Michigan beats UConn 69-63 for first championship since 1989 and Big Ten's first since 2000
INDIANAPOLIS — It started with a little over three minutes to go in the first half, when one of Michigan’s burly 6-9 forwards, Morez Johnson Jr. — Chicago’s own — reached up and got his big right mitt on an offensive rebound while his left arm was being pinned down by UConn’s Alex Karaban.
A hook-and-hold flagrant foul was ruled. Standing alone, Johnson made two foul shots. Michigan retained possession of the ball, and Johnson’s All-American teammate and physical equal, Yaxel Lendeborg, caught a pass from Aday Mara in the deep post, cleared space with a whirling move and laid one in to complete a four-point trip. And on the next trip, Lendeborg returned the favor, finding the 7-3 Mara for a post score.
With that 6-0 run for a four-point lead, the Wolverines’ physical edge — which they’d had over opponents all season, never more so than in this NCAA Tournament — finally kicked in.
Too big, too strong, too talented, too many ways to win — and too much for a tough UConn squad, which fell 69-63 in the championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Mara, who was dominant in a semifinal win against Arizona, didn’t score until over 12 minutes into the game. Lendeborg, the Big Ten’s player of the year, didn’t score until a couple of minutes after that. The Wolverines (37-3) missed all eight three-point attempts in the first half, shot 2-for-15 from deep for the game, gave up way too many offensive rebounds and still had enough paint scoring, defense and will to get it done.
That’s just how this team rolled.
“It’s one of the better teams that I’ve played, certainly since I’ve been a college basketball coach,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said.
With Lendeborg gritting his way through 36 minutes on an injured knee, point guard Elliot Cadeau picked up the slack with a second-half burst. He drove for an old-fashioned three-point play, made another driving layup and then — finally — hit the Wolverines’ first three of the game for their first double-digit lead, at 48-37, with 12:56 to go.
Cadeau scored 19 points and was voted most outstanding player of the Final Four. Johnson came through with a double-double. Lendeborg managed a hard-earned 13. Trey McKenney nailed a back-breaking three down the stretch.
“Nobody cared about stats the whole season,” Cadeau said atop the trophy presentation stage, confetti raining down. “Nobody cared about nothing but winning.”
It was always someone on this team. Often, it was a lot of someones.
“If you’d told me we would shoot it this poorly and [be] dominated on the glass and still find a way to win, I don’t know if I would have believed you,” Wolverines coach Dusty May said. “This team just found a way all season.”
For Michigan, it’s the first national title since 1989. And it was a most welcome turning of the page for the school’s supporters after a cheating scandal involving former football coach Jim Harbaugh and his successor, Sherrone Moore, followed closely by the downfall of Moore, who was fired in December for having an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. And former basketball coach Juwan Howard — like Harbaugh, a Michigan favorite son — was fired in 2024 after a disastrous 8-24 season.
For the Big Ten, it’s the first men’s basketball title since Michigan State’s run in 2000. The conference is enjoying a heck of a moment, now with three football championships in a row and this basketball season’s men’s and women’s championships.
UConn (34-6) had a brutal night from deep, too, shooting 9-for-33. It stayed in the game with a hard-to-believe 22 offensive rebounds, a shining example of the nature of a program that has won two of the last four national titles. Karaban, who has been a starter throughout all of it, went out strong, scoring 17.
“I know a lot of people talk about, hey, you’re better off losing the first game of the Final Four than losing the championship,” a hurting but grateful Huskies coach Dan Hurley said. “That is the biggest bunch of crap of all time. This is where you wanted to be.”