Michigan gets its moment, then transfer portal opens

INDIANAPOLIS — The blue-and-maize confetti was still flying around the stadium when a new tradition in college basketball kicked off without much fanfare.The transfer portal opened.Every team with title hopes for 2027 — even the new champions at Michigan — knows the chances of cutting down the nets a year from now will hinge largely on how well they fare in that phase of the game.Between the time it opened at midnight through 11 a.m. Tuesday, more than 1,200 players had already entered the portal, according to an Associated Press review of the numbers. Hundreds more are expected to flood the market over the newly condensed two-week period before the portal closes on April 21.It's a free-for-all filled with cash offers to players in exchange for the use of their name, image and likeness — essentially to come and play.Nobody navigated this new NIL era better in the season just completed than the Wolverines and coach Dusty May. Four of the five starters who led Michigan to its 69-63 win over UConn on Monday night played at other colleges last season. It figures at least three of them could be in the NBA next year."It's important to get the right people on the bus," Michigan assistant Justin Joyner said, referring to the team he helped build and the next one he must put together.It's the same across college basketball — newly crowned NCAA champion coach Cori Close of UCLA said the "transfer portal just got easier" after her team's win over South Carolina — and across college sports.For the men, the biggest names in the portal so far include Flory Bidunga (leaving Kansas), John Blackwell (Wisconsin) and Juke Harris (Wake Forest).Not every team will be looking for a total rebuild.UConn made its third Final Four in four seasons based on a targeted use of transfers. Coach Dan Hurley likes to do the old-fashioned thing and find players who will stay for three or four years. But he's realistic. One of his best players this season, Tarris Reed Jr., came to UConn from Michigan."We want to supplement our roster with some strategic portal moves like we were able to do," Hurley said.Big Ten is back The national title is back at Michigan for the first time since 1989. Almost as notably, it's back in the Big Ten for the first time since 2000 (Michigan State).The Wolverines' victory Monday gave the Big Ten a sweep this year of football (Indiana), along with both Division I basketball titles.According to Sportradar, this marks the first time the conference has held both the football and men's hoops titles since 1941, when it was known as the Big Nine.Beyond bragging rights, there is a business side to it all. Last year, the Southeastern Conference got all the buzz by placing a record 14 teams into March Madness and taking the title to Florida.This year, the Big Ten put a conference-record six teams in the Sweet 16, four in the Elite Eight, two in the Final Four and brought the championship back to its home turf. The conference has won the last three football championships while the SEC hasn't won one since 2022, when it capped a string of four straight that left some wondering if the sport had grown too lopsided.All of this has a deeper meaning for the two conferences that play an outsized role in shaping the future of college sports, which includes a long-running disagreement over the future of the all-important College Football Playoff and its big paydays: The Big Ten wants a big expansion to 24 or more teams while the SEC does not."We're very proud members of the Big Ten, I'm proud to be in there," said Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, whose own regents have been bickering with the conference over its desire to bring outside investors into the league. "My AD colleagues are working hard to do the same thing that I'm doing tonight, talking to you guys, being here with the confetti, having our team cut down the net. So all of that stuff is really good. Champions since 20002026 — Michigan 69, UConn 632025 — Florida 65, Houston 632024 — UConn 75, Purdue 602023 — UConn 76, San Diego St. 592022 — Kansas 72, North Carolina 692021 — Baylor 86, Gonzaga 702020 — Canceled due to Covid-192019 — Virginia 85, Texas Tech 77 (OT)2018 — Villanova 79, Michigan 622017 — North Carolina 71, Gonzaga 652016 — Villanova 77, North Carolina 742015 — Duke 68, Wisconsin 632014 — UConn 60, Kentucky 542013 — Louisville 82, Michigan 762012 — Kentucky 67, Kansas 592011 — UConn 53, Butler 412010 — Duke 61, Butler 592009 — North Carolina 89, Michigan State 722008 — Kansas 75, Memphis 68 (OT)2007 — Florida 84, Ohio State 752006 — Florida 73, UCLA 572005 — North Carolina 75, Illinois 702004 — UConn 82, Georgia Tech 732003 — Syracuse 81, Kansas 782002 — Maryland 64, Indiana 522001 — Duke 82, Arizona 722000 — Michigan State 89, Florida 76