn would disappoint in March for a second straight year. They suffered some ugly losses in Big East conference play, especially toward the end of the season, suffering an embarrassing road loss to sub-.500 Marquette and a 20 point loss in the Big East championship.
But everything seemed to click for the Huskies in the big dance. They controlled most of their first three victories pretty smoothly, and of course finished off their regional title with one of the most exciting finishes in history versus Duke in game 4. One Final Four victory over Illinois later, and they were playing to win their third title in four years. UConn’s biggest strengths offensively are their beautiful offensive sets orchestrated by Hurley and Co., but on an individual level, Tarris Reed Jr. had emerged as their most dominant scorer in the tournament, bullying and rebounding his way to an efficient 21 points per game. Stopping UConn’s offensive synergy is a tall order for any team, but Michigan is as good a candidate as anyone with their incredible positional versatility and massive rim protector, Mara, defending the paint.
Michigan gained a clear advantage early, not by taking a huge lead, but by getting UConn’s two lead guards — Silas Demary Jr. and Solo Ball — in foul trouble. Demary’s playmaking and Ball’s movement shooting are two key cogs in the UConn offensive engine, so taking them out of the game early was big for the Wolverines. Michigan’s Cadeau made a savvy move to draw one of those fouls by using a classic “foul-bait” technique where he made a shot attempt underneath the outstretched arm of Demary, guaranteeing a foul to get three easy free throws in a spot where you wouldn’t normally see him shoot from.
However, UConn’s backups did more than hold the line. Senior guard Malachi Smith initiated UConn’s offense in Demary’s absence, and tough defense from backup wing Jayden Ross highlighted an excellent first half performance on that end. Michigan’s best player Lendeborg was playing through an injury, but even with that handicap UConn allowing the Wolverines just 33 points in the first half was a great accomplishment.
But Michigan’s size, as predicted, gave them a great leg up defensively. Reed Jr., who had made his impact with his enormous size inside, was neutralized by the 7’3” Mara. Reed was held to just 2/7 shooting in the first half, as Mara’s massive frame made his jump hook shots much harder, and Michigan’s burly forwards like Morez Johnson Jr. were able to match Reed’s strength in the post. As a result, Michigan led the low-scoring contest 33-29 at the half.
Their defensive dominance gave Michigan fans more solace regarding their lackluster shooting performance to that point, as the Wolverines were forcing the Huskies into bad shots consistently, a very reliable pathway to victory. This continued in the second half, as UConn’s top wings Alex Karaban (5/14) and especially Final Four hero Braylon Mullins (4/17) were forced into poor shooting performances. The Huskies’ inability to break through offensively kept the Wolverines in control despite their abysmal three point shooting throughout the game.
Michigan made just two of its fifteen three point attempts, though thankfully for them, those two threes by Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney came at exactly the right times. Cadeau’s triple came with 13 minutes left in the game and put the Wolverines up double digits, delivering a huge blow to the Huskies who had been coasting purely off of Michigan’s putrid shooting to that point. McKenney’s big shot came with just under two minutes left, hitting a fastbreak three from the right wing to put his team up nine and deliver the proverbial dagger to the heart of UConn’s title chances.
To give credit to the Huskies, they fought till the very end. Following the so-called “dagger,” they were given a second wind thanks to a Solo Ball three and two missed free throws by Michigan’s Roddy Gayle. However, riding this momentum and down by just four, Alex Karaban’s deep three was put short and the aforementioned McKenney delivered his second and final dagger with two game-icing free throws.
Elliot Cadeau scored a game-high 19 points for Michigan, winning the Final Four Most Outstanding Player award in the process. Michigan got by despite a 4-for-15 shooting night from the hobbled Lendeborg, and shot just 38% on their way to a second national championship banner. As for UConn, Alex Karaban led with 17, whereas Reed added 13 points and 14 rebounds (7 offensive!) in each of their final collegiate games.
While a combined 42/123 shooting performance might not be everyone’s cup of tea, the 2026 Men’s National Championship game was an incredible battle on both sides and showcased everything that makes college basketball great. You could feel the players’ pride and urgency bleeding through the screen as this ugly, intense battle got closer and closer to crowning a champion. Even though my home team Connecticut Huskies didn’t take home the championship, I still thought this was an incredible game to watch from start to finish, and hope next year’s title game brings the same level of excitement.
Featured image courtesy of Rolling Stone
Copy Edited by Annamaria DeCamp ‘27
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