The Michigan Wolverines are national champions after defeating the UConn Huskies 69-63 in the national championship game at Gainbridge Arena in Indianapolis on Monday night.
Michigan came into the game with its best player, Yaxel Lendeborg, dealing with an ankle and knee injury that he suffered on Saturday in the team’s win over Arizona. Still, he fought through it and had 13 points against UConn.
The senior forward, who transferred from UAB after last season, says he was going to do whatever it took to play against UConn.
“I knew there was no way I was going to miss this game, no matter what was going on,” Lendeborg said. “I was very tentative this game. I felt like I was pretty much holding our team down. I felt like we could have been up by way more early in the game, later on in the game. I kept having opportunities to make plays, and I couldn’t make the play. But these guys stuck with me no matter what. They all believed in me. I was trying to push through my mental and physical battle out there dealing with myself, but these guy.”
Lendeborg was asked about the severity of his injuries, and he said he had to battle mentally to get and stay on the court.
“I hope I didn’t mess anything up more than it already was,” he said. “I’m going to find that out in a couple days once we finish celebrating. It took a lot to get on the court, honestly, and to stay on there. I was dealing with a lot of mental issues today. These guys all leaned in on me and helped me out, helped me dig myself out of the hole and just continue to keep fighting. Chris(Williams/Trainer), shout-out to him because he was with me pretty much all day, all night, making sure I was even 50, 60 percent ready to play. I did the best I could regardless of the outcome, but it feels really good to be a champion, to be on top of the world, man.”
With Lendeborg battling injuries, another transfer, junior guard Elliot Cadeau, stepped up. He had a game-high 19 points and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Cadeau, who averaged 12.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 1.7 steals per game in the tournament, says being named the Most Outstanding Player meant a lot to him.
“Man, it means the world to me,” he said. “I’m just so proud of myself, where I came from. Last year, I was really down on myself, a lot of people doubted me, and I’m just so proud of myself for me to be able to say I was the most outstanding player and win a National Championship at the same time.”
Michigan did not play its best game on Monday night. They were outrebounded(46-39), including allowing 22 offensive rebounds. The Wolverines shot only 38% from the field and were 2/13 from deep, but they found a way to get the job done and are now national champions.
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