Michigan won the national title. Why does Dusty May not feel like it?

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CA — Despite winning the 2026 national championship, Michigan basketball coach Dusty May doesn’t “feel like we’re national champions.”

The Wolverines beat UConn on April 6 to win their first title since 1989, ending a 26-year Big Ten drought with a dominant run through the NCAA Tournament. Michigan had a parade and celebration the weekend after the Final Four, but now more than a month after winning it all, May doesn’t feel any different than before.

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“There have been times like that when it’s been just a really cool moment to take a step back, but overall, I don’t really feel any different,” May told USA TODAY Sports at the Big Ten spring meetings. “I don’t feel like we’re national champions.”

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The reason for that? Because May quickly turned his attention to next season.

The college basketball calendar lives up to the saying of when one door closes, another opens. Less than an hour after the buzzer sounded inside Lucas Oil Stadium on April 6, the transfer portal officially opened at midnight ET on April 7.

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May and his staff could have soaked in the celebration, but getting a roster assembled was a priority. He said it doesn’t make sense to complain about the quick turnaround since coaches agreed with the date, so he instead got to work.

“You finish that and you immediately turn to what’s next,” May added. “We chose to start the next day because we wanted to have an opportunity to be as good as we could possibly be the next year, and timing is incredibly important. The urgency in the portal was paramount.

“We were mentally fatigued, but it’s part of our job.”

The Wolverines have a roster well-positioned to defend their crown. Even with departures like Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara, May has a recruiting class that includes highly rated guard Brandon McCoy Jr., as well as transfers Moustapha Thiam (Cincinnati) and J.P. Estrella (Tennessee). Also back is NCAA Tournament most outstanding player Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/michigan-won-national-title-why-085614763.html

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Publish date : 2026-05-19 08:56:00

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