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Michigan completed a dominant tournament run with a less-than-dominant title win over UConn on Monday night. After scoring 90+ points and blowing out almost every team in their path, UConn provided the biggest challenge. Ultimately, they, too, fell short as the Wolverines won the first title since 1989.
Michigan ousts UConn in finale
The UConn Huskies were in the final because of a thrilling, unfathomable, shocking comeback and game-winning shot over Duke in the Elite Eight. Had it not been for that, who knows who would have opposed Michigan?
For a moment at the end, the Huskies looked poised to make an epic comeback again. A three-pointer with less than a minute left cut the lead to four points. After two missed free throws, UConn had the ball down four with a chance to make more magic.
Ultimately, there was no magic to be had. The Wolverines dominated with their impressive and unmatched size advantage, wearing down the Huskies en route to a grind-it-out 69-63 title win, the first in 37 years for the school.
Dusty May, Elliot Cadeau speak on title win
Michigan coach Dusty May is quickly making a name for himself as one of the best coaches in college basketball. The Wolverines, primarily a football school, have become a bit of a powerhouse under May over the last few seasons.
“When you bring a group this talented 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. “For these guys to cut down the nets after all they’ve sacrificed is pretty special.”
Perhaps interestingly, Elliot Cadeau, the transfer guard who once said this was the best team assembled, led the NCAA title game in points for his team. He scored 19 for Dusty May’s squad. Cadeau transferred from UNC last offseason, and May was heavily linked to the UNC opening.
“I’m just so proud of myself, where I came from,” Cadeau said. “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.”
Dan Hurley comments
Dan Hurley was this close to getting a third title in four seasons with the UConn Huskies. The comeback bid fell just short, though, and UConn’s dream run as a number two seed ended in heartbreak. Hurley took time to praise the Wolverines afterward.
“They’re legit,” Hurley said. “They definitely deserved to win the national championship. They’re clearly the best team in the country this year. They’re just so hard to score against at the rim. I could talk about the 3s that we missed, and I thought we had a lot of good 3s that we missed. But they just made it so tough on us around the rim.”
He continued, “That was probably what even got us more than the missed 3s was some of those rim shots, all those transition baskets. I think they cut it to four. Could have put some serious game pressure on them. They changed so many shots around the rim. They’re just so tall.”
UConn did not shoot well, but they managed to stay in the game for a long time. They just, for once, ran out of gas as they attempted to mount one final comeback. Veteran guard Alex Karaban led with 17 points, but he shot just 5/14 from the field. Tarris Reed Jr. added 14 rebounds against Michigan’s dominant frontcourt, but it wasn’t enough.
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