INDIANAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 There\u2019s a dynasty brewing in college basketball. And, in a perfectly fitting twist, UConn can cement that status by overcoming a Michigan powerhouse that is racking up historically impressive numbers, hoping to go down as one of the sport\u2019s greatest teams itself.<\/p>\n
Those are the stakes in Monday night\u2019s title game<\/a> between the Huskies and Wolverines.<\/p>\n Connecticut is trying to become the first program since John Wooden\u2019s UCLA behemoth of the 1960s and \u201870s to win three championships over a four-season span, while Michigan is trying to cap off a March Madness<\/a> string of dominance, the likes of which were last seen by this very UConn program that won it all in 2023<\/a>and \u201924<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis run they\u2019re on is one of the best \u2014 probably the best \u2014 since John Wooden,\u201d Michigan coach Dusty May said. \u201cIf we think riding in on a wave is going to take care of UConn, then we\u2019re going to be very disappointed at about 11 o\u2019clock tomorrow night or whenever the game concludes.\u201d<\/p>\n The Wolverines (36-3), seeded first in the Midwest, are listed as a 6 1\/2-point favorite by BetMGM Sportsbook. Even with his team\u2019s front-runner pedigree, coach Dan Hurley of UConn (34-5), a No. 2 seed out of the East, is leaning into the underdog role, not fighting it.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been plenty of times in the history of this tournament where the best team hasn\u2019t won it,\u201d Hurley said. \u201cYou\u2019ve just got to be better one night. The good thing for us, it\u2019s not a seven-game series.\u201d<\/p>\n In yet another twist with plot-shifting potential, the status of both Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg and UConn guard Solo Ball<\/a> could play heavily into this game.<\/p>\n Ball was walking around in a boot Sunday after spraining his left foot in the first half of UConn\u2019s 71-62 win over Illinois. Lendeborg tweaked his knee and ankle when he landed awkwardly on the foot of Arizona\u2019s Motiejus Krivas in the first half of Michigan\u2019s 91-73 semifinal beatdown<\/a> of the Wildcats.<\/p>\n Both have vowed they won\u2019t miss Monday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n \u201cHe played the second half like a 38-year-old at the YMCA — and a really good 38-year-old at the YMCA,\u201d May said of his 15-point-per-game All-American. \u201cWhatever version of Yaxel we get, it\u2019s going to be somebody that helps us play better basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n The Wolverines are the first team to score 90-plus points in five straight tournament games. They are trying to become the fifth team to win six tournament games by double digits. The other four: 2009 North Carolina, 2018 Villanova and both of the recent UConn teams.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you get to the Final Four and you know you have the best team, that was a different level of pressure than in \u201923 where we weren\u2019t really sure,\u201d Hurley said of his \u201924 squad. \u201cBut there\u2019s also some pressure even if you\u2019re \u2014 whatever \u2014 the underdog, because we\u2019re one game away from having a national championship with this team.\u201d<\/p>\n UConn, UM take different approaches to roster building<\/p>\n The Wolverines roster is a reflection of what college hoops looks like in the transfer-portal era. Four of their starters came to Michigan this season, as May fashioned a quick rebuild in his second year in Ann Arbor. This is May\u2019s second trip to the Final Four in four seasons. His first came with Florida Atlantic.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat makes Dusty May special as a coach is obviously his eye for talent, his ability to construct a roster, the fact that he insulates himself with an excellent coaching staff, and his ability to build team and culture,\u201d Hurley said. \u201cHe\u2019s got a special eye for how to put together a great team.\u201d<\/p>\n UConn is built differently \u2014 with what Hurley would call judicious use of the transfer portal (Tarris Reed Jr., for instance, came from Michigan) combined with players who have become entrenched on a campus with 18 national basketball titles \u2014 six for the men and 12 for the women. The best example of that: Alex Karaban, who, with a title, could become the first player since the UCLA dynasty to win three national titles over his college career.