INDIANAPOLIS – UConn’s relentless pursuit of a third national championship in four years came to an end at Lucas Oil Stadium Monday night, where the Huskies saw their magic run out in the national championship game against No. 1 seed Michigan.
The 69-63 loss was the program’s first in seven trips to the national final and ended the Huskies’ hopes of winning three titles in four years – a feat that has not been accomplished in more than half a century.
It was Michigan’s second national championship (1989) and the first for a Big Ten team since Michigan State in 2000.
The Wolverines had the fifth-highest aggregate margin of victory in NCAA Tournament history along their road to the title game (plus-118), shot just 2-for-15 from 3 but overwhelmed the Huskies with their top-ranked defense. UConn shot just 30.9% from the field and went 4-for-18 from beyond the arc as its comeback effort came up short in the second half.
In his final college game, UConn’s all-time winningest player and captain Alex Karaban went out with a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double. Senior center Tarris Reed Jr. finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds against his former team, and Solo Ball scored 11 points, all coming in critical moments to keep the Wolverines from pulling away.
UConn finished the season with a 34-6 overall record.
It wasn’t a pretty offensive game for either team from the jump.
Michigan, 37-3 and widely considered the favorite, got off to a 7-2 lead in the first three minutes but the Huskies had the edge from beyond the arc, where Ball hit a pair of big shots to keep it close. Karaban nailed his first two from deep, giving UConn its first lead of the game at the 10:23 mark in the first half as Malachi Smith directed the offense with Silas Demary Jr. and Ball going to the bench early with two fouls a piece.
UConn didn’t get any foul luck in the first half as Michigan, 0-for-8 from 3, relied on pounding the ball down low to 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara (eight points, four rebounds) and power forward Mirez Johnson (12 points, 10 rebounds), taking advantage of the size mismatch.
The Wolverines made 11 of 12 from the foul line before the break, including eight straight – a pair coming after a hook-and-hold flagrant call on Karaban – in the final seven minutes. The free throw line, where UConn made 4 of 6, was the difference as Michigan closed the half on a 10-4 run and took a 29-23 lead into the locker room.
Demary and Ball were called for their third and fourth fouls of the game, respectively, early in the second half and UConn struggled to take care of the ball, turning it over five times in the first five minutes with its lead guards back on the sideline. The Wolverines extended their lead with a pair of three point plays and continued to build on it as point guard Elliott Cadeau (19 points) got their first 3-pointer to fall on 11 attempts and gave them their largest lead – 11 points – with 13 minutes left.
UConn started the second half 0-for-11 from 3 but hung around, as has been the story of this tournament. Layups from Karaban and Demary made it a five-point game with eight minutes to play, and Mullins silenced the sea of maize and blue with back-to-back 3-pointers after the Wolverines built their lead back to 11.
Karaban made it a six-point game from beyond the arc with two and a half minutes left, but a scramble at the other end led to a wide open answer from Trey McKenney.
Michigan had a nine-point lead with a minute to play, but Karaban made a pair of free throws and Ball hit another big shot, his foot just behind the 3-point line, to make it a four-point game with 37 seconds left. UConn fouled Roddy Gayle Jr. and he missed both attempts from the line, but Karaban short-armed a 3-pointer at the other end and the maize and blue confetti was prepared to fall.
