The Michigan Wolverines secured a hard-fought 69-63 victory over the UConn Huskies on Monday to win their first national championship since 1989.
The first half played out exactly how the Huskies needed it to. They played fluid defense to hamper a Michigan offense that had terrorized its opponents up to this point.
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Alex Karaban led the way with eight points in a gritty and physical opening frame. But UConn saw several backcourt players get into foul trouble as both sides struggled to score.
In the final 10 minutes of the first half, elite defense shined on both sides. Aday Mara and Tarris Reed Jr. battled in the paint down low while Karaban and Elliot Cadeau dueled out on the perimeter.
The Huskies were able to hold Yaxel Lendeborg to just four points in the first half, but Mara made a few timely buckets from the post to keep Michigan just ahead.
By halftime, Michigan was ahead 33-29 behind Morez Johnson‘s 10 points. It was a rough shooting half for the Wolverines, who sank none of their eight three-point attempts. While they were outdone by UConn in that regard, they still dominated the paint.
In terms of ball security, neither team struggled much with turnovers, but it seemed like there were lids on the rims. Even when someone would beat their defender, shots simply weren’t falling for either team.
It’s hard to describe just how strong both teams played on the defensive end.
As the second half began, UConn ran into some trouble.
Huskies guard Solo Ball had to head to the bench with 16 minutes to play after picking up his fourth foul. His absence made it even harder for UConn to get into a flow on the offensive end.
After a few minutes of second-half action, Michigan was able to make a few tough finishes inside to go up by eight. At the same time, UConn struggled to keep up.
With just over 13 minutes to play, Elliot Cadeau knocked down the Wolverines’ first three of the game to go up by 11. Throughout the matchup, Michigan had a huge advantage in free throw attempts, helping them keep their distance.
At the same time, UConn’s three-point shooting went cold. Michigan almost exclusively took two-point shots in the second half. With neither team generating long-range offense, the second half was a battle of rebounding and physicality in the paint.
As the game clock fell below 10 minutes, the Huskies pulled together several defensive stops before finally sinking a few shots to get within five.
Paint points and free throws became even larger factors in the final 10 minutes, and the Wolverines had the advantage in both of those areas.
The Huskies started 5-of-13 from beyond the arc, but missed their next 13 three-point attempts.
But in the final minutes of play, they finally found life.
Down by seven with 45 seconds to go, Ball banked in a ridiculous contested three to pull within four. Roddy Gale Jr. when on two miss two free throws for Michigan before Karaban missed a long three with less than 20 seconds to play.
After the ensuing Huskies foul, Trey McKenney sank two clutch free throws to seal the win.
Cadeau led the way for Michigan all night and finished with 19 points on 5-of-11 shooting.
The Huskies had a rough shooting night from top to bottom, but Karaban was their leading scorer with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
James Parker is a sports writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
