INDIANAPOLIS — UConn lost 69-63 to Michigan in the men’s NCAA Tournament national championship game when starting guards Solo Ball and Silas Demary Jr. were each called for two quick fouls, changing the complexion of the game as the Huskies look to win on the perimeter.
Ball, who injured his foot in the national semifinals against Illinois, scored 11 points in 16 minutes. DeMarie lasted just 21 minutes and scored one goal before being whistled for her fifth foul with just over a minute left in the game.
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“I just think the foul trouble in the first half, really, I think if we didn’t have the foul trouble, we probably would have gone into halftime with a lead,” coach Dan Hurley said.
Forward Talis Reid Jr. had 13 points and 14 rebounds, but was troubled by the defense of Michigan State player Aday Mara and shot only 4 of 12 shots. This was his worst shooting performance since missing all three shots in the regular season game against Illinois in late November. Guard Braylon Mullins scored 11 points on 4-for-17 shooting and 3-for-10 from three-point range.
The main reason UConn has stayed close to Michigan is the same reason UConn came here in the first place: In the final game of his college career, power forward Alex Karaban had a team-high 17 points and 11 rebounds, while also adding two assists and two steals.
“So it hurts now. It hurts now,” he said.
Connecticut forward Alex Karaban (11) walks off the court as Michigan State celebrates after winning the 2026 NCAA Men’s National Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Indianapolis.
Crucially, Calaban played all 40 minutes and continued to be a stabilizing force for the Huskies in his final March Madness experience.
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“Coach let me play 40 minutes and I can’t thank him enough,” Calaban said. “That’s what I want. That’s what I want, is to give everything I have, leave everything I have and do whatever it takes to help us win.”
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Hurley said, “Let me take him down one more time, for Alex, for another 40 minutes. Let me take that guy down one more night, like I’ve done his whole career. He deserves 40 minutes.”
The most fitting way for Karaban to end his career is to become a three-time national champion with back-to-back championships in 2023 and 2024, putting him among UCLA’s elite college players with three championship rings.
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“Obviously. It’s been tough for us,” Hurley said. “Again, we’re not here for the watch, we’re here for the ring.”
But the ending of the matter is also appropriate. Playing a complementary role on a deep roster since his redshirt freshman season, Karaban has been the glue that holds the Huskies together — a key cog in helping a program breathe rarefied air and win three championships in four years.
“I could be crying here just talking about the impact he has in the locker room, in every practice, every game,” Ball said. “He’s always there, the same guy every day. He doesn’t change. He’s a very smart, great guy off the field. I’m going to miss this guy terribly.”
Karaban’s second-half performance helped UConn overcome multiple double-digit deficits and stay within reach of a rival expected to leave the Huskies behind after beating Arizona in the national semifinals.
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The Wolverines took their largest lead, 43-35, six minutes into the second half when Karaban grabbed an offensive rebound and made a layup, halting Michigan’s momentum. With Michigan leading 58-48 five minutes into the game, Calaban found Mullins for a three-pointer, setting the stage for a late run.
Then, with 2:30 left in the game, Karaban hit a three-pointer to reduce Michigan’s advantage to 62-56. While his effort came up short — and it wasn’t perfect, as he missed two free throws with a little more than six minutes left and a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left — Karaban almost sheer force of will across the UConn finish line.
“Yeah, you know, luckily I was able to wear this jersey for as long as I could, for the most minutes, for the most minutes, for the most games. I ended up coming back and winning,” he said.
Win or lose Monday night, Calaban’s place in program history is secure. He is already the first active player to be inducted into the program’s Hall of Fame. His career records include wins (126), games played (150), starts (149) and minutes played (4,909). He finished his career with an 18-2 record in the NCAA Tournament, including a 5-1 mark in the Final Four.
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Here’s a long list of the best individual players in college basketball over the past three decades. While Karaban wasn’t the program’s best overall player, nor the Huskies’ top NBA prospect, he walked away with a more important title: the most important player in UConn history.
“He put UConn on the map in college basketball,” Hurley said. This man changed my life, the lives of the faculty, the joy he brought to the university and the fan base.
“His decision to come to UConn allowed us…Florida won a national championship last year. I might have been in trouble for that. Michigan won a national championship this year. But he helped make UConn, I think, probably the premier program in college basketball right now, been to three of four national championship games and won two of them.”
That’s a small consolation after coming so close to a third ring. But Karaban takes solace in his legacy: UConn is already a franchise, and if Hurley can keep it that way, UConn has become a potential dynasty thanks to the senior’s four years as an irreplaceable figure in the program.
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“I just remind myself now how much I’ve grown by the time I got to UConn, and I’ll eventually leave UConn from where I started and I’m in a better place now,” he said. “I gave it everything I had. I gave it my heart. I gave it everything. I just think about UConn basketball every day.
“Now I’m leaving to make UConn one of the best brands in college basketball and at the top, and I’m leaving better than when it started. I’m most proud of that.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alex Karban plays 40 minutes against Michigan to end UConn career
