Final Four live updates: Michigan-Arizona underway after UConn advances past Illinois

The Wolverines boast one of the biggest frontcourts in the country. Yaxel Lendeborg, the 6-foot-9 forward who's the team's leading scorer, may have picked up two quick fouls. But Michigan can still lean on Morez Johnson Jr., another 6-foot-9 forward, and Aday Mara, its 7-foot-3 center.

Moments ago, Johnson ran the floor for an easy bucket in transition.

Michigan has the early lead in this battle of jungle cats. Four Wolverines have scored, while Jaden Bradley has Arizona’s only points so far.

There’s 15:59 left in the first half.

How about this contrast? Michigan has already made four shots while building a 10-1 lead. Arizona only just attempted its fourth shot.

The Wolverines have opened this game on a 10-1 run only a little over two minutes in.

The Wolverines’ top scorer, Yaxel Lendeborg, has picked up two fouls less than 90 seconds into the game.

Arizona and Michigan have tipped off! Who will face UConn in the national title game?

Michigan has won by an average margin of 25 points during the tournament thanks to big runs. A pair of 8-0 runs against Alabama secured a Sweet 16 win, and one round later, the Wolverines scored 21 unanswered points to overwhelm Tennessee. They’ll pull off another to hold off a wildly talented Arizona team, 82-72.

Arizona's two leading scorers are two freshmen -- Brayden Burries and Koa Peat -- who should both be first-round picks in the NBA Draft come June.

Burries, a 6-foot-4 guard, has been shooting very well in the tournament. He's averaged 17.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2 assists per game in the tournament, while making 68% of his 3-pointers (13-for-19).

Peat is a 6-foot-8 wing who's averaging 17.5 points per game in the tournament. He scored 20 points in Arizona's comeback win over Purdue in the Elite Eight.

The Wolverines are powered by Yaxel Lendeborg, the 6-foot-9 forward who transferred over last year from UAB. During the NCAA tournament, Lendeborg has elevated his game. Through the first four rounds, he's averaged 21 points while shooting 55% from 3-point range (11-for-20). If he keeps shooting like that, Arizona will have its hands full tonight.

Coming out of high school, the prestigious Sierra Canyon in Southern California, Bryce James was rated as a three-star recruit, as a 6-foot-5 guard prospect. According to ESPN's recruiting website, he chose Arizona over offers from Ohio State (one of his father's favorite teams) and Duquesne.

Bryce has spent this season, his first in college, as a redshirt player for the Wildcats. But the media doesn't know much about his standing on the team beyond that.

This is a clash of styles. By choice, Arizona attempts only 16 3-pointers per game, one of the lowest averages in the entire country. Michigan averages nine more, and has leaned on the 3 even more in the tournament, where it’s making at least 10 per game, while shooting 44%. If Michigan keeps that up, and Arizona can’t keep pace, you can do the math.

Twenty-five years after Arizona last made the Final Four, it's back thanks to a super freshman from Arizona. Koa Peat, a 6-8 forward from suburban Phoenix, is averaging 14.1 points, the team's second-highest average, and 5.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists.

Peat's season began with a 30-point outburst to beat defending national champion Florida in November. He hasn't scored 30 points since, and in February was held to single-digit scoring in three of four games in one stretch. In his last five games, however, Peat is averaging 18.2 points while shooting 52.4%.

"They call him Mr. Arizona," Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd said. "Koa is special, and I know you guys hear it, but you got to hear it again. Four state championships at the same high school. Didn’t go to a prep school. Four gold medals with USA Basketball. No one in FIBA history has ever done that. And helped lead Arizona to a Final Four.

"That was my recruiting pitch. Four, four, and four. Let’s do it."

North Carolina, one of the premiere programs in college basketball, needs a new head coach. One of the rumored candidates had been coach Tommy Lloyd, who's guided Arizona to its first Final Four since 2001.

At a press conference this week, Lloyd was asked about the North Carolina opening. He said he was "100 percent locked in on Arizona," and that he was "excited to see what this team can do."

Well, the next day, Lloyd announced he'd agreed to a new contract to stay at Arizona. He said he "didn’t want to make this entire Final Four about" his job status, and that it had been "an honor to even be considered for [the North Carolina] job," given that he'd grown up idolizing Michael Jordan.

"With that being said, though," he added, "I made a decision that my Michael Jordan is Steve Kerr, and I’m proud to be an Arizona Wildcat."

Numbers on the Board dives into the men's college basketball Final Four, debating which teams they believe are capable of advancing to the national championship game, with eyes on Arizona.

The Huskies are headed back to the national championship game for the third time in four seasons! UConn held off a late Illinois comeback to clinch its spot in the title game.

The Huskies lead 69-62 after Illinois' Keaton Wagler missed a 3-pointer and UConn's Jayden Ross hit a free throw on the other end. The Illini will now play the foul game.

UConn leads 68-62 with 26.3 seconds left.

