Are you paying close attention? What absolutely should have gotten lost in Michigan's wiping of the floor with Tennessee could come back to haunt the Wolverines later on. With Michigan dismantling Tennessee to the tune of 95-62 in the Elite Eight, there is a non-zero chance that Rick Barnes' team inadvertently cursed them, if you believe that sort of thing. Follow along with what might transpire...
In the last three NCAA Tournaments, Barnes' Volunteers have bowed out in the Midwest Regional Final. While this season is still left to be finished, the last two winners of the Midwest in 2024-25 Houston and 2023-24 Purdue ended up getting to the national championship, only to lose... The good news for Michigan is the Wolverines are destined to beat Arizona in the Final Four. The bad news is...
If this Tennessee Elite Eight curse holds up for a third consecutive season, then either Illnois or the winner of Duke vs. UConn will end up winning this year's national championship. Michigan has been to plenty of Final Fours in its illustrious basketball history, but has only won one national championship to date. That came way back in 1989. Right now, Michigan is not even remotely concerned about this.
However, if things hit the fan in the national title bout next Monday night for Michigan, it is the curse!
Michigan has the right team to win a national championship this season
Alleged curses aside, Michigan feels like the presumptive favorite to win it all. Arizona will be a worthy adversary for the Wolverines in the Final Four. This may be East Coast bias, but do you really trust U of A in this big spot? Illinois may have punched its ticket to the Final Four first, but Brad Underwood's Fighting Illini are only a No. 3 seed. As for Duke and UConn, that game has still yet to be determined...
What makes Michigan every bit capable of bucking any trend, recent or not, is the Wolverines might have the best head coach in the game today in Dusty May, as well as the best player still left in the tournament in Yaxel Lendeborg. When it comes to winning time, we should expect the dynamic player and head-coaching tandem to prevail in the end, even over a program that has a strong one in Duke.
For now, Tennessee losing to Purdue and Houston in previous Elite Eights, only for the Boilermakers and the Cougars to lose in the national championship game a week later may be purely coincidental. Then again, it could be more than just a coincidence if Michigan were to make it to the national championship and then lose to either Illinois, Duke, or UConn. We have seen strangers things happen.
At this time, let's just enjoy Michigan getting back to the Final Four. One thing and one day at a time...