Michigan pummels Arizona to roll into national championship game against UConn
INDIANAPOLIS — Styles make fights, and this had all the makings of a heavyweight bout.The two best teams in college basketball. Two of the tallest, toughest and most physical rosters, embodying the sport’s big-ball takeover this season. But it was Michigan that came out swinging and immediately had Arizona on the ropes, setting the tone for a 91-73 victory to send the Wolverines to the national championship game against UConn on Monday.The Wolverines turned what was thought to be the game of the NCAA Tournament into a runaway blowout, led by a career-high 26 points by 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara.Michigan returns to the national title game for the first time since 2018, playing for the program’s second national championship against a Huskies squad trying to win its third in four years. It also puts the Wolverines one step closer to snapping the Big Ten’s 26-year championship drought, and continues the 29-year streak of no title winners west of the Rockies — since Arizona won in 1997.Even more impressive is the fact that Michigan did with its best player, Yaxel Lendeborg, hobbled by a knee and ankle injury suffered in the first half. The Big Ten Player of the Year was limited to just 11 points in 14 minutes, returning but clearly hobbled in the second half.
It didn’t matter. A week after muscling their way to a 33-point win over Tennessee in the Elite Eight, the Wolverines and second-year coach Dusty May continued their dominance. Freshman Trey McKenney added 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range, and point guard Elliot Cadeau had a double-double with 13 points and 10 assists. Michigan shot 48 percent from the field and 12 for 27 from 3-point range, while turning 14 Arizona turnovers into 26 points. Michigan became the first team to score 90-plus points in five NCAA Tournament games, and did it with a game to spare.Arizona had one of its best seasons in program history, posting a record 36 wins and entering the game as the best team, according to KenPom’s analytics. Yet it had no answer for Michigan on either end of the floor. The Wildcats looked shell-shocked from the opening tip, with senior Jaden Bradley saddled with early foul trouble and the star freshmen trio of Brayden Burries, Koa Peat and Ivan Kharchenkov showing their youth on the big stage. College basketball’s No. 4 offense and No. 2 defense looked completely overmatched.Cadeau, despite starting 2 for 14 from the field, was the best player on the court for long stretches of the opening 20 minutes, playing talisman with six assists and three steals. The pick-and-roll with Mara was unstoppable, Cadeau lobbing passes into the sky and Mara slamming them home. McKenney caught fire in the second half, hitting three 3-pointers in the opening minutes. The Wolverines led by 30 with 10 minutes to play. For Arizona, the clock couldn’t run out fast enough.Now Michigan, at 36-3, has a chance to cap its winningest season in school history with a second title, and finish off a run akin to UConn’s 2024 championship — against Dan Hurley and the Huskies.This story will be updated.
