It's been 37 years since Michigan basketball won a national championship, but the 2026 Final Four offers the perfect opportunity to break that streak.
The field is stacked. You have UConn, winner of two of the past three national championships. They also knocked out Duke, a juggernaut, on Sunday with a dramatic come-from-behind victory.
Michigan fans know how talented Illinois is. The Wolverines won in Champaign earlier this season, but a rematch with Illinois for the national title would be daunting, although, U-M did beat the Fighting Illini for the 1989 national title, so maybe history would repeat itself.
Over the years, Michigan has had a great record in the national semifinal. They have won that round six times in a row, dating back to 1975, also winning the Final Four game in 1989, 1992, 1993, 2013, and 2018 with just one title to show for it.
Michigan not winning the national title again would be painful
The last four Michigan trips to the Final Four have ended in heartbreak, with losses on Monday night. While it won't be easy to end the title drought this week, especially with a "terrifying" Arizona team on tap in the national semifinal, the oddsmakers have pegged Michigan as the favorite.
That not only applies to the Arizona game, but also any hypothetical matchup in the national championship game against UConn or Illinois.
That's a different position than the 2018 team or even the 2013 team. Those teams made the Final Four as No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, so they weren't the favorite to win the whole thing.
Michigan is this time. Dusty May has done an incredible job as head coach. Now, he's got the chance to do something even the greatest Michigan basketball coach of all time, John Beilein, couldn't even do, which is win a national championship.