What we're watching
• One shining moment: It all came down to Monday night in Indianapolis: Michigan defeating UConn for the men’s basketball national championship. It’s their first national title since 1989.
• Michigan is unstoppable: After bullying Arizona with a nearly perfect performance in the Final Four, the Wolverines were heavily favored coming into Monday’s matchup.
• UConn falls short of history: Dan Hurley’s team was looking to do something that hasn’t been done since John Wooden’s famous UCLA teams of the 1970s: Win three national titles in four years. The Wolverines proved why that’s such a difficult task.
Michigan holds off UConn to win the national title
Michigan spent most of this season – and all of the NCAA tournament – absolutely plowing through their opponents.
But to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man. And when it comes to April basketball, Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies have been the man for much of the last four years.
UConn pushed Michigan to their limits but in the end, the Wolverines scrapped and clawed their way to a 69-63 win in Monday’s national title game, earning their first championship in men’s basketball since 1989.
Behind yet another standout performance from Elliot Cadeau, who was named the Final Four’s most outstanding player, the Wolverines weathered a UConn run in the first half that had the massive throng of maize-and-blue fans in Indianapolis feeling nervous. Winning by four at halftime, the Wolverines came out after the break and turned on the gas.
The lead got all the way up to 11 before UConn’s championship pedigree started to show. The Huskies ate away at the lead, taking away bits at a time. When the clock got under a minute to go, the Wolverines led by eight.
And the UConn made it a little too interesting for Michigan’s liking. A couple of free throws, a steal and a 3-pointer from Solo Ball made it a four-point game with 37 seconds to play and Michigan’s championship party was put on hold.
Two missed free throws by Roddy Gayle Jr. gave UConn a chance to make it a one-possession game, but their ultra-successful senior Alex Karaban’s 3-pointer barely grazed the front of the rim and Trey McKenney fought for the defensive rebound. He was fouled, hit two free throws and the Huskies’ last-ditch come back was over.
The Wolverines finish 37-3 and cut down the nets for the second national championship in program history.
This year's "One Shining Moment" is out
Reach for the stars, it’s “One Shining Moment.”
In pictures: Dominant defense lifts Michigan to first hoops title since 1989
Michigan capped off a dominant NCAA tournament run with a 69-63 win over UConn in Monday’s championship game.
The Wolverines (37-3) had an off shooting night, going only 2-for-15 from behind the 3-point arc. But their suffocating defense and strong interior play were enough to earn the program its first national title since 1989.
Michigan was led by point guard Elliot Cadeau, who finished with a game-high 19 points and was named the Final Four’s most outstanding player.
UConn (34-6) was looking to win its third national title in four seasons, but the Huskies came up just short.
The joyous chaos on the court after the title win
The scene on the court is just joyous chaos.
The players are wandering everywhere, finding family members and taking photos on the court with their championship gear. Members of the press trail them, looking for the appropriate time to ask for an interview. And confetti is everywhere, making it a little bit of a hazard to walk on.
Everything stops to watch “One Shining Moment,” one of the best traditions in sports.
As it happened: CNN Sports' live analysis of Michigan's title win
One of the best college basketball teams in recent memory has its title.
CNN Sports was on site in Indianapolis as the Michigan Wolverines defeated UConn to win the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball championship. Follow our live analysis here as it happened:
Michigan cutting down the nets
It’s one of the best traditions in college basketball.
Each member of the Wolverines is climbing up a ladder to cut off a piece of the net in the south end zone, as they get the final pieces of nylon of the season.
A wonderful moment for this dominant team.
Elliot Cadeau named the Final Four's most outstanding player
The Wolverines’ point guard Elliot Cadeau is named the Final Four’s most outstanding player after leading his team to the title.
Cadeau turned in extraordinary performances both against Arizona and UConn, leading his team after Yaxel Lendeborg – the team’s best player this season – got hurt in the first half against the Wildcats.
Michigan wins the national title for the first time since 1989!
The University of Michigan wins its first men’s basketball national championship since 1989!
The Wolverines defeat UConn by a score of 69-63.
