On Monday night, Michigan defeated UConn 69-63 to win the national championship. It marks the first title in men’s basketball by a Big Ten school in 26 years.
In addition, the Wolverines became the first team to ever win a national championship with a starting lineup consisting entirely of transfers. While USC also rolled out a lineup heavy on transfers, however, the Trojans did not experience anywhere close to the same level of success, missing the NCAA Tournament altogether.
Michigan’s national championship can serve as an important lesson for Eric Musselman and USC. The Wolverines taught us that the transfer portal can be an incredible tool—but only if you hit on your evaluations.
This past offseason, Michigan went out and landed Yaxel Lendeborg, Elliot Cadeau, and Aday Mara in the portal. All three players wound up playing massive roles on the team’s national championship run.
USC, on the other hand, did not have its portal acquisitions pan out at that level. The Trojans had some brutal luck with Rodney Rice being lost for the season during nonconference play, but other additions such as Chad Baker-Mazara and Jordan Marsh all failed to produce on the level that Musselman was presumably hoping when he brought them in.
Michigan and USC’s 2025-2026 seasons were a great case study on how much player evaluation matters in the transfer portal. If the Trojans can do a better job with such this upcoming cycle, they could return to the NCAA Tournament in 2026-2027. If not, however, it could be another frustrating season in Los Angeles.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Eric Musselman, USC can learn important lesson from Michigan’s title
Reporting by Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
