They journeyed from Los Angeles, Birmingham, Alabama, and Tuscaloosa via Lubbock, Texas. Others traveled from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.
In a historic move, 34 years after the University of Michigan basketball team made headlines by starting five freshmen in a national championship game, they broke new ground again by becoming the first to field five transfer students in a title match.
Back in 1992, the famed ‘Fab Five’ may have fallen short against Duke, but they set the stage for the rise of impactful first-year players, contributing to the one-and-done culture prevalent today. Now, the ‘Flipped Five’ have demonstrated that, under the right conditions, a team composed entirely of transfers can achieve unprecedented success.
Following a commanding win over Arizona on Saturday, the Michigan Wolverines clinched their second national championship with a 69-63 victory over the Connecticut Huskies.
Head coach Dusty May’s triumph not only cements his legacy among the sport’s elite coaches but also offers redemption after a heart-wrenching buzzer-beater loss during the 2023 Final Four with Florida Atlantic.
While May’s strategic acumen deserves recognition, it is the players who truly shine in Michigan’s groundbreaking moment as the first team in the NIL era to start five transfers in a national championship game. Their victory serves as a testament to the effectiveness of the transfer portal at the highest levels of the sport.
Michigan has won its first men’s basketball national championship since 1989
They were the first team in the portal era to start five transfers in the title game
Michigan head coach Dusty May cemented himself as one of the best coaches in the sport
Give Connecticut credit. Outsized against a much more physical team, they kept the game under double digits for a majority of the contest. But poor matchups and cold shooting combined with an occasionally dubious whistle to ultimately doom them and spoil UConn’s unblemished record in national championship games.
Michigan’s size promised to lead to tough matchups all evening long. But at the start, Tarris Reed was handling the size of Aday Mara much better than the inverse.
Rather than be intimidated by the Wolverines’ size, the Huskies were willing to battle against them and fight in the paint. They also took advantage of Michigan’s tendency to allow triples – knocking down four 3-pointers by the half.
But the narrative going into the tunnel was the strict and mind-boggling whistle from the crew of James Breeding, Jeffrey Anderson and Kipp Kissinger. Neither team’s fans were pleased with the decisions by the crew.
A questionable goaltending call for Michigan was then followed by an official’s stoppage to review a UConn hook-and-hold that was not initially called – giving the Wolverines two free throws and the ball.
The final shot of the first half saw Elliot Cadeau launch an attempted triple that he was bumped off from. No whistle was blown, leading to the majority Michigan crowd letting out loud boos. As Breeding and Co. walked to their locker room, the Michigan student section booed them and shouted loud enough profanities that Kissinger stared daggers back at one individual.
Both UConn’s Solo Ball and Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg were playing with ailments sustained in Saturday’s Final Four. Of the two, Lendeborg felt the worst – telling Tracy Wolfson, ‘I feel awful, I feel super weak right now. I can’t make anything.’
Freshman guard Trey McKinney celebrates after knocking down a crucial three-point shot
A dejected Dan Hurley holds his head in his hands in the post game press conference
Connecticut stayed in the game – despite the 10-4 foul disparity and the 6-12 free throw margin- largely due to hitting five triples. Michigan was 0-8 when they came out of the tunnel for the second half.
The Huskies also slowed the Wolverines’ typically quick offense down – giving them all the ability they needed to keep things competitive.
Then they turned the ball over five times in the first five minutes of the second half.
The Wolverines built up an eleven point lead, UConn coach Dan Hurley was forced to call a timeout and all momentum was heading toward the Maize and Blue.
Most of that momentum was due to Mara and Morez Johnson shutting down every interior chance the Huskies had to start the final 20 minute period.
UConn’s Alex Karaban went out in his final game with 17 points, 11 rebounds and a loss
Dusty May holds up the net in victory after winning his first national championship
But a brief Michigan cold streak opened the door a crack for the Huskies to cut the deficit to seven at the under-eight timeout. They didn’t take advantage as time slowly, slowly trickled down.
Hearts went in Husky throats with a quick triple from Solo Ball as the navy clad fans from Storrs hoped a similar comeback to the one they put on Duke could be on the cards.
But it wasn’t meant to be. Alex Karaban, UConn’s veteran warrior king who finished his final college game with a 17 point, 11 assist double-double, missed a triple.
‘You know, that’s great and all. But I care about winning. I want to do everything every time I step on the night and give it my all,’ Karaban said when asked by Daily Mail for his assessment of his performance. ‘For Coach to play me 40 minutes, I can’t thank him enough.’
A final Husky chance clattered off the front rim. Michigan ran out on the floor as they were crowned ‘The Victors’ in college basketball again.
