Analysis of Men's N.C.A.A. Final Between Louisville and Michigan The reserve swingman Luke Hancock kept Louisville in the game in the first half. In the second half, the starters Peyton Siva and Chane Behanan did the heavy lifting to lead the Cardinals to their third national title overall and their first since 1986, with an 82-76 victory over Michigan. Siva finished with 18 points, five assists and four steals, and his numerous - and relentless - forays to the basket in the second half wore down the Wolverines" interior defense. Behanan had 15 points and 13 rebounds, with 12 of the boards coming in the second half. He simply overpowered Michigan's big men in the low post and helped Louisville finish with a plus-7 rebound margin after the Cardinals were whipped on the boards in the first half. Hancock was named the outstanding player of the Final Four. Michigan got just 2 points from its bench in the second half, and the reserve guard Spike Albrecht was scoreless in the second half after pouring in 17 in the first half. Louisville's title came one season after archrival Kentucky won it all. It's the fifth time in N.C.A.A. history that rival schools from the same state have won titles in back-to-back seasons (Ohio State and Cincinnati in 1960-61, North Carolina and North Carolina State in 1982-83, Duke and U.N.C. in 1992-93 and U.N.C.-Duke in 2009-10 were the others).