5 plays that defined Michigan's NCAA title game win over UConn, including flagrant hook-and-hold on Alex Karaban

UConn went into Monday’s NCAA championship game with a clear plan: muck things up and grind down Michigan’s offense.

It worked until it didn’t as Michigan made more plays down the stretch to secure a 69-63 win and the national championship.

UConn’s strategy was correct against a deep and more talented Michigan roster that entered Monday’s game averaging 87.8 points per game. And it worked early in the game as UConn limited Michigan’s attack and held a 24-23 lead with 3:16 remaining in the game. UConn at that point had forced eight Michigan misses in its previous nine shots.

But a flagrant foul on UConn’s Alex Karaban shifted the game’s trajectory. And Michigan made more plays down the stretch than UConn to hold on for the program’s second NCAA championship.

Here are five plays (plus one) that led Michigan to victory Monday night.

Hook-and-hold flagrant foul on Alex Karaban

Karaban and Michigan’s Morez Johnson Jr. were battling for rebounding position off a missed Michigan 3 late in the first half. The two locked elbows, and Karaban held on as Johnson extended in an effort to secure the offensive rebound.

Officials reviewed the play and called Karaban for a hook-and-hold flagrant foul.

The call awarded Michigan two free throws and the ball.

Johnson sank both free throws. And Yaxel Lendeborg converted a layup to secure a four-point possession for Michigan.

The sequence triggered a 10-4 run to end the half that sent Michigan into the break with a 33-29 advantage. The Wolverines never trailed again.

Elliot Cadeau and-1/Solo Ball’s fourth foul

With 16:20 remaining, Michigan’s Elliot Cadeau pushed the ball in transition after a UConn miss. He looked up to find UConn’s Solo Ball standing between him and the basket in the paint.

Cadeau charged ahead and drew contact while sinking a layup. The bucket counted, and officials whistled Ball for his fourth foul 3:40 into the second half. Ball went to the bench. Cadeau sank the and-1 free throw to extend Michigan’s lead to 36-31.

Ball sat for almost 10 minutes. He didn’t return to the game until 6:30 remained as Michigan held a 54-45 lead.

Yaxel Lendeborg’s and-1/Tarris Reed’s third foul

Moment’s later, it was Lendeborg’s turn for a momentum-extending and-1. The Michigan All-American had the ball on the left wing and backed down the smaller Braylon Mullins from beyond the 3-point line.

When he got to the bucket, UConn’s 6-11 rim protector Tarris Reed Jr. was waiting. But Lendeborg jumped for a one-handed floater over Reed’s outstretched hands. The ball dropped through the basket, and Reed drew a whistle for contact on the shot.

The foul was Reed’s third with 15:16 remaining. He didn’t join Ball on the bench, but was forced to play through foul trouble. And Lendeborg hit the free throw to extend Michigan’s lead to 41-33.

The aggression marked a stark contrast from the first half for Lendeborg, who played passively on a sprained MCL and injured ankle that he suffered in Saturday’s Final Four win over Arizona.

He admitted at halftime that “I feel awful, I feel super weak.” But he was notably more aggressive and effective in the second half.

Cadeau’s 3 for 11-point lead

Not long after that Cadeau delivered on offense again.

Michigan’s lead stood at 45-37, and UConn was reeling. Cadeau took a pass on the wing in a halfcourt set. He faked a pass to the corner, but instead pulled up for a 3. The ball sank through the next to extend Michigan’s lead to 48-37 with 12:54 remaining.

It wasn’t a knockout punch. But it was a body blow that wobbled the Huskies.

Yaxel Lendeborg block/Morez Johnson putback

UConn didn’t shrink after Cadeau’s big 3 and had a chance to cut the Michigan lead to 5 in transition. Jaylin Stewart went up for a fast-break layup that would have reduced UConn’s deficit to 48-43.

But Lendeborg chased him down for a block off the glass. UConn got the rebound, but didn’t score on the possession.

On the other end, Morez Johnson Jr. put back a missed Trey McKenney layup off the rim.

And instead of having its lead cut to five, Michigan extended its advantage back to nine points to thwart the UConn run.

Trey McKenney’s stop and 3

UConn still wasn’t as the game clock approached 2 minutes. Alex Karaban hit a 3 with 2:29 remaining to cut Michigan’s lead to two possessions at 62-56.

UConn then forced a turnover over halfcourt and had a look at a transition layup that would have cut the Michigan lead to 4.

Bublocked Ball couldn’t finish the contested layup from the baseline over McKenney, and Michigan secured the rebound to set up its offense on the other end.

There the ball found its way to McKenney, who pulled for a 3 from the win off a pass from Roddy Gayle Jr.

It added up to a five-point swing in which Michigan extended its lead to 65-56 with 1:49 remaining.

UConn continued to apply pressure and forced Michigan to hit free throws down the stretch. But that sequence ultimately provided the knockout blow to secure Michigan’s national championship.