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March Mildness: Michigan plods to title
Memes get famous for a reason, and I still find Kombucha Girl to be endlessly applicable. Perhaps never more so than for capturing the gist of last night’s NCAA men’s basketball title game, where an ugly shooting performance from both sides yielded but a few moments of true excitement.
- Michigan’s offense had bulldozed its way through the tournament to this point, but that wasn’t the case here as the Wolverines shot 38 percent from the field and went just 2-for-15 from 3-point range in their 69-63 win over UConn. The Huskies shot a paltry 31 percent. It was not a pretty watch — a possible side effect of playing basketball in a football stadium.
- But the allure of March briefly took hold with 37 seconds left as UConn cut the lead to 4 points with a clutch 3 — might the Huskies do it again?! — and Michigan missed two free throws. Alas, the favorites held on.
You likely know the bottom line already, but if not: It’s the second-ever title for Michigan, ends the Big Ten’s 26-year men’s basketball national championship drought and prevents a third UConn win in four seasons.
Initial odds for next year’s title have Michigan as the second favorite, behind Duke, but with the transfer portal opening today, tread lightly with that information. Speaking of roster changes …
News to Know
UNC lands on Malone
North Carolina is expected to hire former Nuggets coach Michael Malone as its next men’s basketball coach. Malone, who has never been a college head coach, emerged as a top candidate for one of the sport’s premier jobs as others — including Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd and Michigan’s Dusty May — removed themselves from the pool. The 54-year-old spent the last 10 months as an ESPN analyst after being fired by Denver, with whom he won an NBA title, late in the 2024-25 season. More details in our story.
More news
- The Stars banned a fan who was part of a group captured on video giving an apparent Nazi salute during a game last December. Read the full report.
- Victor Wembanyama was ruled out for the second half of the Spurs’ game against the 76ers last night with a bruised left rib.
- USMNT striker Patrick Agyemang was stretchered off the field during Derby County’s match yesterday, a potential blow to the Americans’ World Cup roster depth.
- The Boston-area public transportation authority confirmed it will quadruple usual prices for a round-trip train ticket from the center of the city to Gillette Stadium during the 2026 World Cup. 80 bucks!
- The Mystics and GM Jamila Wideman are parting ways due to “strategic and directional differences” after just one season.
- Star DT Dexter Lawrence requested a trade from the Giants, sources said, a not-unexpected development as the three-time Pro Bowler pushes for a raise.
- Mets star Juan Soto hit the injured list — for the first time since 2021 — with a calf strain.
- Eight Tennessee women’s basketball players entered the transfer portal, leaving just one on the roster, after the Vols’ rare first-round NCAA Tournament exit. Woof.
Michael Reaves / Getty Images
Big Deals: WNBA shifts into overdrive
To an outsider, the WNBA offseason seemingly happened very slowly, then all at once. There were months of uncertainty about whether the 2026 season would even go on as scheduled, then the new collective bargaining agreement came together two weeks ago, the expansion draft took place Friday, the women’s NCAA title game happened Sunday and free agency opened yesterday. And then we saw a star player traded within a few hours. Whew.
Starting with the most recent news:
Players can ink deals starting Saturday, which is already just two days before the WNBA Draft. Two weeks after that? Preseason games start. We’re nearly there … just don’t blink.
Watch Guide
📺 UCL: Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich
3 p.m. ET on Paramount+
The first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals is here, and our writers largely agree this is the most exciting matchup and that Bayern is a favorite to win the whole thing. Another favorite, Arsenal, also plays Sporting CP today.
📺 NBA: Hornets at Celtics
8 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock
Charlotte in the watch guide in April? Really! The Hornets are No. 8 in our latest NBA Power Rankings, up from 16th, and are in a crowded race between the Nos. 5-10 seeds in the East. Rockets-Suns follows at 11.
Get tickets to games like these here.
Pulse Picks
I cannot get enough of MLB’s Automated Ball-Strike system data, even entering Week 3. It’s legit fascinating, and I keep chuckling at the list of players with the lowest overturn rate. Not where you want to be!
Can the PWHL succeed in New York after years of struggles on and off the ice? Peter Baugh and Hailey Salvian unpack all the factors.
The Yankees’ newest dessert sensation has been so popular, the team can’t keep it in stock. Spoiler: It’s ice cream that looks like fried chicken drumsticks.
Now that the NBA’s Great Tank of 2026 is nearly over, it’s time to quantify the costs. It’s worse than you might think, as John Hollinger writes.
Our golf crew has notes from Augusta National’s greens yesterday, including an update on Collin Morikawa’s back. Also: Ahead of the Masters, make sure you’re signed up for our golf newsletter.
A college tennis player’s leaping shot across the net recently went viral. You can probably guess the one problem with it.
Our annual NHL goalie mask rankings are back. The cuteness factor of Anthony Stolarz’s polar bear is criminally undervalued here, though.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Donovan Mitchell breaking two sets of ankles (figuratively speaking) with one move.
Most-read on the website yesterday: Men’s NCAA title game live blog.
📫 That’s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com, and check out our other newsletters.