On Monday, April 6, Michigan defeated UConn 69-63, winning their second championship as a program and their first since 1989. UConn was looking to win its third championship in four years, but fell short. This game was highlighted by mediocre three-point shooting from both sides and some fans calling out refs on their strange calls. This game felt like a pivotal moment in the history of college basketball; Michigan became the first championship team to have an all-transfer starting five. This is a transformative time in college basketball, leaving us to wonder whether the NCAA will make any restrictions on transfers and NIL.
One of Wooster’s own was in attendance at the championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Ian ‘28 is known around campus for his love of the University of Michigan.
“Just my father and I went, and he is the reason I am a massive Michigan fan,” Ian said. “It felt surreal. I had never been to a game that big before. Lucas Oil Stadium was massive, and the temporary basketball setup inside was genuinely impressive.”
Ian dismissed the talk about Michigan’s all-transfer starting five, noting that they came to Ann Arbor to win a championship.
“If you told a little me that Michigan would finally break the curse of 37 years and I would be there to see it with my father… I wouldn't believe you,” he said.
Overall, this tournament had all the classic March moments, including big upsets, buzzer beaters, and Cinderella stories. The Round of 64 was dominated by the top seeds, except for a 12-seed High Point upsetting the 5-seed Wisconsin. Another cool fact from the first round is that this year was the 6th time since 1985 that all nine seeds beat all eight seeds.
The 3-seed Nebraska won its first tournament game in program history, becoming the last power 4 conference team to do so.
Finally, the Round of 32 brought a big-time upset. 9- seed Iowa, led by head coach Ben McCollum, defeated defending champion Florida 73-72. Another developing Cinderella story was 11-seed Texas, which had won its third game in four days. After beating NC State in the Play-In on Tuesday, they then upset 6-seed BYU, and 3-seed Gonzaga is heading to a Sweet Sixteen matchup with Purdue. St. John's defeated Kansas in a 5 vs. 4 Matchup where guard Dhylan Darling took the game-winning layup as time expired, sending the Red Storm to the Sweet Sixteen against Duke. After a top-seeded, dominant Round of 64, the Round of 32 had some spectacular moments.
The Sweet 16 was a great round of matchups. Duke barely survived against St. John’s and held out for the 80-75 victory. UConn and Michigan also had a great matchup, setting up for a great Duke vs. UConn Elite Eight matchup. A record four Big Ten teams made it to the Elite Eight, setting the precedent of the Big Ten being the dominant conference. Texas’ Cinderella run ended against Purdue, but Iowa defeated Nebraska to be the historic underdog to make it to the elite eight. Besides Florida, the other three one seeds all advanced to the Elite 8.
The Elite 8 was highlighted by UConn’s impressive 19-point comeback, sealed by Brylon Mullins 35-foot three-pointer to win the game. Then Michigan and Arizona won their games to represent the one seeds, while 3-seed Illinois advanced over Iowa, ending the Cinderella story.
The Final four had one great game and one uneventful one. Michigan defeated Arizona handily. Michigan had scored at least 90+ points in every tournament game this year and looked like a big-time favorite over UConn. UConn vs.Illinois was a hard-fought battle, but the playoff experience of UConn showed as they pulled ahead towards the end.
UConn was the underdog in the finals match against Michigan. Michigan was pushing for the record of most points scored over the course of the tournament, but fell short of that with their 69-point performance in the Finals. Overall, Michigan was an extremely dominant team throughout the entire tournament, similar to UConn's 2023 run to the championship.
Overall, this year’s March Madness delivered on all fronts, even with the threat of NIL and the transfer portal. We will have to wait and see how March Madness shakes out in years to come, especially with a rumored expansion coming soon.
Sean '26
Advanced Journalism Student
