Michigan Basketball falls to UConn in national championship rematch

The No. 16 Michigan Wolverines fell 85-77 to the No. 4 UConn Huskies in a national title game rematch on Friday. Michigan fought back after trailing by double digits at halftime, but it wasn’t enough to defeat UConn this time around.

Here’s the recap, highlights and stats.

FIRST HALF

Michigan wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as guard Elliot Cadeau found center Moustapha Thiam for an alley-oop slam just seconds into the game. UConn immediately answered with a 7-0 run to take an early lead, though.

Cadeau continued to find success on offense, connecting on a three-pointer and a pair of layups to trim the deficit to 13-9. Additionally, guard Roddy Gayle Jr. got in on the action with an and-1 layup to keep Michigan within striking distance.

Gayle kept up his hot start with a steal and finish on the other end, and another and-1 to cut UConn’s lead to 27-25 with 6:29 remaining in the half. However, the Huskies completely dominated the ensuing minutes to seize momentum.

Michigan went scoreless for over four minutes as UConn went on a 13-3 run to close the half, turning a back-and-forth affair into a 43-30 lead at halftime. The Wolverines had 11 turnovers and shot just 1-for-8 from three-point range in the half.

HALFTIME: Michigan 30, UConn 43

SECOND HALF

On the opening play of the second half, Cadeau found forward JP Estrella for a layup to cut the deficit to 43-32, but UConn instantly responded with an 8-0 run. The Huskies completely blew the game open, extending the lead to 52-35.

Michigan tried to fight back as forward Quinn Costello drilled a three-pointer and guard Trey McKenney finished a layup, cutting the deficit to 58-42 with 13:36 to go. It was McKenney’s first points after starting the game 0-for-8 from the field.

McKenney might have taken a while to get going, but once he finally got a shot to go, the Michigan guard caught fire. In the next three minutes, McKenney made a trio of three-pointers to keep the Wolverines within reach as UConn led 64-55.

Michigan continued to battle as McKenney connected on a mid-range jumper, but UConn was just too much to handle. The Huskies put together an 11-4 run to extend the lead back to double figures, taking a 75-61 lead with 5:26 remaining.

UConn eventually put the final touches on an 85-77 win to get a bit of revenge from Michigan’s national championship. McKenney tallied 22 points, and Estrella added 19 points and nine rebounds, but the Wolverines fell to 1-1 with the loss.

FINAL SCORE: Michigan 77, UConn 85

MICHIGAN STAT LEADERS

• G Trey McKenney: 22 points, 3 rebounds
• F JP Estrella: 19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists
• G Roddy Gayle Jr: 18 points,
• G Elliot Cadeau: 8 points, 3 assists

UCONN STAT LEADERS

• G Braylon Mullins: 23 points, 4 rebounds
• G Silas Demary Jr: 21 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
• F Colben Landrew: 14 points, 8 rebounds
• F Jayden Ross: 9 points, 4 rebounds

UP NEXT

Michigan will look to get back on track, returning home to host the Marquette Golden Eagles on Wednesday (7 p.m. on FS1).