The national championship game for the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament is set and will feature No. 2 seed Connecticut trying to win its third championship in four years against No. 1 seed Michigan. Both teams cruised in their Final Four games on Saturday, setting the stage for a powerhouse matchup between two historic programs on Monday night.
Now it is time to take a look at some winners and losers from Saturday’s games.
Winner: Michigan
Michigan has been one of the best teams in the country all season, and it proved it again on Friday with an emphatic win over another No. 1 seed, beating Arizona by a 91-73 margin.
This game was never close.
It was a complete domination from the opening tip-off, and the Wolverines never slowed down at any point.
They had five players reach double-digits, including a 26-point, nine-rebound performance from Aday Mara and a 16-point effort from Trey McKenney coming off the bench.
Loser: Dramatic Final Four games
In theory, this should have been a great final-four.
Four evenly matched teams. All high seeds. No Cinderellas that would be overmatched against the elite teams on the biggest stage. Great talent all over the floor in both games.
On paper, it should have ruled.
Neither game was close or competitive.
While Illinois only lost by nine to UConn, that game never really felt competitive or that it was in danger for the Huskies.
The Michigan game was even more one-sided.
Winner: UConn’s chance for modern dynasty
UConn still has to win on Monday, and that is not going to be an easy task given how good Michigan is, but if the Huskies can pull that off, it will be seven national championships in the past 30 years, including three in the past four seasons.
No program in men’s college basketball is even close to them in terms of recent championships.
Loser: Dan Hurley critics
Hurley is one of those people in sports that you either love or hate. You love him when he is part of your team or running your team. You have the exact opposite feeling when he is not on your team.
Love him or hate him, you have to respect the job he has done at Connecticut. He is one win away from a third championship in four years, which is pretty much unprecedented in the modern era of college basketball.
Winner: Michigan head coach Dusty May
It is hard not to be impressed with May’s resume. After taking Florida Atlantic to the Final Four in 2022-23, he has completely revamped a Michigan program that won eight games the year before he took over.
In just his second season with the Wolverines, he has not taken them to back-to-back NCAA tournaments, has taken his second team to the Final Four, and is just one win away from adding a national championship to his resume.