The game was a tough battle from the outset as the Wolverines couldn’t quite put away the Huskies. UConn hung around and hung around in the second half after Michigan went on a strong run to start the second half.
They managed to cut the Michigan lead to four inside the final minute, but couldn’t quite close the gap entirely and the Wolverines made the keys plays at the key times.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
UConn won't go away but Michigan is nearing a national title
Michigan is smelling a national championship in Indianapolis, but UConn isn’t rolling over.
The Wolverines built their lead to 11 and have held a comfortable advantage over the Huskies, but every time they look like they’re about to pull away UConn hits a few shots gets it back to a manageable deficit.
Braylon Mullins hit two big 3-pointers for the Huskies, who had been ice cold from the floor.
We’re at the under-4 timeout, the last official TV timeout of the game, and it’s 60-51 Michigan with 3:48 to play.
The Wolverines have UConn on the ropes in the second half
The Michigan lead remains at nine as we cross over the 10-minute mark of the second half and the Wolverine fans are hyped.
Every call is met with boos. Every basket, an explosion of cheers. A block or a dunk is greeted rapturously.
UConn is on the ropes but they’re not out of it yet – this is, after all, a team that came back from 19 down against Duke in the Elite Eight.
But Michigan can sense that if it lands two or three more haymakers, then it’s going to score a knockout and romp their way to the program’s first title in 37 years.
Michigan comes out of halftime hot and builds its biggest lead of the game
Michigan takes the biggest lead of the game with a torrid start out of halftime, building an eight -point lead.
The Wolverines have been led by Elliot Cadeau, the smallest player on the floor who is simply going straight into the paint and powering up shots through fouls. Everything that the Wolverines have done well has gone through their 6-foot-1 point guard.
The Huskies are trying to hold on as Michigan unleashes its assault and it’s going to take a strong bit of defense from Danny Hurley’s team to withstand this run. Michigan has come out of halftime and absolutely blown people away this season, and that’s what they’re trying to do now.
It’s 41-33 Michigan with 15 minutes to go in this game.
The second half is underway and we're 20 minutes from crowning a champ
Here we go – 20 minutes until we have a national champion. The second half is underway here in Indianapolis.
Michigan jumps back on top to end the first half
Michigan took the momentum right back at the end of that half after a consequential hook-and-hold call on Alex Karaban, UConn’s senior leader.
Karaban was whistled for the foul after a review and Michigan hit two free throws to tie the game and then got a bucket to take the lead. From there, it was a mini run to establish a two-possession lead but UConn didn’t let them go too far away.
A dunk from Roddy Gayle Jr. brought the Michigan fans back to life and it’s been loud in here for the last several minutes.
The halftime score is Michigan 33, UConn 29 and we’ve got ourselves set up for a dramatic second half here in Indy.
UConn takes the momentum and is frustrating the Wolverines
UConn has taken the momentum from the fired-up Wolverines fans and is making Michigan work for everything in this one.
It’s a tight game as we approach the final media timeout of the first half and UConn has a slim lead. The Wolverines can’t hit from beyond the arc, having not hit a 3-pointer yet, and the hustle of the Huskies is getting under the skin of the throng of fans here in Indianapolis.
The Huskies are pumped up as they take a 25-23 lead, with head coach Dan Hurley turning to his sliver of fans behind the UConn bench and waving his arms for them to make some noise.
This is the rock fight that UConn would have wanted and Michigan may have feared. Dusty May will have some halftime adjustments to make to get some of his key guys – Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara and Trey McKenney all having quiet nights so far – into something resembling a flow.
Michigan holds a thin lead, but UConn has a chance to take the advantage
A little more than eight minutes into this game and Michigan had control early, using their size down low to pick up rebounds – three offensive boards in the opening minutes.
It’s a defensive struggle so far as both teams are still feeling each other out in this massive game.
One thing that has been revealed: The crowd is incredibly in favor of Michigan. Each bucket from UConn reveals they have approximately three slivers of this stadium, and the rest is dominated by Michigan.