Braylon Mullins hit his first shot of the second half to give UConn a 7-point lead, but Illinois’ Keaton Wagler answered with a triple of his own to trim the deficit back to 4.

Huskies lead 66-62 with 43.5 seconds to go.

Wagler bullied his way into the paint for a bucket, and now the Huskies’ lead is only 63-59 with 1:38 left.

Each side has one timeout left.

The Huskies lead 63-57 after an Illinois free throw on the previous possession.

UConn is down to one timeout after Reed Jr. couldn’t work out of a double team. There's 2:08 remaining.

The Huskies lead 63-56 with under 3 minutes to go.

UConn leads 61-56 with 2:46 to go.

Followed by a fastbreak dunk by Solo Ball, UConn is back up 61-53 with under 4 minutes to go.

Brad Underwood's team has cut the deficit to just four points after being down by as many as 14 points. Despite only two assists this game, they are on a 10-2 run with five minutes left.

After a chaos possession and a couple offensive boards, Illinois' Andrej Stojakovic made a putback to cut the Huskies’ lead to 57-53.

There's 5:01 remaining in the game.

Since 2011, UConn has won 18 consecutive games played during the second weekend or later of the NCAA tournament. It is 6-1 in its last seven appearances in the national semifinal, as well, and is 12-1 all-time in the national semifinals and finals combined.

Illinois has been outshot at the 3-point line, but is making up for the outside deficit by getting to the stripe. The Illini are 17-of-21 from the free-throw line, attempting 12 more freebies than the Huskies. That’s played a key role in Illinois making this a two-possession game.

The Illini are percolating here. An 8-0 run has made this only a 6-point game. UConn only leads 57-51 with about six minutes remaining.

Tarris Reed Jr. scored 11 points in the first half but has yet to score after halftime. In fact, he's only attempted two shots and grabbed two rebounds in this frame. The Huskies have been able to compensate, but I'm watching whether he'll have a more impactful close to the game.

The Fighting Illinois have now allowed UConn to hit 11 3-pointers in this game, including three from Solo Ball and two from Jayden Ross.

The Huskies lead 59-47 with 8:00 left in the game. The sides have been even in the second half, with each team scoring 20 points. But that’s not good enough for an Illinois team that desperately needs to make a push here.

Illinois must be wondering how its shots are getting an unlucky bounce while shots like this from UConn are going in.

UConn leads 52-42 with 11:49 to go.

Both teams are shooting under 40% from the field, but the Huskies’ 3-point shooting has kept them comfortably in front for this entire half.

The Illini will need some outside shots to drop if they’re going to mount a comeback.

This non-basket has summed up Illinois' night so far.

In the second half alone, UConn's Alex Karaban has made six free throws by himself. For the game, the Huskies are 8-for-8 at the line, while Illinois is 8-for-11.

Illinois, considered one of the best offensive teams in the country, put up 105 against Penn in its opening-round game. But it's been a whole different story against UConn on Saturday.

We're midway through the second half and so far the Fighting Illini have just two total assists. That lack of passing is a major reason why they trail by double-digits.

The Huskies went through a shooting drought like this in the first half, as well, while making 1-of-11 shots during one stretch, and were able to still lead at halftime nonetheless. Can they get through this poor shooting stretch, too?

UConn has outscored Illinois 10-7 to start the second half. The Huskies have a big advantage from outside, outscoring the Illini 27-12 from 3-point range.

There’s 15:32 left in regulation.

Mirković just picked up his third foul trying to stop Alex Karaban from driving to the hoop. It's worth monitoring if the foul trouble affects his aggressiveness as he is arguably Illinois' most important player.

Mirković averages 13.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

Illinois has never won in the NCAA Tournament when trailing by 8 or more points at half. Can the Illini make history tonight?

The award for the most outstanding player of the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four comes with prestige. Past winners form an exclusive club, including Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Magic Johnson.

The honor comes with a small trophy, too, one mailed to winners once March Madness concludes, an NCAA spokesperson said. What it no longer comes with, though, is job security.

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood knew something needed to change. Before this season, he had taken nine different teams to the NCAA Tournament, yet none had advanced past the Elite Eight. His teams were always championship contenders but not good enough to get over the hump.

Then he made a call to Miško Ražnatović.

Ražnatović, a 59-year-old Serbian, is one of the most powerful agents in basketball. He represents many of the best amateur and professional European players, including Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokić, a three-time NBA MVP. Ražnatović told Underwood he had some players from the Balkans he might be interested in.

Underwood didn’t want just one. He wanted them all.

The Huskies finished the first half on a 16-5 run to open up an 8-point lead at halftime.

UConn’s stars have shined, with Tarris Reed Jr. and Braylon Mullins combining for 23 points.

Illinois’ Keaton Wagler leads his team with 10. The Fighting Illini have struggled moving the ball, though, dishing out only one assist in the half.

After making two field goals between the 13- and 4-minute marks of the first half, UConn has scored twice in a minute, including on this nifty transition layup from Braylon Mullins.

