They came from Los Angeles. From Birmingham, Alabama. From Tuscaloosa, Alabama via Lubbock, Texas. From Chapel Hill, North Carolina. From Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.
34 years after the University of Michigan became the first basketball program to start five freshmen in a national championship game, they became the first school to start five transfers in a title game.
The ‘Fab Five’ in 1992 may have lost the title to Duke, but they paved the way for greater influence from first year players that helped grow the one-and-done basketball we see today. Now, the ‘Flipped Five’ have proven that in the right circumstances, a team full of transfers can achieve together what had never been accomplished.
After a dominant victory over Arizona on Saturday, the Michigan Wolverines conquered the court and won their second national championship 69-63 over the Connecticut Huskies.
Head coach Dusty May won in a fashion that secures his spot among the best coaches in the sport and earns himself redemption after falling on a heartbreaking buzzer beater in the 2023 Final Four with Florida Atlantic.
While May’s coaching and scheme deserves plaudits and applause, it’s his cast of players that take the spotlight as Michigan becomes the first team in the NIL era to start five transfers in the national championship game. The win is just the cherry on top and proves that the portal is working at the top levels of the sport.
Michigan has won its first men’s basketball national championship since 1989
They were the first team in the portal era to start five transfers in the title game
Michigan head coach Dusty May cemented himself as one of the best coaches in the sport
Give Connecticut credit. Outsized against a much more physical team, they kept the game under double digits for a majority of the contest. But poor matchups and cold shooting combined with an occasionally dubious whistle that ultimately doomed them.
Michigan’s size promised to lead to tough matchups all evening long coming into the night. But from the start, Tarris Reed was handling the size of Aday Mara much better than the inverse.
Rather than be intimidated by the Wolverines’ size, the Huskies were willing to battle against them and fight in the paint. They also took advantage of Michigan’s tendency to allow triples – knocking down four triples at the half.
But the narrative going into the tunnel was the strict and mind-boggling whistle from the crew of James Breeding, Jeffrey Anderson and Kipp Kissinger. Neither team’s fans were pleased with the decisions by the crew.
A questionable goaltending call for Michigan was then followed by an official’s stoppage to review a UConn hook-and-hold that was not initially called – giving the Wolverines two free throws and the ball.
The final shot of the first half saw Elliot Cadeau launch an attempted triple that he was bumped off from. No whistle was blown, leading to the majority Michigan crowd letting out loud boos. As Breeding and Co. walked to their locker room, the Michigan student section booed them and shouted loud enough profanities that Kissinger stared daggers back at one individual.
Both UConn’s Solo Ball and Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg were playing with ailments sustained in Saturday’s Final Four. Of the two, Lendeborg felt the worst – telling Tracy Wolfson, ‘I feel awful, I feel super weak right now. I can’t make anything.’
Freshman guard Trey McKinney celebrates after knocking down a crucial three-point shot
A dejected Dan Hurley holds his head in his hands in the post game press conference
Connecticut stayed in the game, despite the 10-4 foul disparity and the 6-12 free throw margin, largely due to hitting five triples. Michigan was 0-8 when they came out of the tunnel for the second half.
The Huskies also slowed the Wolverines’ typically quick offense down – giving them all the ability they needed to keep things competitive.
Then they turned the ball over five times in the first five minutes of the second half.
The Wolverines built up an eleven point lead, UConn coach Dan Hurley was forced to call a timeout and all momentum was heading toward the Maize and Blue.
Most of that momentum was due to Mara and Morez Johnson shutting down every interior chance the Huskies had to start the final 20 minute period.
UConn’s Alex Karaban went out in his final game with 17 points, 11 rebounds and a loss
Dusty May holds up the net in victory after winning his first national championship
But a brief Michigan cold streak opened the door a crack for the Huskies to cut the deficit to seven at the under-eight timeout. They didn’t take advantage as time slowly, slowly trickled down.
Hearts went in Husky throats with a quick triple from Solo Ball as the navy clad fans from Storrs hoped a similar comeback to the one they put on Duke could be on the cards.
But it wasn’t meant to be. Alex Karaban, UConn’s veteran warrior king who finished his final college game with a 17 point, 11 assist double-double, missed a triple.
‘You know, that’s great and all. But I care about winning. I want to do everything every time I step on the night and give it my all,’ Karaban said when asked by Daily Mail for his assessment of his performance. ‘For Coach to play me 40 minutes, I can’t thank him enough.’
A final Husky chance clattered off the front rim. Michigan ran out on the floor as they were crowned ‘The Victors’ in college basketball again.