<\/p>\n \u201cYou dream of being on this stage one time, and to be heading into it for a third time, it\u2019s a blessing,\u201d Karaban said. <\/p>\n At Michigan, the Fab Five is always front of mind<\/p>\n UConn isn\u2019t the only program with a deep history. Michigan redefined college basketball<\/a> in the 1990s with the Fab Five. Juwan Howard, Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Ray Jackson and Jimmy King came to the school together as freshmen in 1991. They made the title game twice and lost. <\/p>\n But they\u2019re most remembered for bringing a baggy-shorts, mass-marketing brashness to the game, one underpinned by the question: Why are all these coaches and shoe companies raking in dough while we play for free?<\/p>\n \u201cWe got to college and started understanding the hypocrisy in the game, with the schools making millions and us sitting around poor as hell,\u201d Jackson said in a 2023 interview with The Associated Press.<\/p>\n In today\u2019s NIL landscape, players are making money and nobody overlooks the Fab Five\u2019s role in pushing things forward. What that group was missing, of course, was the national title. Michigan\u2019s only championship came in 1989, a few years before the Fab Five arrived.<\/p>\n \u201cOther than Michael Jordan, since I\u2019ve been alive, I don\u2019t think there\u2019s ever been a group change the culture for the better in our sport than the Fab Five,\u201d May said earlier in the week. They\u2019re \u201cjust number one. We\u2019re proud to represent those guys and carry the flag for the former players at the University of Michigan.\u201d<\/p>\n Hurley looks for a title … and a tailor<\/p>\n One key casualty of all this UConn success: Hurley\u2019s sideline wear<\/a>. He has worn the same blue suit at March Madness dating as far back as 2012 when he was coaching Rhode Island.<\/p>\n He also wears the same socks and underwear and eats eight M&Ms before games \u2014 but none of them green.<\/p>\n Anything to keep the good mojo going. <\/p>\n \u201cThe pants are fine,\u201d Hurley said. \u201cIt\u2019s the jacket that is really \u2014 the lining is a problem. There\u2019s like three holes. When I stick my arm in the right, there\u2019s like three different places (you can stick your arm), and if you can see it, it\u2019s like the lining is coming through.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to have to get a tailor in the offseason.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n This story has been corrected to show that Michigan is the favorite to win.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n AP March Madness bracket: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/ncaa-mens-bracket<\/a> and coverage: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/march-madness<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INDIANAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 There\u2019s a dynasty brewing in college basketball. And, in a perfectly fitting twist, UConn can…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":701426,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3723],"tags":[2377,7,8411,217,325,2340,6133,2342,2329,2495,588,113,7102,88058,14220,55358,354,584,935,1739,1043,27422,18922,231,772,20001,55359,1544,88059,66,54255,3549],"class_list":{"0":"post-701425","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-basketball","8":"tag-alex-karaban","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-chris-webber","11":"tag-college-basketball","12":"tag-college-sports","13":"tag-connecticut","14":"tag-connecticut-huskies","15":"tag-connecticut-huskies-mens-basketball","16":"tag-ct-state-wire","17":"tag-dan-hurley","18":"tag-in-state-wire","19":"tag-indiana","20":"tag-jalen-rose","21":"tag-jimmy-king","22":"tag-john-wooden","23":"tag-march-madness-ncaa-tournament","24":"tag-mens-college-basketball","25":"tag-mi-state-wire","26":"tag-michael-jordan","27":"tag-michigan","28":"tag-michigan-wolverines","29":"tag-michigan-wolverines-mens-basketball","30":"tag-motiejus-krivas","31":"tag-ncaa","32":"tag-ncaa-basketball","33":"tag-ncaa-mens-division-i-basketball-championship","34":"tag-ncaa-mens-bracket","35":"tag-ncaab","36":"tag-ray-jackson","37":"tag-sports","38":"tag-tarris-reed","39":"tag-yaxel-lendeborg"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=701425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/701426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=701425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=701425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=701425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}