Michigan Defeats UConn To Win 2026 NCAA Men’s National Championship
Michigan Defeats UConn To Win 2026 NCAA Men’s National Championship
It was the end of the road for the legendary UConn Huskies. The Michigan Wolverines defeated the Dan Hurley-led squad to win the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball National Championship.
The game was close with the Wolverines coming out on top 69-63, a rarity for the team that won each of their other tourney games by double digits.
This time around, they were led by Elliot Cadeau’s 19-point performance, followed by Yael Lendeborg’s 13.
Both teams looked fairly evenly matched, with Michigan leading 33-29 at halftime.
But then, just a few minutes into the second half, Michigan went on a run which at one point had them up 47-36 after a Cadeau 3 and they crowd erupted.
The Huskies would try to tighten up their play on both ends of the ball and attempt to close the gap, but were no match for the Wolverines, who forced six turnovers while the Huskies missed 13 threes in a row.
But up 65-56 with 1:50 left, the Huskies made their last run and cut the lead to 67-63 thanks to Solo Ball’s bank three.
Still, they were never able to make a full comeback, which would have cemented the Huskies in NCAA history with three wins in four years.
Instead, the Wolverines are celebrating their first win since 1989, and it’s coach Dusty May’s second year at the helm, as he has managed a 31-3 record.
“First of all, I want to thank all the people that poured into everyone in our locker room,” May told CBS’ Tracy Wolfson. “We’re not here without the love, support and coaching from everybody before us. And I want to shout out all of the former Michigan players – this one is for them.”
With Cadeau, a UNC transfer who first stepped onto the Ann Arbor campus last summer, leading the team in points was a big feat. It made it even better that he was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four after cutting down the nets.
For him, it was all about getting in enough time with his teammates and believing they could go all the way.
“Just building habits throughout the summer,” he began. “The first day we got here we was talking about April and just building habits every day to be prepared for this game.”
He acknowledged the tight ending as well.
“[They were] finishing on the glass,” Cadeau said. “They were getting a lot of second-chance opportunities, and once we shut that down, it was harder for them to score. Dusty and I talked about this from the first day we met. And I knew it was possible with the group of guys he was showing me.”
See social media’s reaction to the win below.
Michigan Defeats UConn To Win 2026 NCAA Men’s National Championship was originally published on cassiuslife.com
