Bracket Busters Update – Championship Edition

Good morning Bracket Busters!

It’s been an amazing 3 weeks of ups and downs, surprise endings, and buzzer-beating thrillers. Records were broken and droughts were ended. The tournament that we wait for all year lived up to its hype, and I’m thrilled that you were here to take part in it. My enthusiasm for March Madness is not a secret, but it’s more than just a well-designed tournament at the perfect time of year. It’s the ultimate stage for underdogs to etch their name in history. The unpredictability and emotional intensity of a one-and-done format. The obsession over brackets and putting a little cabbage on the table hoping for a big payout. But most of all, it’s gathering with friends and family and sharing the excitement with each other. I hope you had the opportunity to share this time of year with your clan and enjoyed even half as much as I did.

Now, for the final time this year, let’s dive into the championship game and raise some banners.

The Highlights (and Heartbreaks) from the National Championship

Hail To The Victors After a 37-year long wait, amid controversy and near misses, the Michigan Wolverines are champions once again. To put that timeline in perspective, the last time Michigan raised a championship banner in the Crisler Center, the Berlin Wall was still intact, the world wide web had not yet been invented, and Marty McFly was taking us to the “distant future” of 2015 with hoverboards and flying cars. A lot has changed since 1989, but one thing remains the same…winning still feels amazing! Recruiting looked a lot different back then too. Coaching staffs across the country sat in high school gyms to scout the best young kids to lead their collegiate programs. And while that’s still important to a degree, Coach Dusty May has rewritten the rules of how to win in the portal era. Last night marked the first time any team started 5 players that transferred from another school. Some call it buying a championship, but you take advantage of the rules you have. And seemingly, Michigan did it better than anyone putting together a talented roster of size and aggresiveness that was the only one standing when dust finally settled.

This year’s championship game wasn’t exactly the high-scoring blowout that we have come to expect from the Wolverines. After being the first team in college basketball to average 90+ points per game in every tournament game leading up to the championship, Michigan only needed 69 points to seal the deal on Monday night. It was the second worst shooting game in a title match-up with both teams combining for a measly 34.1% from the field. Pretty sure storm troopers have a better accuracy rate than that. If you would’ve told me Monday morning that Michigan would go 2-15 from the arc and get out-rebounded by UConn 46-39 and still win, I would’ve said you were dumber than the hosts of The View. But the Huskies couldn’t keep their hands to themselves and sent Michigan to the free throw line 28 times. Foul trouble and Michigan’s ability to hit 89% of those free throws was a huge difference maker. UConn loses for the first time in a championship game, 69-63. Congratulations to the Michigan Wolverines, the 2026 National Champions!

Final Standings This year we had 130 people fill out 244 brackets in hopes to see their name raised high in the Bracket Busters Hall of Champions. There were 46 brackets with Michigan on that final line, but this mountain’s summit only has room for 4 lucky winners who navigated enough early round upsets and a displayed a crystal ball-like ability to put the right teams in the Final Four. Congratulations to our 2026 Bracket Busters Champions: Erich Achtmann, Becky Anderson, Jeff Norfolk, and Sean Anderson.

Along with eternal glory and having their names forever etched in the Hall of Champions, our winners take home a nice cash prize for their prognostication prowess.

• 1st Place – Erich Achtmann: $1,220
• 2nd Place – Becky Anderson: $610
• 3rd Place – Jeff Norfolk: $366
• 4th Place – Sean Anderson: $244

Congratulations my friends!

Thank you again for being part of Bracket Busters this year. I’ve had a lot of fun catching up with many of you, celebrating the wins and lamenting the losses together. I suppose it’s back to the real world. Time for me to find a job that actually pays. 😆 Join us next year for Bracket Busters XXX (that’s 30, not the adult film version of the tournament) where we will take it to the next level once again.

And now, it’s time for the quiet hush of the Masters.

Chris H
Bracket Busters HQ