The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1544538
THE BIG PICTURE 6 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MAY 2026 The men's basketball team captured its first na- tional championship since 1989 with a 69-63 vic- tory over UConn at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapo- lis on April 6, paying off one of the most dominant campaigns in college basketball history with the program's second-ever title. U-M earned its program-record 37th win in the championship-clincher, matching the Big Ten re- cord for single-season wins first set in 2005 by Illinois. It's the first national title for the Big Ten Conference since Michigan State won it all in 2000, breaking a 26-year drought. Junior point guard Elliot Cadeau earned the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player honor after posting 19 points and 2 assists, while also cashing in on one of U-M's two three-point makes on the night. Graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg, battling knee and ankle injuries, chipped in 13 points, while sophomore big man Morez Johnson Jr. had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks. The Huskies, who have won six national titles since 1999, gave U-M all it could handle, but the Maize and Blue had a little more championship DNA in them this year. "All year, we've been just finding ways to win," Cadeau said after the game. "We made two threes the whole game. We weren't making shots. We had a couple of assists, not as many as we usually do, but we have been constantly finding ways to win all year, no matter how everybody is playing." The Wolverines finished their season with a 37-3 record and 19-1 mark in Big Ten play, winning the regular-season title by four games over the rest of the league. — Anthony Broome PHOTO BY ERIC BRONSON/MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY ❱ WOLVERINES JOIN 1989 SQUAD WITH SCHOOL'S SECOND-EVER NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP