The 2026 National Championship is here, and it features a clash of two elite squads looking to make history with a win. While the Michigan Wolverines are going into the matchup as the favorites, the UConn Huskies have shown their ability to prove the oddsmakers wrong.
Michigan is such an elite team in part due to their combination of size and speed. As one of the tallest teams in college basketball, they also rank in the top ten teams in offensive pace.
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Simply put, the Wolverines like to run out on the fastbreak, so the Huskies must slow them down if they want to secure the title. UConn has the defensive abilities to make Saturday’s matchup a slow and boring game. That sort of night could be exactly what the Huskies need.
Even if they can slow down the game, UConn will need to play tight halfcourt defense as well. As we saw in their Final Four blowout over Arizona, the Wolverines can get hot in their halfcourt offense.
Dan Hurley understands this as much as anyone.
“Every team has some vulnerabilities. No teams are perfect,” he said. “We’re going to do things to make our opponents move defensively maybe more than they are accustomed to, and then hopefully that has a compounding effect for us during the course of the game where it could just wear an opponent down a little bit, just having to run around and chase people and off-ball movement more than they’re accustomed to.”
The Huskies have done a tremendous job of hampering elite offenses the entire NCAA Tournament. That must continue for them to have a fighting chance on Monday.
Another key for UConn to pull off the upset is their approach to Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg, who suffered a mild MCL sprain and tweaked his ankle in Saturday’s game against Arizona.
As the leader of the Wolverines, Lendeborg is by far their best player. But if he isn’t much more mobile than he was in the second half of Saturday’s game after the injury, UConn can target him when they have the ball and force him into pick-and-rolls on defense.
UConn’s offense may benefit greatly from getting Lendeborg switched onto a smaller and faster guard on defense. This is assuming that he’s hobbled and isn’t moving as full capacity. If he’s able to hold his own on both sides of the ball, it could get scary for UConn.
The final key for the Huskies to pull off the upset is efficient offense.
Michigan has a rather clear advantage when it comes to rebounds, so it’s unlikely that UConn will get many offensive rebounds for second-chance points.
“We’ve got to have a really good night shooting the ball on Monday,” Hurley said. “These guys, their size in the paint; obviously, we can’t abandon what we do. We have to do what we do, but it’s been kind of the story of the season. It’s been bricks away at times. We’ve been laying bricks at different times, but we’ve made enough shots to get here.”
The Huskies will likely do what they’ve done all season and lean into smart shots from Tarris Reed Jr. down low.
Ultimately, UConn may still be at a disadvantage against Michigan on Monday, but we shouldn’t forget that the Huskies were down by 19 points to Duke in the Elite Eight and came back for the win.
If anybody is equipped to take down Michigan, it’s Dan Hurley and the Huskies.
James Parker is a sports writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
