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Michigan 2026 national title by the numbers: Wolverines dominant on way to national championship

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Michigan 2026 national title by the numbers: Wolverines dominant on way to national championship originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The 2026 NCAA title is heading to Ann Arbor. 

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The Michigan Wolverines completed their path to the title as a No. 1 seed on Monday night, taking down the UConn Huskies 69-63 in the championship. Dusty May's squad wasn't quite as dominant as usual against Dan Hurley's deep unit — but in the end, it didn't matter.

The Wolverines' run to the March Madness championship was one of the most dominant in recent memory, especially when factoring in their success in the regular season. With arguably the lengthiest and most unselfish team in the country, Michigan's title capped an authoritative NCAA Tournament run.

Here's a breakdown of Michigan's dominant 2025-26 season and NCAA Tournament run by the numbers.

MORE: How Michigan took down UConn to secure national title

Michigan 2026 national title by the numbers

37

Michigan finished the 2025–26 season with a 37-3 record, which is, by far, the best mark in program history.

In Year 2 under May, the Wolverines lost just three games all year — a three-point loss to Wisconsin in January, a five-point loss to fellow eventual No. 1 seed Duke in February, and an eight-point loss to Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament title game.

Those were the only blemishes on Michigan’s résumé this season. Otherwise, there was no stopping the Wolverines, who won 30-plus games for just the sixth time in program history and the first time since 2018–19.

20.7

In six NCAA Tournament wins, Michigan’s average margin of victory was 20.7. Only one team managed to keep the Wolverines within single digits, and that was Hurley’s UConn unit in the championship.

The biggest blowout was a 33-point win over Tennessee in the Elite Eight, while another No. 1 seed, Arizona, also lost by 18 in the Final Four.

It was a display of dominance for Michigan on both ends of the court, but the defensive end was where the Wolverines’ success was especially apparent. In the final four rounds of the NCAA Tournament, Michigan held each opponent to a season-low field-goal percentage.

Here's a look at the margin of each Michigan win in the tournament:

  • Round 1: Michigan 101, Howard 80 (Margin: 21)
  • Round 2: Michigan 95, Saint Louis 72 (Margin: 23)
  • Sweet 16: Michigan 90, Alabama 77 (Margin: 13)
  • Elite Eight: Michigan 95, Tennessee 62 (Margin: 33)
  • Final Four: Michigan 91, Arizona 73 (Margin: 18)
  • Championship: Michigan 69, UConn 63 (Margin: 6)

Michigan also averaged 90.2 points per game as a team in March Madness, becoming the first champions to average over 90 points in the tournament since UNLV in 1990, per ESPN.

MORE: Full winners and losers from Michigan vs. UConn

4

Over six NCAA Tournament wins, four different Wolverines led the team in scoring. Michigan's 2026 title did not come from one March-long, individual heroic effort, similar to how Glen Rice lifted the team to its first championship in 1989. Instead, a collection of players stepped up to the moment.

In the first round against Howard, Morez Johnson Jr. went for 21 points. Over the next three rounds, through the Elite Eight, it was the Yaxel Lendeborg show, with the Big Ten Player of the Year going for 25, 23 and 27 points in those rounds.

But when Lendeborg began dealing with his injuries in the Final Four, new faces stepped up. Big man Aday Mara dominated Arizona for 26 points, and on Monday night, guard Elliot Cadeau was the scoring leader with 19 on a night points were hard to come by.

45

Speaking of Cadeau, the 2026 Final Four Most Outstanding Player, his playmaking was elite in the NCAA Tournament. Over those six games, he totaled 45 assists, averaging 7.5 per contest.

Cadeau dropped double-digit assists against both Tennessee (10) and Arizona (10), plus nine against Howard, on top of his impressive scoring when Michigan needed him.

Per Josh Durbow, Cadeau became just the third player, joining Bobby Hurley and fellow Wolverine Rumeal Robinson, to officially win a title while posting at least 45 assists and 70 points in an NCAA Tournament since 1984.

MORE: Eliot Cadeau joins list of college basketball greats with MOP award

5

That's the number of transfers in Michigan's starting unit. As in: the Wolverines' entire lead group was not in Ann Arbor at this time last year, but was still able to coast to a championship in their first year together.

Michigan became the first-ever title team with five transfers as its starters.

8-24

That’s the record of the Michigan team May inherited two years ago. In 2023–24, under Juwan Howard, the Wolverines managed just eight wins, including a 3-17 mark in Big Ten play.

After going 27-10 under May in Year 1 and losing in the Sweet 16, a full turnaround is now complete for Michigan. With May’s unit of transfers, the Wolverines improved by 29 wins in just two seasons.

MORE: Way-too-early Top 25 for 2026-27

61

Monday's championship win wasn't a pretty one by any means. Neither team could buy a bucket for long stretches, especially from 3-point range — they combined for just 11 makes on 48 attempts, a clip of 22.9%.

The Wolverines overcame that lack of shooting, however, by remaining efficient in the other areas of the floor. Of Michigan's 69 points vs. UConn, 61 came from either the free-throw line or the paint, with the team's 36 points in the paint being the most the Huskies allowed in the tournament.

$400,000

May will have more to celebrate than just a trophy. Per KC Smurthwaite, as part of the deal May signed at Michigan, he will make an additional $400,000 for winning the national title.

MORE: What's next for UConn after national championship loss?

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