Michigan will head to Boston to begin its title defense and the 2026-27 season in a rematch of the national championship game with UConn on Nov. 6.
According to multiple reports, Wolverines coach Dusty May and Huskies coach Dan Hurley agreed to the game and venue with only official signatures left before an announcement of the game is made by the programs.
Michigan defeated UConn in the fourth meeting all-time between the teams in the Final Four at Indianapolis in April. The 69-63 win gave Michigan its second basketball national title behind 19 points from guard Elliot Cadeau.
Fueled by fresh faces and transfers, Michigan won the Big Ten and spent most of the final two months of the regular season ranked in the top three in the nation. All-American Yaxel Lendeborg, power forward Morez Johnson and 7-foot-4 center Aday Mara are among the players May had to replace this offseason.
Rosters for both title game combatants will be dramatically different.
UConn moves forward without three-time national championship game participant Alex Karaban, leading scorer Tarris Reed Jr. and Malachi Smith, who all exhausted their college eligibility.
The game would become the first men’s college basketball national title game rematch the following season since Villanova-Michigan in 2018 and only the second since Duke-Butler in 2010.
–Field Level Media
