After a March Madness full of blowouts, what did you expect? The UCLA women destroyed South Carolina 79-51 in the national championship game yesterday, the third-largest blowout in title game history. Tonight, Michigan, fresh off an 18-point win over Arizona in the national semifinal, plays UConn for the men’s national title.
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How did the Bruins pull it off? Will the Wolverines roll to a title, too? We break it all down below.
A reminder: We’ll be live-blogging the game tonight, so follow along for real-time insight and analysis from our team. As always, be sure to check NBC News for all our coverage.
Michigan vs. UConn
During the first half of Saturday’s Final Four game between Michigan and Arizona, Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan’s 6-foot-9 forward and leading scorer, injured his left knee and ankle. He spent a lot of time receiving treatment and when he returned in the second half appeared to be moving somewhat gingerly.
“He played the second half like a 38-year-old at the YMCA,” Michigan coach Dusty May later said.
Yaxel Lendeborg of the Michigan Wolverines during the second half against the Arizona Wildcats in the Final Four of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on April 4.Jamie Schwaberow / NCAA Photos via Getty Images
It didn’t matter. Michigan jumped out to a lead as large as 30, as the Wolverines cruised to a 91-73 win over Arizona. The Wildcats were a fellow No. 1 seed and a trendy pick to win the tournament, and Michigan disposed of them as if they were a mid-major.
The Wolverines have been doing this all season, though. In the regular season, they beat three ranked teams (Gonzaga, Auburn and USC) by 30 or more points. In the NCAA Tournament, they beat Tennessee in the Elite Eight by 33 points. They’ve cruised through the tournament, averaging 94.4 points per game and winning by an average of 21.6.
Aside from Lendeborg, Michigan boasts two other potential NBA draft picks in the front court — 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara and 6-foot-9 forward Morez Johnson Jr. — plus an experienced point guard in Elliot Cadeau and a smart coach in May.
Looking at the box score, Cadeau appeared to have a poor shooting night (5-for-17) against Arizona. But May revealed afterward that “a couple of those were passes off the backboard.” May had instructed Cadeau to use the backboard to pass the ball to Mara, to work around Arizona’s own 7-foot-2 center Motiejus Krivas. “We’ve spent about 5 to 10 minutes the last three days working on the lob off the backboard,” May said.
All eyes will be on Lendeborg on Monday night, though, and his availability. He’s said that he plans to play. How effectively? We’ll see. “Whatever version of Yaxel we get, it’s going to be somebody that helps us play better basketball,” May said.
UCLA’s Super Seniors
Leading up to yesterday’s national title game, UCLA coach Cori Close found herself in a Zen-like mood. “I really did expect us to win today,” she said, after the Bruins defeated South Carolina by 28 points. “I thought about it several times. I’m like, ‘We’re going to win.’ I felt very peaceful all day.”
Close could rest easy knowing she had six seniors to lean on, six seniors who wanted to go out on a high note — star center Lauren Betts, four dynamic guards in Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker, and super-sub forward Angela Dugalic off the bench. They combined to score all 79 of UCLA’s points Sunday.
Kiki Rice #1, Lauren Betts #51, Gianna Kneepkens #8, Sienna Betts #16, and Gabriela Jaquez #11 of the UCLA Bruins celebrate after the victory against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the National Championship of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Mortgage Matchup Center on April 05, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. Sarah Stier / Getty Images
“Today was just a fantastic display of our resilience, intensity that we came out,” Rice said. “Just our will to win. We knew, we had a feeling this was our time, this was our year. We came out there this entire weekend and we would not be denied.”
In a sign of the times, four of the six seniors started their careers at other schools, only to transfer to UCLA to form this juggernaut. Betts arrived from Stanford, Dugalic from Oregon, Kneepkens from Utah and Leger-Walker from Washington State.
But Sunday, the Bruins were led by Jaquez, a Southern California native and the younger sister of NBA player Jaime Jaquez Jr., a former Bruin himself. Gabriela was all over the court, scoring 21 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing 5 assists.
UCLA’s 6-foot-7 center Betts also delivered, as she had all tournament. Throughout March Madness, she averaged 21 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.8 blocks per game. After yesterday’s masterpiece, she was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
Betts credited the team’s selflessness, how players sacrificed for one another, for the good of the team. “At the end of the day,” she said, “no one’s going to really care about how much you averaged this season when you have a freaking ring around your finger. No one cares.”
Geno vs. Dawn
Head coach Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks, left, and head coach Geno Auriemma of the UConn Huskies during the fourth quarter in the Final Four on April 3.Christian Petersen / Getty Images
The women’s Final Four was overshadowed, in part, by an incident between two of the faces of the sport, UConn coach Geno Auriemma and South Carolina coach Dawn Staley. In the final moments of Friday night’s Final Four game, as the Gamecocks closed in on a win over the Huskies, Auriemma had a heated exchange with Staley near midcourt.
Auriemma was upset that Staley had not met him on the court pregame, separate from the coach’s handshake line, in what he apparently considered a tradition. Auriemma received a lot of criticism for his behavior and he later publicly apologized to Staley.
After South Carolina got crushed by UCLA yesterday, Staley said she was happy for UCLA and coach Close because they were “really quality people.”
“Although we didn’t win,” Staley added, “I can swallow it because we lost to a really good human being and a good team that represent women’s basketball well.”
A reporter asked Staley about Auriemma potentially reaching out after the incident, and Staley tried to deflect. “We’re not going to damper UCLA’s day with it,” she said.
The day before the title game, Close had been asked about the incident. She had texted with Staley, she said, and “I told her in a couple weeks I’d love to know the real story.”
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What We’re Reading
The day after the women’s Final Four ended, the WNBA had a massive trade. The Chicago Sky sent Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream, in exchange for two first-round picks.
Steph Curry’s return from injury wasn’t the only notable thing from last night’s game. He finally took the floor as a teammate with his brother, Seth Curry.
Luka Dončić is headed to Europe to seek specialized treatment for his hamstring strain.
Scottie Scheffler and his family — including his 9-day-old son — have arrived at The Masters.
And Rory McIlroy is aiming to join exclusive company of back-to-back winners of the famed tournament.
The WNBA held its expansion draft for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo.
What We’re Watching
It’s all come down to this. The national championship, Michigan vs. UConn. One team that’s steamrolled its way through the tournament and another that is playing for its third title in four years. Come join us as our NBC News team live-blogs the game.
Before that, for an appetizer, tune into Peacock for a quality NBA matchup between the red-hot Atlanta Hawks and the New York Knicks.
All times are Eastern:
- 7 p.m.: New York Knicks vs. Atlanta Hawks, on Peacock
- 8:50 p.m.: No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 2 UConn, on TBS
That’s it for now! We’ll be back tomorrow.
