Let’s just get this out of the way up front: yes, Dan Hurley is a hell of a coach. You do not win two national titles in four years by accident, and you do not drag UConn back into the annual April spotlight unless you know exactly what you’re doing. But let’s also stop pretending the other part is not true. Most of America sees the guy as a massive douche bag too. Both things can live in the same sentence. In fact, they pretty much have to. And that is a huge reason a whole lot of neutral fans are about to talk themselves into backing Michigan on Monday night when the Wolverines meet UConn for the national championship at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Tip time is 8:50 p.m. ET on truTV, TBS, and HBO Max.
If you want the clean basketball case for Michigan, it starts with the obvious one: the Wolverines have been curbstomping people. Michigan beat Arizona 91-73 in the Final Four on Saturday, and in doing so became the first team in NCAA Tournament history to score 90 or more points in five straight games in a single tournament. That is not a cute stat for TV. That is a flashing neon sign telling UConn it is dealing with a team that is not just hot, but repeatedly overwhelming good teams. Michigan has also won five tournament games by double digits, putting the Wolverines in a tiny group. Six of the previous seven teams to do that before the title game went on to win the whole thing. Meanwhile, UConn has not scored more than 82 points in any tournament game and has only won two of those games by double digits. Michigan is not sneaking into this matchup. It is kicking the door down.
Then there is the Aday Mara problem, which is really more of a UConn problem. Mara is listed at 7-foot-3 and 255 pounds, and lately he has been playing like the kind of giant that makes coaches start saying weird things on purpose to sound calm. In this tournament, the Michigan center has averaged 16 points per game, shot 65.4 percent from the field, and posted 2.6 blocks per game. Against Arizona, he went for 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting with nine rebounds. That is not solid, that is nightmare fuel for the team trying to guard him on one day of prep. UConn has size on the roster with 7-foot-1 centers Eric Reibe and Rrezon Elezaj, but one has averaged just seven minutes per game in March Madness and the other has stayed on the bench. That is not exactly the kind of answer sheet that calms a fan base heading into a championship game.
And then you get to the third reason Michigan has real juice here: the Wolverines are not just a one-man act depending on Yaxel Lendeborg to save the day. Lendeborg suffered a left ankle and knee injury against Arizona and missed most of the first half before returning. He still finished with 11 points and three rebounds, then made it clear afterward that he plans to go. “I’m going to do a lot of work on it, and I’m playing on Monday for sure, no matter what goes on,” Lendeborg said. That matters, obviously, because he leads Michigan in scoring at 15.1 points per game. But what matters just as much is that Michigan did not crumble when he was compromised. Freshman guard Trey McKenney poured in 16 against Arizona and has averaged 15 points over his last three games. That is what dangerous title teams do. They do not ask permission to survive adversity. They just throw another problem at you.
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And that brings us back to Hurley, because this game is not just basketball strategy anymore. It is theater. It is the sport’s best villain against the team that suddenly feels like everybody’s favorite heavyweight. Michigan has the big man, the scoring, the momentum, and the new blood appeal with Dusty May, who has done a ridiculous job in just his second season in Ann Arbor after taking Florida Atlantic to the 2023 Final Four. Hurley has the resume, the rings, and the sideline act that makes half the country want to launch a remote at the screen. Again, you cannot deny the guy’s talent. You also cannot deny the reaction he gets. There is a reason people are lining up to root for the Wolverines, and a big chunk of it has nothing to do with maize and blue and everything to do with not wanting to watch Hurley smirk his way to another trophy.
So yes, Michigan has actual basketball reasons to win this thing, and they are strong ones. The Wolverines have looked like the most explosive team left in the field. Mara is a matchup headache with size and touch. Lendeborg’s toughness and the roster’s depth give Michigan more answers than people expected. Stack all that together and the Wolverines do not just have a chance. They have a real path.
And if they pull it off, America may celebrate for two reasons at once: because Michigan was good enough to do it, and because somebody finally shut Dan Hurley up for a night. That, friends, is what we call a win-win.
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