A three by Alex Karaban brings the Huskies to within one point and then a foul by Elliot Cadeau will give the Huskies the chance to take the lead when the commercial break ends. It’s 11-10 Michigan with 11:57 left in the first half.ts
The national championship game is underway as the ball is tipped
The ball is in the air and we’re underway at Lucas Oil Stadium in the men’s national championship game between Michigan and UConn!
Follow along with the live commentary above for moment-to-moment updates and analysis and we’ll have highlights and major moments for you here.
Dan Hurley knows he’s intense with officials. He’s not changing.
UConn coach Dan Hurley can be so combustible that you can roast marshmallows near him when he really gets fired up.
Hurley’s interactions with officials have been the subject of a lot of discussion over the last week, particularly after a viral clip showed him going forehead-to-forehead with official Roger Ayers after Braylon Mullins’ dramatic 3-pointer to send the Huskies to the Final Four.
Ayers brushed off that moment in an interview with ESPN, and Hurley said he’s not changing his demeanor during games.
“For some people we’re just out there playing a game. For me it’s a life-or-death battle. It’s a war. It’s a street fight for me,” he told reporters on Thursday. “However you look at sports, or people on social media that comment on how the combatants carry themselves, that’s not really for me to judge. I approach sports as a competitor the way that I do. My responsibility is to win games and obviously do a great job for my players. Those are really the only two things I’m concerned with.”
He added that he feels like knows where the line is come tournament time, and doesn’t believe he’s crossed it yet.
“I’m an intense coach. It’s not easy to work my games. But I’ve always gotten zero technical fouls in my NCAA tournament coaching career,” he said.
And then he realized he may have jinxed himself.
“Oh, my God, now I’m going to get bounced out of this thing. Oh, my God,” he said with a laugh. “Getting walked out of a stadium, long walk.”
Dusty May might be the master of college basketball’s new landscape
Ahead of the Sweet 16 last weekend, a graphic went viral on X that showed the schools at which each team’s starting lineup began their college career.
A casual fan of college ball would have had a hard time recognizing which lineup belonged to the University of Michigan.
Head coach Dusty May has engineered a remarkable turnaround for the Wolverines. In just two years, bouncing back from the moribund final year of Juwan Howard’s tenure – an 8-24 record, a last-place finish in the Big Ten – to become arguably one of the favorites to cut down the nets on Monday in the national title game. That success has largely come through the transfer portal – of the starters in U-M’s Elite Eight game against Tennessee, zero began their career at Michigan.
This weekend, May focuses on bringing a national title to Ann Arbor. After that, it’s a matter of ensuring the rapid success he’s found at Michigan turns into a lasting run and an identity as a program. It’s work that’s been underway since the moment he arrived in Washtenaw County, Michigan.
The process of building an identity in his first season at the helm at U-M has paid dividends in year two.
Michigan has looked like one of the best teams in college basketball – maybe even one of the best college basketball teams in recent memory – since the start of the season when it was blowing away teams by 30 or more points. Since then, May’s team has gone 35-3, winning the Big Ten regular season title comfortably and then cruising into the title game tonight.
May: "We want guys to play with freedom"
Michigan’s Dusty May may have found the secret to coaching: “Teaching with positivity.”
‘We want guys to play with freedom – to put their own special sauce into what we’re doing, but also learn from the mistakes they make,” May told CNN’s Coy Wire.
Raised just under two hours away from Lucas Oil Stadium, the stage for tonight’s national title game, May’s shot at winning it all feels extra sweet.
May was brought on by the Wolverines in 2024. He rebuilt the program from the bottom up, in what many are considering the most impressive reconstructive missions in the modern era of college basketball.
An elite versus elite matchup
Dusty May said it best: “UConn isn’t going to beat themselves.”
“This program, over the last four years, has done something that we in coaching didn’t think could be done,” May told CNN’s Coy Wire. “Three national championships in a four-year window in the current landscape of college athletics is unprecedented.”
Rolling on a 34-5 season, the Huskies are chasing after history with Dan Hurley at the helm.
But when it comes to playing Michigan in tonight’s title game, the feeling is all too familiar.
“For me, it’s like looking in the mirror at what we looked like in 2024,” Hurley told CNN’s Coy Wire. “I’m really, really glad we’re not playing them in a seven-game series.”
