Neither team shot the ball particularly well Monday night in Indianapolis, but Michigan’s 38% was good enough to top Connecticut (31%) and win the second national championship in program history, grinding out a 69-63 victory.
The teams played a mostly back-and-forth first half, but the No. 1-seeded Wolverines grabbed a 33-29 lead at the break. Then in the second half, they slowly carved out a lead that grew to as much as 11 before holding on for a six-point victory over the No. 2-seeded Huskies. Michigan’s other men’s basketball national championship came in 1989.
>> Subscribe to Sports Spectrum Magazine for more stories where sports and faith connect <<
ONE SHINING MOMENT 🙌#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/uUWNyiFneC
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 7, 2026
“When you bring a group this talented together,” Wolverines head coach Dusty May said in the postgame press conference, “and they decide from the beginning that they’re going to do it this way and they never waver and they never change, that’s probably the most uncommon thing in athletics now. And it’s a tribute to their character.”
Wolverines freshman Trey McKenney — who had nine points and eight rebounds — echoed his coach’s sentiments.
“Everybody on this team is extremely talented,” he said in the press conference, “and for us to be able to sacrifice something for ourselves, a lot of us could be somewhere else doing more than what we’ve done this season, but I think it just shows that this team is super selfless. And I’ve never been around such a talented group of guys that are willing to take a lesser role for somebody next to them.
“I’m just really grateful to be around this team, and I’m going to cherish this moment for the rest of my life.”
With 1:51 remaining in the game and his team leading by six, McKenney caught a pass on the right wing in a secondary break. Despite being 0-for-3 on his 3-point attempts to that point — and Michigan as a whole had made only one 3-pointer all night — there was no hesitation. His dagger triple was perhaps the most important shot in the game.
A HUGE THREE FOR MICHIGAN 🔥#MarchMadness @umichbball pic.twitter.com/iLg5kEmzMv
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 7, 2026
The moment was certainly unforgettable for McKenney, and it added to what was already a special weekend.
“My grandfather is a pastor and I grew up in the church all throughout my life. It’s kind of crazy this weekend because it’s one of my first weekends that I haven’t went to church on Easter Sunday,” he said while being interviewed by CBN Sports before the Final Four. “It’s amazing to be able to be on this platform on such a great weekend. I just give all the glory to God while I’m here. He gave me this journey and this path to follow on, so I’m just really grateful and I’m really blessed for it.”
McKenney lists the Bible verse Romans 8:31 in his Instagram bio and consistently provided a spark off the Wolverines’ bench all season, which helped them to a 37-3 record and a dominant run to the title game; they were the first team to score 90 or more points in five straight games in a single tournament.
However, the true engine throughout the season for the maize and blue machine was senior Yaxel Lendeborg, who transferred from the University of Alabama-Birmingham to Ann Arbor last April and became one of the best players in the country.
Despite dealing with a sprained left MCL and ankle he suffered against Arizona in Michigan’s semifinal matchup, the consensus first-team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year still suited up against the Huskies. And not only did he suit up, he played a team-high 36 minutes and scored 13 points.
“I knew there was no way I was going to miss this game, no matter what was going on,” Lendeborg said in the postgame press conference. “I was very tentative this game. I felt like I was pretty much holding our team down. … I kept having opportunities to make plays, and I couldn’t make the play.
“But these guys (teammates) stuck with me no matter what. They all believed in me. I was trying to push through my mental and physical battle out there.”
Lendeborg knows that playing basketball for a school like Michigan in the national championship game is a gift from God, and he credits his mother, Yissel Raposo, for helping him realize it.
“It’s all a blessing to be honest with you,” Lendeborg told MLive.com earlier this season. “All glory to God and thank you to my mom as well for helping me out and digging me out of the hole that I was in.”
Lendeborg — who has three crosses tattooed on his left shoulder — struggled with academics in high school and began his collegiate career at a community college, Arizona Western. But through his mother’s encouragement to prioritize his relationship with God, Lendeborg’s perspective began to shift.
“I pray before games to let Him know I believe,” he told The Kornacki Wolverine Report in October. “And I’m always grateful for what He’s done for me.”
Raposo was diagnosed with appendix cancer this season, but was in attendance on Monday night.
“I told Yaxel, ‘When I feel good, I wanna be around you, no matter what,'” she recently told The Athletic. “And when I see Yaxel playing, I feel so happy, so I think God gave me that extra happiness. It’s a blessing.”
View this post on Instagram
Lendeborg has exhausted his college eligibility and now turns his attention to the NBA Draft (June 22), while McKenney has not indicated his plans for next season. Yet neither of them will ever forget what they accomplished together at Michigan in 2025-26 or the sustaining grace of God through it all.
>> Do you know Christ personally? Learn how you can commit your life to Him. <<
RELATED STORIES:
— Journey leads Yaxel Lendeborg to Michigan: ‘I thank God every day’
— Tarris Reed knows ‘the Lord has blessed me,’ leads UConn in Final Four
— Tobe Awaka leading Arizona basketball, others closer to Christ
— Coach Cori Close leads UCLA to title, walks in her ‘calling’ from God
— WHAT’S PODCAST: Crockett & Hobbs – Michigan women’s basketball
