Michigan
37-3,19-1Big Ten
UConn
34-6,17-3Big East
Wolverines Triumph Over Huskies to Win Second National Championship
4/6/2026 11:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
• 2026 National Champions | Tournament Central
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The Midwest Region's top seed and No. 3-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team took down the East's second-seeded and No. 7-ranked UConn 69-63 on Monday (April 6) at Lucas Oil Stadium, securing its second national championship.
The national championship is the second in program history, with the 2025-26 team joining the 1988-89 squad. The Wolverines earned their program-record 37th win in the process, which also ties the Big Ten record for most wins in a season 2005 Illinois) and delivered the conference its first national title since 2000.
Ahead 33-29 at halftime, Nimari Burnett knocked down a pair of free throws on the first Michigan possession to push its advantage to six points. UConn (34-6) responded with a score on its next cycle of the shot clock, which was the last score for either team for the next three minutes. Elliot Cadeau made a driving layup through contact, converted on the free throw, and ended the scoring drought at the 16:20 mark.
U-M and UConn traded scores with an and-one jumper from Yaxel Lendeborg and a step-back jumper from Trey McKenney. Cadeau made a driving baseline layup and a three-pointer on his next time down the court for the first double-digit lead of the night, 48-37, with 12:56 remaining. The Huskies called a timeout and ended the Maize and Blue momentum. The Wolverines (37-3) then missed eight of their next nine shot attempts, and the lead was cut to five points, 50-45, with eight minutes to play.
Burnett forced a steal and dished to Roddy Gayle Jr., who threw a lob to Aday Mara for an alley-oop that started a 6-0 run over the next two minutes. The final basket of that run began six straight points from Lendeborg with 4:13 remaining. Michigan then went without a field goal for three minutes, until McKenney made his first, and U-M's second, triple with 1:50 remaining, which kept the score at nine points, 65-56.
UConn rallied with under a minute to play and scored five points in 16 seconds off free throws and a banked three. The Huskies' attempt to make it a one-possession game came up empty, and McKenney made a pair at the free-throw line to ice the historic six-point victory.
Michigan held UConn scoreless on its first two possessions before the Wolverines opened the scoring with a layup from Morez Johnson Jr. and a layup from Cadeau on the following possession. Cadeau knocked down three free throws, and Johnson scored off an offensive rebound for a 9-4 Michigan lead at the under-16 timeout. The Wolverines struggled to score over the next four minutes, making just one bucket courtesy of Cadeau, which made the score 11-10 with 11:57 to play.
Cadeau and Johnson scored the first 15 U-M points, a streak ended by a Mara layup off an entry pass from McKenney at the 7:38 mark. Michigan entered the bonus with 6:47 left, and Burnett knocked down a pair of free throws to retake the lead at 19-18. The game remained at one-possession with three different lead changes and five minutes without a Michigan field goal. The Huskies were assessed a flagrant foul, and U-M used the free throws and possession of the ball to score a quick four points. Mara capped the 52-second 6-0 run with a layup and forced a UConn timeout with 2:24 remaining and a 29-25 U-M lead.
The Wolverines went on a brief 4-0 run that ended with a tip-in slam for Gayle, which brought the lead back to two possessions after a Huskies bucket, and U-M grabbed a four-point halftime lead.
Cadeau was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player and led both teams with 19 points and added two assists. Lendeborg scored 13 points, and Johnson rounded out U-M's double-digit scorers with a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double, with two of Michigan's six blocks.
In addition to the national championship, the Wolverines won the Big Ten championship with a 19-1 record and claimed the Big Ten Player of the Year (Lendeborg), the Defensive Player of the Year (Mara), and Dusty May was named Coach of the Year.
