Michigan officially ushers in the era of the "Super Champion"

The storyline is starting to feel as old as the transfer portal era itself, as, for the fourth straight NCAA Tournament, there was absolutely no question that the best team won the National Championship. 2026 Michigan slots in right next to 2025 Florida and 2023/2024 UConn as truly dominant winners.

Following the semifinal blowout of fellow one-seed Arizona, Monday's game began to feel like an automatic Michigan coronation. Even the energy of the crowd in the concourse carried that feeling. The combination of the close proximity of Indianapolis (a four-hour drive from Ann Arbor), with some championship fatigue of the UConn fans who had already spent large sums of money to attend two other recent title runs (and a lot of Big East tournaments, and Philadelphia and Washington DC games earlier in the Tournament).

It was an overabundance of maize and blue the entirety of the day, in the steakhouses at lunch, on the streets all afternoon, and on the shirts of at least 65% of the fans in the building (including those who were neutral to the matchup in that count). The Wolverines imposed their will in the first four minutes, emphasizing their position as the stronger, taller, and faster team. Tough offensive rebounds followed by thunderous blocked shots led to a palpable feeling in the air; Michigan was going to run away with the title.

But from that terrific start, things just never fully clicked for them. All-American Yaxel Lendeborg was clearly too injured to carry his typical burden, shooting 4-13 with a season low two rebounds. Michigan didn't make a three-pointer in the first half (and went 2-15 for the full game). They had their second-worst rebounding margin of the season, losing 46-39 on the boards. The rising star of this NCAA Tournament, Trey McKenney shot 2-9 from the field.

None of that mattered, and despite the glaring performance flaws, Michigan still led for the entire second half. It was the true mark of a legendary team, starting with a seemingly unlimited pool of stars to replace Lendeborg's missing production. Elliot Cadeau won Most Outstanding Player honors with a nineteen-point performance. Morez Johnson Jr was unstoppable early on, with ten first-half points and a double-double, despite some limiting foul trouble. And while the triple big lineup did not have its usual offensive showing, Aday Mara and company still dominated the paint defensively, holding opponents to 34.2% shooting from two.

Unlike Michigan's first five opponents, UConn nonetheless still had a chance to win. If Solo Ball makes a layup to cut the lead to four with 2:02 left (that miss was immediately followed by the biggest shot of the game, a McKenney stepback three) or Alex Karaban hits the three-pointer he got in his signature spot with 0:17 left (to cut it to one), then the Huskies may well have come out on top.

And yet, Michigan never truly seemed to be at risk, despite an entirely mediocre performance, which sums up the state of college basketball in 2026. That a very good UConn team, one that has pieces of every era, from a hall of fame coach to a pair of homegrown starters to transfer point guards to a one and done stud on the wing, still would have needed a great game to even have a chance.

Putting together a brand-new roster every season will more often than not be a losing game, but it creates the opportunity for rosters with seemingly no flaws. Three teams put together said rosters this year, and it was clear for months that Michigan, Duke, or Arizona was destined to win it all. The Blue Devils were defeated by this very UConn team when the Huskies played to their absolute peak in the second half. Arizona was demolished by Michigan.

That's where things have stood for three straight NCAA Tournaments. In 2024, UConn beat all six opponents by double digits and never looked back. In 2025, the four elite teams (Florida, Houston, Duke, and Auburn) were forced to take each other out, with the Gators eventually prevailing. With Michigan extending that run, the message is pretty clear: Being very good no longer makes you a championship contender. For that, you need to be flat-out elite.