March 13th, 2024. The day Michigan Basketball hit rock bottom.
Nimari Burnett and Will Tschetter walked off the floor at Target Center in Minneapolis after a 66-57 loss to Penn State in the opening game of the Big Ten Tournament to cap off the worst season in program history at an abysmal 8-24. In the days that followed, Michigan fired Juwan Howard and almost the entire roster departed.
Enter Dusty May. Fresh off of a magical run to the Final Four in 2023 and a return to the tournament in 2024, May established himself as a hot commodity in a busy coaches market, eventually choosing Michigan over Louisville. What has happened in the two years since has surpassed everyone’s wildest dreams.
Year one in Ann Arbor saw Dusty May completely overhaul the roster with six transfers. The dynamic big man duo of Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin led to a 27-10 record, Big Ten Tournament title, and trip to the Sweet 16. But, Wolf and Goldin left for the NBA. Tre Donaldson transferred to Miami. And Dusty May was left to construct a new roster with only a handful of returning contributors.
In the days that followed, May landed four players out of the transfer portal: North Carolina point guard Elliot Cadeau, UCLA center Aday Mara, Illinois big man Morez Johnson Jr., and UAB forward Yaxel Lendeborg. It was a highly-rated group, but one with a lot of question marks. Cadeau was essentially forced out of UNC while Mara and Johnson were underutilized at their old programs. Lendeborg, the unanimous top player in the portal, was considered 50/50 to go to the NBA.
That quartet, paired with incoming five-star guard Trey McKenney and returnees Roddy Gayle Jr., Nimari Burnett, L.J. Cason, and Will Tschetter gave Michigan fans real hope before the season started for a possible return to the Final Four. What happened next will be remembered forever…
April 7th, 2026. The day Michigan Basketball reached the top of the mountain.
Nimari Burnett and Will Tschetter, the only holdovers from the worst team in Michigan history, walked off the floor at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis as national champions. Breaking the 37-year championship drought did not come easy on Monday night. Dan Hurley’s UConn Huskies dragged Michigan into a rock fight. Limited due to injury, Yaxel Lendeborg lacked his usual explosiveness and playmaking. The offense missed all eight three-point attempts in the first half and could not generate anything in transition.
As was the case time after time this season, Michigan came out in the second half and played the game on their terms. Elliot Cadeau nailed the first triple of the night to push the once four-point halftime lead to double digits. A run from the Huskies cut the lead to five before Trey McKenney nailed the killshot. A scrambled possession with under two minutes remaining ended with Roddy Gayle Jr. kicking the ball out to McKenney, who, as he has all season, buried the three. That was the moment, all so similar to Mike Sainristil’s interception in the 2024 national championship game, where it became official. Michigan had won the national championship.
Elliot Cadeau won Most Outstanding Player honors for the tournament. He led Michigan with 19 points in the game. Yaxel Lendeborg scored 13 despite clearly playing hurt. Morez Johnson Jr. posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in addition to a pari of blocks. Trey McKenney scored 9, Aday Mara added 8, while Nimari Burnett and Roddy Gayle Jr. each scored 4.
Despite shooting only 38% from the field and 2/15 from three, Michigan won this game with an outstanding defensive effort. What made this team truly great was its ability to win games in different ways. After putting up 90+ points in every tournament game leading up to the finale, the Wolverines had to rely on their defense to seal the deal. They held UConn to only 31% from the field, blocked six shots, and forced the Huskies to commit 22 fouls. When the clock struck 0:00, the final score read Michigan 69, UConn 63. The streets of Ann Arbor flooded with jubilant fans and Wolverines worldwide soaked in the moment. Michigan is the champion once again.
One of the best seasons in college basketball history
Michigan’s run to the championship is one for the ages. Statistically, this team is one of the best of all-time in college basketball. According to KenPom, Michigan’s 39.02 adjusted efficiency margin is the highest ever. Their 37 wins are a program record while their 19 wins in conference play are a Big Ten record. Michigan became the first team to go undefeated on the road since 1976. The game-to-game dominance is marveling. The Wolverines won 29 games by double digits, 16 games by 20+ points, 11 games by 30+ points, and 7 games by 40+ points.
The records didn’t stop in the regular season. Michigan became the first team in NCAA Tournament history to score 90+ points in five games. Their 541 points scored rank second in tournament history for a national champion behind only 1990 UNLV. The 114 point total margin for the tournament ranks sixth all-time. In four consecutive tournament games, they held Alabama, Tennessee, Arizona, and UConn to their lowest shooting percentages of the season.
Rarely has there been such a complete team in college basketball. Elliot Cadeau re-invented himself this season, becoming a scoring threat on top of an excellent facilitator. Yaxel Lendeborg rightfully earned Big Ten Player of the Year and First-Team All-American honors as arguably the best two-way player in the country. While harder to quantify, Lendeborg’s impact on the defensive end stood out more than anything. Big men Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr. physically imposed on nearly every opponent. Veterans Roddy Gayle Jr., Nimari Burnett, and Will Tschetter all stepped up throughout the season while freshman Trey McKenney established himself as a star in year one.
The road back to the top
In the 37 years between national championships, the Michigan Basketball program made the NCAA tournament 19 times, lost in the title game four times, endured a 10-year tournament drought, and posted the worst record in program history. The Fab Five became basketball icons, Trey Burke won the National Player of the Year, and Jordan Poole hit one of the most iconic March Madness buzzer-beaters ever. 46 Wolverines made it to the NBA, with 14 still in the league.
And yet, none could accomplish what the 2025-26 Michigan Wolverines could. With the memories of 2018, 2013, 1993, and 1992 etched in our memories, along with every high and low in-between, this season never felt real. The pure dominance at every turn. Breaking all sorts of records. And the historically-dominant run through the NCAA Tournament. It all felt too good to be true until, at 11:19 PM ET on Monday night, it became true. Your Michigan Wolverines are national champions once again.
