As maize and blue confetti rained down from the rafters at Lucas Oil Stadium, Michigan senior Yaxel Lendeborg held up a sign. On a yellow background, written in navy blue letters, the message read: “SHOCK THE WORLD, BOYS. GO BLUE!”
The Michigan Wolverines celebrate after defeating the UConn Huskies 69-63 in the national championship. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
It was a fitting image for a small-town kid from Pennsauken, New Jersey, who dreamed of playing on college basketball’s biggest stage. A lightly recruited prospect who began his career at Arizona Western Community College, Lendeborg went on to spend two years at UAB before ultimately bypassing the NBA Draft to take a chance on Dusty May and the Michigan Wolverines.
Lendeborg — who played through obvious pain in Monday night’s national championship game after suffering a sprained MCL and a rolled ankle in the Final Four win over Arizona — developed into a first-team All-American under May. He became the driving force behind one of the most dominant national championship runs in recent memory, which concluded with a 69-63 victory over UConn.
“We’re the hardest-playing team in basketball,” Lendeborg said after the game, flanked by teammates in a celebratory gathering. “We are the best team in college basketball, and we want to be one of the greats ever.”
Shock the world. … Mission accomplished.
Here are four takeaways from Michigan’s national championship victory.
1. Michigan showcases suffocating defense on college basketball’s biggest stage
Elliot Cadeau of the Michigan Wolverines shoots the ball against Tarris Reed Jr. of the UConn Huskies. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Michigan entered Monday night’s national championship game having put together one of the most impressive offensive runs through five games in NCAA Tournament history.
The Wolverines scored 90 or more points in every game in the Big Dance, including an emphatic 91-73 win over Arizona in the Final Four — a matchup many viewed as the de facto national title game. Their closest contest was a 13-point win over fourth-seeded Alabama that, in hindsight, wasn’t even as close as the final score suggested.
But the story in the title game wasn’t Michigan’s high-flying offense. It was the defense. And it was, simply put … suffocating.
Dusty May’s team held UConn to just 31% shooting from the field and a measly 27% from 3-point range. The Wolverines also forced 11 turnovers and blocked six shots in a dominant display.
But the most impressive stat of all? Michigan held each of its last four NCAA Tournament opponents to a season-low in field goal percentage — 30% in the Sweet 16 (Alabama), 19% in the Elite Eight (Tennessee), 35% in the Final Four (Arizona) and 27% in the national championship game.
“These guys have done it all year,” May said after the game. “When one side of the ball was letting us down, the other side picked it up. Our togetherness defensively ultimately got us over the hump.”
2. Yaxel Lendeborg shows warrior-like effort in win
Yaxel Lendeborg of the Michigan Wolverines looks on after defeating the UConn Huskies in the national championship. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Lendeborg, Michigan’s senior leader, could barely move. But he made it abundantly clear: There was no way he was coming off the floor.
It was evident early that Lendeborg was far from 100 percent. He admitted as much during a halftime interview, saying he felt “awful” and “super weak,” adding that he “couldn’t make anything.”
Still, Lendeborg gutted it out, playing all 20 minutes of the first half and finishing with 36 total minutes, the most of any Michigan player.
While clearly not at his best, he found ways to contribute, often using his size to exploit mismatches. He broke a 27-27 tie late in the first half by establishing position inside, catching a lob from Aday Mara and laying it in over an undersized Jayden Ross. Later came a floater through contact against UConn big man Tarris Reed Jr..
And then, his most impactful play: a tip-in off his own miss with just over five minutes remaining, pushing Michigan’s lead to 10.
It was a valiant effort from a player who wasn’t going to let injury keep him off the court on the sport’s biggest stage.
“My teammates, they didn’t give up on me,” Lendeborg said in a postgame interview. “I still sucked in the second half, but I made a little bit of a push.”
That push showed up on the defensive end.
Tasked with guarding UConn’s sharpshooting freshman Braylon Mullins — the hero of wins over Duke and Illinois — Lendeborg delivered. He held Mullins to just 4-of-17 shooting from the field and 3-of-10 from beyond the arc.
“It took a lot to get on the court, honestly, and stay on there,” Lendeborg said to the media following the game. “I was dealing with a lot of mental issues today. These guys all leaned in on me and helped me dig myself out of a hole and just continue to keep fighting.
“It just feels really good to be a champion and to be on top of the world.”
3. UConn’s Achilles heel resurfaced at the worst possible time
Trey McKenney of the Michigan Wolverines battles for control of the ball in the national championship. (Photo by Brett Wilhelm/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
A problem that nagged UConn all season long — and reared its head again in the national title loss to Michigan — is fouling. The Huskies ranked 237th in the country in fouls per game (18.2), just a couple of whistles away from falling outside the top-300 programs in Division I.
After averaging 18.6 fouls per game through their first five NCAA Tournament games, Dan Hurley’s team committed 22 on Monday night, and the Wolverines made them pay, knocking down 25 of 28 free throws, including a stretch of 20 straight. That ultimately proved to be the difference, as UConn attempted just 16 free throws and made 12.
Michigan point guard Elliot Cadeau, named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player, went 8-of-9 from the line and finished with a game-high 19 points in the win.
There were other areas where UConn played well enough to win. The Huskies controlled the glass, 46-39, and held Mara — fresh off a 26-point, nine-rebound performance against Arizona — to just eight points and four boards in 30 minutes. But the free-throw disparity, combined with UConn’s cold shooting, ultimately defined the outcome.
“It’s hard to have a level of disappointment where, literally, it just came down to we didn’t make enough shots in the basket,” Hurley said after the game. “To be able to keep that team to under 40% from the field … this team has destroyed everyone in this tournament.”
4. Michigan ends Big Ten’s 26-year drought
Michigan head coach Dusty May hoists the trophy after defeating the UConn Huskies in the national championship. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Take a bow, Michigan. The Wolverines have officially ended one of the most glaring and talked-about droughts in college basketball.
It had been 26 years since a Big Ten program last won a national championship: Tom Izzo’s 2000 Michigan State team, led by an injured senior who also willed his team to victory — Mateen Cleaves.
In the years since, 14 Big Ten teams have reached the Final Four. None could finish the job. Until now.
Michigan finally broke through on Monday night in Indianapolis, putting an end to a narrative that had lingered for more than two decades. And in doing so, the Wolverines capped what has been a banner year for the conference.
Not only did Michigan win the men’s basketball national title, but UCLA captured its first women’s championship, defeating South Carolina in dominant fashion. Indiana’s football program added to the haul, winning its first national title in the College Football Playoff. It marks the first time a conference has pulled off the trifecta in those three sports since the SEC in 2007.
No conference in the country appears to be thriving in the NIL and transfer portal era quite like the Big Ten.
4½. What’s next?
Michigan enters the offseason knowing it has its head coach in place, as Dusty May has reportedly informed university officials that he is not pursuing other college basketball jobs. The news comes after May emerged as an early target in North Carolina’s coaching search. With May set to remain in Ann Arbor, the focus now shifts to roster retention. Michigan is expected to lose Lendeborg to the NBA Draft, while both Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara must decide whether to return to school or declare early.
