2026 NCAA national championship game live stream: March Madness TV schedule game Monday

After three exciting weekends of NCAA Tournament action, only one game remains in the 2025-26 college basketball season. The 2026 NCAA Tournament’s final game will take place on Monday in Indianapolis, when No. 1 seed Michigan faces No. 2 seed UConn in the national title game.

UConn is on the verge of becoming an American sports dynasty after defeating Illinois 71-62 in the national semifinals on Saturday. The Huskies are making their third national title appearance in four years, after winning back-to-back championships in 2023 and 2024.

The last time a college basketball program won three titles in four seasons was UCLA. The Bruins won 10 national championships in 12 seasons from 1964 to 1975.

2026 NCAA Tournament championship: UConn vs. Michigan showdown closes March Madness with epic clash

Chip Patterson

Michigan is coming off a statement 91-73 win over No. 1 seed Arizona to advance to the national title game for the first time since 2018. The Wolverines can add a second national title to their trophy case after winning the title in 1989 by defeating UConn at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Notably, the Big Ten hasn’t won a national championship in men’s basketball since 2000, when Michigan State accomplished the feat. Purdue reached the national title game in 2024, but lost to UConn in Phoenix. Here is everything you need to know ahead of this year’s national title game.

UConn is on the verge of a dynasty

Winning a national title in this era of basketball is hard. Winning two titles during the same decade is something that might not happen again for the foreseeable future. But winning three titles in four years, as UConn can do on Monday, would cement the program as an American sports dynasty under coach Dan Hurley. UConn had two dominant NCAA Tournament runs in 2023 and 2024 before running into eventual national champion Florida last season in the second round. Under Hurley, UConn hasn’t lost after the Sweet 16 and is now 18-3 in the NCAA Tournament with him at the helm of the program.

Michigan and UConn dealing with injuries

While Michigan was cruising to a win over No. 1 seed Arizona in Saturday’s national semifinals, the biggest story to come out of the first half of that game was the health of Yaxel Lendeborg. Michigan’s All-American forward appeared to suffer what was described as a knee/ankle injury in the first half. He went to the locker room for the final minutes before returning to the game after halftime with a sleeve on his left leg. While Lendeborg did end up playing in the second half, he didn’t look 100%. Lendeborg told reporters after the game against Arizona that he would be “good for Monday.” His coach, Dusty May, said on Sunday that all imaging on his knee came back clean and that Lendeborg is dealing with an ankle sprain.

On Sunday, Hurley announced that starting guard Solo Ball wouldn’t practice due to a foot sprain suffered in the first half during the win over Illinois. Ball is in a walking boot, and his availability for the title game is uncertain.

Bigs will decide this matchup

UConn big man Tarris Reed Jr. is having one of the best tournament runs by a big man in recent memory. Reed finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Illinois. According to CBS Sports research, he is just the third player in the past 50 years to record at least 100 points and 60 rebounds before the national title game in a single NCAA Tournament. The others to reach that mark: Zach Edey (Purdue, 2024) and Blake Griffin (Oklahoma, 2009). That’s not bad company to be in. Reed will face his former team in the national title after beginning his career at Michigan.

Michigan’s greatest strength is its frontcourt of Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara. Mara, in particular, is coming off the best game of his career against Arizona after scoring 26 points. By scoring at least 20 points, Mara became just the second player who is at least 7-foot-3 to accomplish the feat in the Final Four. The other was two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey. While guards win games in March, it’s the bigs that will decide who wins college basketball’s final game in April.