With the entire world watching, Louisville outlasted Michigan, 82-76, in an absolute classic that will instantly go down as one of the best national championship games in a long time.
In what was the perfect way to end an unpredictable, thrilling season, this game had it all. It had under-the-radar bench players catching fire in the first half. It had the superstar point guards stepping up down the stretch. It had thundering alley-oop dunks. It had back-and-forth, scintillating action, and everyone but Rick Pitino’s squad was disappointed to see it come to a finish.
But in the end, senior point guard Peyton Siva, who finished with 18 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals, controlled a nail-biting second half as the Cardinals held on for the win.
Luke Hancock, who kept the Cardinals close in the first 20 minutes, finished with a ridiculous 22 points on six field-goal attempts and was named Final Four MOP.
