(Reuters) — Michigan won it all, but UConn made the Wolverines work for it in a seesaw national championship game on Monday.
The Wolverines beat the Huskies 69-63 to win the program’s second national title.
Michigan point guard Elliot Cadeau scored 19 points and shot 8 of 9 from the foul line, and he was selected the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player. Yaxel Lendeborg had 13 points, and Morez Johnson Jr. finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“These guys have done it all year,” Michigan coach Dusty May said during the postgame trophy presentation. “When one side of the ball is letting us down, the other side is picking us up.”
Cadeau added, “It just feels great being able to do this with the people I love with all these great fans.”
UConn, playing in the national championship game for the third time in four years, slowed the game to a crawl in the first half with a combination of late-clock shot attempts and foul trouble.
Michigan missed all eight of its 3-point attempts in the first half but won the game at the free-throw line.
The Wolverines had to work to finish the job. Holding a 67-60 lead with less than a minute to play, Michigan turned it over and Solo Ball banked in a 3-pointer over Trey McKenney with 37 seconds left.
Roddy Gayle Jr. missed both free throws at the other end, but Alex Karaban’s trey attempt barely glanced the front of the rim and McKenney corralled the board with 13.4 ticks on the clock. McKenney hit both shots at the line to seal the victory.
The Wolverines made 20 consecutive free throws and finished 25 of 28 from the line.
Karaban and teammate Braylon Mullins were both 3 of 10 from 3-point range and shot a combined 9 of 31 in the game. Karaban, bidding to become the first non-UCLA player to win three national titles, had a team-high 17 points for UConn.
A tight first half featured six lead changes and eight ties but no scoring runs Michigan had become known for in the tournament. The Wolverines averaged 94.4 points in their first five NCAA Tournament games.
When the teams switched ends at halftime, UConn felt Michigan’s pain, missing its first 11 3-point tries and shooting 4 of 18 from 3-point range in the second half.
Michigan was 1-6 all-time in the national championship game entering Monday, with its lone win coming in 1989. This is the first national title for a Big Ten conference team since 2000 (Michigan State).
