The transfer portal has opened in college basketball, marking a crucial phase for teams aiming for the 2027 title. More than 1,200 players have already entered the portal, with hundreds more expected. Michigan won the NCAA championship with transfers playing key roles. The Big Ten swept the football championship and both Division I basketball titles this year.
High-scoring Michigan had to get down and dirty to dig out the national title, making only two 3-pointers all night but still muscling its way to a 69-63 victory over stingy, stubborn UConn. Elliot Cadeau led the Wolverines with 19 points, including the team’s first 3, which came 7:04 into the second half. The second, from freshman Trey McKenney, came with 1:50 left and felt like a dagger, giving the Wolverines a nine-point lead. UConn fought to the finish in a game that had a 1950s feel. Alex Karaban scored 17 points for UConn, which was denied in its bid for a third title in four seasons.
There’s a dynasty brewing in college basketball. And UConn can cement that status by overcoming a Michigan powerhouse that is racking up historically impressive numbers, hoping itself to go down as one of the sport’s greatest teams. Those are the stakes in Monday night’s title game between the Huskies and Wolverines. UConn is trying to become the first program since John Wooden’s UCLA behemoth of the 1960s and ’70s to win three championships over a four-season span, while Michigan is trying to cap off a March Madness string of dominance, the likes of which were last seen by the very UConn program that won the title in 2023 and '24.
Even though he hails from a state where Peyton Manning ruled the sports world, the Fab Five and Tom Brady turned Indiana native Josh Mullins into a dedicated Michigan fan. Just how big of a Wolverines fan? He named his oldest son after star Michigan receiver Braylon Edwards. Now, UConn’s breakout star, Braylon Mullins, will try to take down the family’s favorite program with the national title on the line Monday night. But dad says he'll be rooting for UConn all the way when the Huskies take on the Wolverines.
Duke star and Associated Press men's national player of the year Cameron Boozer is still healing physically and emotionally after the Blue Devils’ devastating March Madness loss to UConn. Boozer said Sunday he sustained “a couple of fractures” to his face in the Elite Eight loss. Boozer was at the Final Four for Sunday's award presentation for the AP national honor along with another from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Boozer took a blow to the face in the first half against UConn that caused his eye to swell noticeably. He played through it and finished with 27 points.
Michigan overpowered Arizona early and humbled the ’Cats all night long, turning the Final Four meeting billed as the game of the year into a 91-73 Wolverines highlight reel. Junior center Aday Mara scored a career-high 26 points and had nine rebounds, a dinged-up Yaxel Lendeborg had 11 points in 14 minutes and the Blue blew through their fifth straight March Madness opponent by double digits. Michigan became the first team to break 90 points five times in a single tournament. Next up is a title matchup Monday against UConn, a 71-62 winner over Illinois in the early semifinal.
UConn got another critical 3-pointer from Braylon Mullins and coach Dan Hurley’s Huskies are heading back to the national title game. UConn beat Illinois 71-62 in the Final Four on Saturday night as the Huskies seek their third championship in four seasons. Tarris Reed Jr. had 17 points and 11 rebounds, while the fabulous freshman Mullins scored 15 for the Huskies, who rode strong inside play and tough defense to their 19th straight victory in the Sweet 16 or later rounds of the NCAA Tournament. UConn will face Michigan on Monday night as it seeks its seventh title, all since 1999.
Freshmen Braylon Mullins of UConn and Keaton Wagler of Illinois led the way for their teams in the Final Four on Saturday. Mullins had 15 points and four 3-pointers in the Huskies' 71-62 win over the Illini. Wagler finished with a game-high 20 points and eight rebounds. Mullins and Wagler became the first opposing freshmen with at least 15 points in a Final Four game since 1982. That's when Michael Jordan of North Carolina and Patrick Ewing of Georgetown were squaring off for the national title.
Illinois coach Brad Underwood doesn’t need any reminders about what happened the last two times his team faced UConn. He can just plug in the game tapes, rewind them and watch them again. Back in November, the Huskies led wire-to-wire in a 74-61 victory. Two years ago in the Elite Eight, UConn used a 30-0 run en route to a 77-52 victory and on the way to a second straight national championship. There’s nothing the Fighting Illini can do to change those results now, but they do believe they can change the course of this series Saturday when they face UConn in their first Final Four clash in more than two decades.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd says he’s remaining with the Wildcats after being mentioned as a potential candidate to fill the coaching vacancy at blueblood program North Carolina. The school also announced it had reached an extension with Lloyd through the 2030-31 season. The 51-year-old Lloyd had been considered a top potential target for the Tar Heels. UNC fired Hubert Davis on March 24 after five seasons. Lloyd's comments came a day before his Wildcats face Michigan in Saturday night's national semifinals in a matchup of the two remaining 1-seeds.