How Dusty May, Michigan overcame the odds from 8 wins to the Final Four

Having eviscerated Tennessee in the Elite Eight to advance to the Final Four, Michigan basketball is right where everyone thought it would be in December. But in the early goings of the 2025-26 season, the Wolverines had a lot of close calls before the expectations rose substantially. Then, the maize and blue headed to Las Vegas for the in-season tournament, and they destroyed Auburn and Gonzaga, suddenly foisting newfound hopes on the team.

Now Michigan is set to face Arizona in Indianapolis on Saturday, with a win getting the Wolverines to the national championship game, and two wins meaning that they’ve won it all. But it was a challenge to get here, because with the newfound expectations came a bunch of new challenges, head coach Dusty May says.

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“I think the most difficult part is that everyone starts getting so much more attention, advice, literally everything they get more of,” May said. “It’s difficult not to make it about you because the people you’re talking to are making it about you. Everyone is having those same things going on.

“There’s just a lot of distracting information. If you’re not mature and you’re not connected as a group and you’re not willing to be held accountable by the staff and each other, then it’s not going to work. Once it creeps in, it’s almost impossible to weed it out. Our guys never let it in. Trust me, they all had different fires that were ignited by other people. They just stayed the course and stayed about each other. That’s ultimately why we’re here. You guys see it. We weren’t a super team, but these guys became super teammates.”

The Wolverines had their moments of letting their guard down. Whether it was the January loss to Wisconsin, the close calls against teams like Penn State and Northwestern, or the loss to Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament, many wondered if the maize and blue perhaps had peaked far too early. However, with a 33-point win over Tennessee, four-straight 90-plus-point games in the NCAA Tournament, and…

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Publish date : 2026-03-29 23:02:00

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