Dusty May returns to the Final Four. This time, it was expected

INDIANAPOLIS — The first time Dusty May reached the Final Four, the storyline was improbable. Three years ago, his Florida Atlantic Owls were branded a Cinderella, a label that grated on the coach and his players. They finished 28-3, earned a No. 9 seed, and clawed their way to Houston, where they played in front of 74,000 fans and millions more on CBS. The run was so unexpected that May spent the Monday after the regional final phoning veteran coaches, scrambling to learn how to handle the media swarm, the open locker rooms, and the cavernous football stadium that hosts the national semifinals.

On Saturday night inside Lucas Oil Stadium, May will walk the same sideline with a different swagger. In his second season at Michigan, the Wolverines enter as the betting favorite, a juggernaut that clinched an NCAA bid in November, bulldozed the Big Ten, and pulverized Tennessee 95-62 in the Midwest Regional final—the most lopsided regional-clinching win in 37 years. The post-game press conference revolved around Michigan’s Final Four pedigree—six in the last seven decades—not whether the program belongs.

“It felt a lot different than it did at FAU,” May said. “This felt like something our guys expected, and even our fan base, it felt like they expected it a little bit, as well.”

The contrast is stark. At Florida Atlantic, total home attendance that season was 38,050 across 17 games; simply making the field of 68 was historic. This Michigan team wrapped up a tournament berth before Thanksgiving and has spent the winter checking boxes on a title chase. Instead of leaning on peers for advice, May huddled with his staff this week, reviewing notes from 2023 to refine travel plans, practice schedules, and scouting reports.

“This year, it was more of our staff getting together,” May said. “Going through our notes and checklist about what we didn’t do well and what we did, and try to recreate what we did well.”

May called his lone season after the Final Four run at FAU—when he returned almost every key contributor—the “most difficult year” of his coaching life. The inevitability of his departure hung over the program until he accepted the Michigan job. Now, with a roster built to win now, May is back where he always hoped to be—only this time, nobody is surprised.