Championship rematches in college basketball are hard to come by, let alone in the first week of the regular season. The rematch of the 2026 national championship is on tap Friday night as the No. 4 UConn men’s basketball team seeks revenge on the No. 16 Michigan Wolverines at TD Garden in Boston, in the TNT Sports Hall of Fame Series. This will be only the 11th time since 1996 that the two finalists will meet in the following season.
Out of the gauntlet of the Huskies’ nonconference schedule, Jayden Ross had this game in particular circled on his calendar.
“The second game [of the season] is definitely on my mind,” Ross said during an interview in September.
UConn will head to Boston carrying a bitter taste, having fallen just short in that 69-63 national championship defeat — coming exactly seven months to the day before Friday night’s rematch.
The Wolverines look different this season compared to last year, following a summer that saw Aday Mara, Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr., from the 2025-2026 squad that Dan Hurley described as “the Monstars,” selected in the NBA Draft lottery. It is the first time Michigan has produced multiple lottery picks in the same year. Another departure for the team is head coach Dusty May, who was hired by the Dallas Mavericks. Former assistant coach Mike Boynton Jr. was hired in July as the 19th head coach in the program’s history.
Unlike UConn’s 40-point blowout, the defending champions kicked off their season with a much tighter battle where they defeated Oakland Golden Grizzlies 84-68. The Golden Grizzlies hung around for a bit longer than expected, and they cut the lead to as close as seven points with eight minutes to play in the second half. Trey McKinney and Roddy Gale Jr., both Michigan returners, each led the Wolverines with 17 points.
Although they lost three of their starters, Michigan retained point guard Elliot Cadeau, who scored a game-high 19 points to knock off the Huskies in April. The fourth-year player had a slow start in the opener, scoring just seven points on 1-of-5 shooting, including five turnovers as well.
A vital addition to the Wolverines is Tennessee transfer J.P. Estrella, who put up a 15-point, 12 rebound double-double in the contest against Oakland. Estrella averaged 10 points per game last season for the Volunteers in only 13 starts. Now entering his fourth season, the 6-foot-11-inch forward will have a much more important role for Michigan.
Moustapha Thiam, a Cincinnati transfer, will fill the Mara role this season. The towering 7-foot-2-inch junior averaged 12.8 points and 1.6 blocks per game last season. Thiam missed Monday’s game against Oakland due to illness.
The Huskies are coming off a dominant 86-46 win in the season-opener against Gardner-Webb on Monday night. Braylon Mullins led the way with 20 points while knocking down four three-pointers in nine attempts.
“I think just playing this for game two just shows what our nonconference [schedule] is like. It’s a really good team and you’ve got to bring your all,” Mullins said. “It’s going to be good to play this team again just to see what they’re about.”
Tipoff from TD Garden is set for 8 p.m. and can be watched on TNT or TruTV.