The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1544538
MAY 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 25 to bully," former Auburn coach and cur- rent TV analyst Bruce Pearl said after the Vols' win … and he couldn't have been more wrong. Eight minutes in, Tennessee led 16-14 on the strength of its offensive rebound- ing. About five game minutes later, U-M capped a 21-0 run with a Nimari Burnett finish set up by Cadeau, and there wasn't much doubt left, even with Johnson and Mara limited with two fouls each. When Lendeborg hit one of two free throws at 14:02 of the second half, Mich- igan led by 30 and the Wolverines were at 99.9 percent to win per the ESPN prob- ability tracker. The grad student would finish with another 27 and his teammates added balanced scoring, including John- son with 12 and Cadeau with 8 points and 10 assists, in a 95-62 drubbing. Grad wing Burnett joked he didn't even know they cut nets for regional titles after he got his piece in his home- town, and players emotionally hugged each other and their families. They were Indy-bound. "The game got loosened up, and I want to give our staff a lot of credit. They man- aged the foul trouble and the minutes as well as we have all year," May said. "That was a big part of it. … We could have got- ten out of our rotation, could have gotten out of rhythm, and those guys came back in, we stayed in our rotations, and more than anything else, I think the beauti- ful brand of basketball we were playing became contagious. You could see these guys feeding off each other." THE ONE AND ONLY With a Final Four set of UConn vs. Il- linois and Michigan vs. Arizona, tickets were hard to come by for the 2026 pair- ings. It was a sea of orange in Lucas Oil Stadium with Illini fans having gobbled up most of them, many driving only a few hours from Champaign. Many cleared out when the Huskies took care of business with a convincing win, which seemed like a favor to U-M. Many expected the Illinois contingent to root against their Big Ten rivals — in- stead, it was up to a solid Arizona show- ing to combat the thousands of Michigan fans who made the trip. Both they and their team were over- matched from the outset. The Wolver- ines jumped out to an early 10-1 lead, dominated on both ends in opening a 29-point second half lead, and embar- rassed the Wildcats, 91-73. "I think we just came out and we played a team that was really well built," Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd said. "They have a great coach. They were able to take control of the game. And then, really, they were surgical at a point. So, that's hard to do. They get a ton of credit. … We have had a great year, but even if you're a great team and you can't get in a rhythm, it's going to be a tough night. That's what we felt tonight." Arizona entered the game ninth in the country in shooting percentage and fin- ished a season-worst 36.6 percent from the field. Michigan's 91 points were the most the Wildcats allowed all year, the 47.8 percent shooting percentage the third-best by an opponent against them. Michigan center Aday Mara not only finished the game with a career-high 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting, but also pretty much secured his spot in the top half of the NBA Draft's first round, ex- perts agreed after the game. He domi- nated on both ends, credited with 2 blocks but affecting many more, Lloyd noted. McKenney (16 points), Cadeau (13), and Johnson (10) all finished in dou- ble figures, while Gayle added 9 points off the bench for the Wolverines. But the postgame celebration was sub- dued a bit by Lendeborg's status. The star forward suffered a sprained MCL in his knee and a sprained ankle on the same play in the first half, limiting him to 14 minutes. Though he returned, it was clear he wasn't 100 percent. Still, he vowed to play in the title game no matter what and spent much of his time the next two days with trainers. For the first eight minutes of the title game, Lendeborg was tentative, unable to do much. He didn't score or grab a rebound, and it was clear he was a step slow. His teammates picked him up, and while it wasn't pretty — they made only 2 of 14 triples and gave up 22 offensive rebounds — they captured the program's first title since 1989 with a 69-63 win. Though it got tighter than it should have down the stretch, McKenney's tri- ple at 1:53 would prove to be the dagger, putting the Wolverines up by 9. The Wolverines finished with a sea- son-low 7 assists and had trouble get- ting into an offensive groove through- out, but still stayed a few steps ahead thanks to the defense. Lendeborg gutted out 13 points and Cadeau took it upon himself to try to score more in the sec- ond half, getting to the rim and notch- ing 19 points to earn Most Outstanding Player honors. "It means the world to me," Cadeau said. "I'm just so proud of myself, where I came from. Last year I was really down on myself. A lot of people doubted me, and I'm just so proud of myself for me to be able to say I was the most outstanding player and win a national championship at the same time." Families joined the players, coaches and staff on the floor while both maize and blue confetti and tears fell following the win, the culmination of the single best season in Michigan basketball his- tory. The Wolverines finished 37-3 and secured their place in history, a perfect ending to an incredible year. "When you bring a group this tal- ented together and they decide from the beginning that they're going to do it this way and they never waver and they never change, that's probably the most uncommon thing in athletics now," May said. "It's a tribute to their charac- ter but also those in their circles around them — their coaches, their parents, their mentors. They allowed these guys to give themselves up for the group, and it's never guaranteed. But for these guys to cut down the nets after all they've sacrificed is pretty special." And now, all of them — from the coaching staff down — will simply be known as national champions for the rest of their lives. ❑ ❱ Head coach Dusty May about U-M's 95-62 blowout win against Tennessee in the Elite Eight "More than anything else, I think the beautiful brand of basketball we were playing became contagious. You could see these guys feeding off each other."