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The Michigan Wolverines<\/a> are back on top.<\/p>\n For the first time since 1989, Michigan is the men’s college basketball national champion after defeating the Connecticut Huskies<\/a>, 69-63, in Monday’s national championship.<\/p>\n Below is our instant reaction as the 2025-26 season comes to a close.<\/p>\n College sports run through the Big Ten. One day after the UCLA Bruins<\/a> won the conference’s first women’s basketball national title since the Purdue Boilermakers<\/a> in 1999 and three months after the Indiana Hoosiers<\/a> won the Big Ten’s third consecutive college football championship, Michigan added to the trophy collection.<\/p>\n Its win over UConn gave the conference its first men’s college basketball national title since 2000, when the Michigan State Spartans<\/a> won it all in coach Tom Izzo’s fifth season.<\/p>\n The Big Ten has become the clear top power conference of the transfer portal era, and the gap may be widening.<\/p>\n Guard Elliot Cadeau led the Wolverines with 19 points, but Johnson was arguably their most impactful player, posting a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) in the win while adding two blocks and a steal.<\/p>\n He was particularly impactful on the offensive glass, where he collected five rebounds. Early in the first half, Johnson cleaned the boards with a put-back off a missed three-pointer and a layup.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nKey takeaway: Big Ten ends title drought, expands NCAA dominion<\/h2>\n
Game MVP: Michigan forward Morez Johnson Jr.<\/h2>\n