Michigan’s trip to the national championship game was further validation of the Big Ten’s greatness this season. But, without this journey to the summit of college basketball, I don’t think that would have been true.

With Trey Burke saddled with foul trouble, Michigan was fueled in the first half by none other than Spike Albrecht, who had 17 points. Yes, 17 points. That helped the Wolverines hold a 38-37 halftime cushion, although it could have been more as they led by as many as 12 points. But Louisville turned up the heat in the second half, outscoring Michigan, 45-38, and holding Albrecht scoreless to win its third national championship (1980 and 1986).

America, Spike Albrecht. Spike Albrecht, America. The Michigan freshman introduced himself to the nation with an out-of-this-world first half, in which the guard hit 6-of-7 shots and scored a career-high 17 points. His previous best entering the night: Seven. Check out the entertaining Twitter reaction to Albrecht’s unexpected first-half performance.

Luke Hancock made all five of his 3-pointers and led Louisville to its first NCAA men’s basketball championship since 1986 with a 82-76 victory over Michigan on Monday night.

Throughout tonight’s Michigan-Louisville NCAA title game, we posted all the best photos from the Georgia Dome in this post. Whether it was a shot of fans or celebrities, or of the action on the floor, you can find it in this photo gallery, courtesy USA Today Sports.

On tonight’s “BTN at the Final Four” prior to the NCAA title game, BTN host Dave Revsine and analyst Jim Jackson sat down with former “Fab Five” member Jimmy King, Heisman Trophy winners Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson and former Wolverine Zack Novak. Watch the King interview here and check out the other three in this post.

Louisville and Michigan don’t tip off for a few hours, but some vendor(s) have the NCAA championship t-shirts on display at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. See both shirts in this post.

Michigan will take on Louisville tonight, looking for the school’s first national title since the Wolverines knocked off Seton Hall in overtime in 1989. I’ve watched every Michigan game this tournament pretty closely, and plenty more during the regular season. Here are my nine keys to victory for No. 4 seed Michigan tonight vs. No. 1 seed Louisville.

A good number of Michigan fans have taken to using Vine to make short videos during this NCAA tournament run. Michigan’s basketball team (@umichbball) is leading the way with a number of insider videos. What is Vine? Vine is an app that records six seconds of video and posts it on an endless loop to your Twitter account. Six seconds? Yes, six seconds. We scooped up a bunch from this past weekend and posted them.

Michigan will battle Louisville in the NCAA championship game at 9:23 p.m. ET Monday at the Georgia Dome. How are the Wolverines feeling the day before playing for the program’s first NCAA title since 1989?

Without seeing every sign Saturday night at the Georgia Dome, here’s a prediction: Not many topped the “Time Outs Left” one a pair of young Michigan fans hoisted toward the end of the Wolverines’ national semifinal win over Syracuse.

Trey Burke scored just seven points, but Michigan used a balanced attack to dispatch Syracuse on Saturday night and advance to Monday’s national title game vs. Louisville. Tim Hardaway Jr. (13 points), Mitch McGary and Glenn Robinson III (10 points) carried the offensive load as Michigan helped John Beilein record his first victory over Jim Boeheim in 10 tries.

It’s official: Michigan will play for its first national championship since 1989. The Wolverines downed Syracuse, 61-56, in Saturday night’s national semifinal at the Georgia Dome to advance to the national championship game. Michigan will face top overall seed Louisville on Monday night. Check out our photo gallery from Saturday night’s game.

Mitch McGary totaled 10 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high six assists to lift Michigan past Syracuse, 61-56, in Saturday’s national semifinal at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

Leading up to Saturday night’s Michigan-Syracuse semifinal at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo and Nebraska coach Tim Miles stopped by the BTN set to talk about their teams and the Final Four. Watch the Izzo interview now and find the Miles one in this post.