Michigan holds off UConn, wins second NCAA basketball title - ESPN

INDIANAPOLIS — Before Michigan took the floor to face Gonzaga in the title game of the Players Era Championship in November, Elliot Cadeau made a comment to his teammates.

«We're the best team ever assembled,» he said.

Michigan proceeded to go out and beat Gonzaga by 40.

From that point on, the Wolverines were the most dominant team in the country — and they ended Monday the same way they looked back on Thanksgiving Eve: as the best team in college basketball.

Michigan put an exclamation point on a historic season in Monday's national championship game, beating UConn 69-63. Cadeau was named Most Outstanding Player after finishing with 19 points.

The Wolverines won the program's first national championship since 1989 — and became the first team to beat UConn in the Sweet 16 or later since Michigan State beat the Huskies in the 2009 Final Four.

UConn's plan from the outset wasn't much different from the first few rounds of the NCAA tournament: Get the ball to Tarris Reed Jr. He attempted three of the Huskies' first four shots but struggled to finish against the length and size of Michigan's Aday Mara. The Wolverines' edge in that area was a factor at the other end, too, with three offensive rebounds and six points in the paint before the first media timeout.

The first 15 minutes of the game, however, mostly trended in UConn's direction. The Huskies kept Michigan out of transition, with the Wolverines having zero fast-break points in the first half and only one real opportunity to get out and run. Michigan tried to pressure the Huskies defensively and speed the game up, but UConn was able to take care of the ball. Much of that credit went to Malachi Smith, who gave UConn coach Dan Hurley great minutes as Silas Demary Jr.