Williams, the 3-time NBA All-Star who led Illinois to the 2005 national championship game, is in Indianapolis for today's game.

A bucket from Tarris Reed Jr. followed by a Braylon Mullins bucket plus an and-1 put UConn back ahead. Then Illinois’ Keaton Wagler and Reed traded buckets.

It’s 28-24 UConn with 3:04 to go in the first.

Mirkovic, a freshman from Montenegro, has come up huge on this Illinois run. He's recorded three blocks so far, including one a moment ago on UConn big man Tarris Reed Jr.

The last time Connecticut made a field goal was with 10:16 minutes remaining in the first half, or 3:49 ago. The Huskies are down to 8-of-24 shooting from the field.

A Tomislav Ivisic 3-pointer gives the Illini a 22-21 lead, their first of the night. We're under 8 minutes to go in the first half...

The Fighting Illini have answered UConn’s 10-2 run with a 10-3 run of their own. The score is now 21-19 Huskies with under 9 minutes to go.

The Fighting Illini are one of the best offensive teams in the country, with sharpshooters all over the floor, but so far that hasn't come to fruition. Coach Brad Underwood's team is 0-for-5 from 3-point range while UConn has hit three from deep already.

Illinois averages 10.7 3-pointers a game, one of the top rates in college basketball.

After grabbing 40 rebounds combined in UConn's first two wins of the tournament, against Furman and UCLA, big man Tarris Reed Jr. grabbed a relatively tame 14 combined rebounds in the Huskies wins in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.

In the early going of the Final Four, Reed Jr. looks like the version of himself from the early rounds. In nine minutes, Reed already has seven points and four rebounds.

The Huskies lead 18-9 with 13:20 left in the first half.

UConn's Tarris Reed Jr. and Braylon Mullins have combined for 13 points.

UConn has a 10-7 lead with a chance to extend it when Tarris Reed Jr. goes to free-throw line for one shot after the under-16 timeout.

Outside shooting is making a difference early, as the Huskies have made two 3-pointers (on six attempts) compared to zero makes from deep for Illinois.

Stojaković, the son of legendary NBA 3-point shooter Peja, just entered the game for Illinois. He's averaging 13.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game this season.

He's coming off a 17-point outing against Iowa, during which he shot 7-for-9 from the field.

UConn freshman Braylon Mullins, whose game-winning shot to beat Duke in the Elite Eight instantly made him part of March Madness lore, has already made two 3-pointers in the first four minutes. There's a reason he's comfortable — he's playing back home in his home state, where last year he was voted "Mr. Basketball" of Indiana.

As his Connecticut bio notes, that award in Indiana comes with serious precedent. Past winners include Kyle Guy, Eric Gordon, Sean May, Greg Oden, and Tyler and Cody Zeller.

After hitting a three to send UConn to the Final Four, Mullins hit a three to get us going tonight. Illinois followed with 2 free throws.

It’s 5-2 Huskies over 2 minutes into the game.

UConn wins the tip and we’re off!

Moments after UConn freshman Braylon Mullins hit a 3-pointer to take a late lead over Duke in the Elite Eight, Huskies coach Dan Hurley appeared to lower his head and make contact with a referee in an intimidating manner. Video of the scene soon went viral on social media.

"For some people we’re just out there playing a game," Hurley said at a press conference this week. "For me it’s a life-or-death battle. It’s a war. It’s a street fight for me."

On his relationship with officials, he added, "I think I’m an intense coach. It’s not easy to work my games. But I’ve always gotten zero technical fouls in my NCAA Tournament coaching career. I just jinxed myself. Oh, my God, now I’m going to get bounced out of [the Final Four]. Oh, my God."

In recent years, actor Bill Murray has been a seemingly constant presence at UConn games. His son Luke Murray is an assistant coach on Dan Hurley's staff, and helped the Huskies win back-to-back national titles in 2023 and 2024.

Recently, Boston College hired Luke as its next head coach. He has already said his father will be in the stands there next season, too.

Illinois boasts one of the best offenses in the country but questions remain on the defensive side of the ball. They’ll need to limit UConn big man Tarris Reed Jr., who has come alive in the NCAA Tournament, to advance to the national title game. The senior center is averaging 21.8 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks a contest in the postseason.

As much as I trust UConn coach Dan Hurley’s track record of winning big games, I like Illinois to advance in a close one. The Fighting Illini have been exceptional in the tournament and have their offense — particularly star freshman Keaton Wagler — firing on all cylinders. Illinois 73, UConn 68.

Michigan coach Dusty May is coaching in his second Final Four in four seasons. He also led Florida Atlantic to the 2023 edition during the Owls' unexpected run as a No. 9 seed.

Now in his second season at Michigan, May has delivered another program to the national semifinals. It follows a dominant season for the Wolverines, who have won a Big Ten-record seven games by 40 or more points, and 28 wins by 10 or more points. This team still has a carryover from May's FAU tenure; guard LJ Cason originally signed to play for May at FAU. Three of Michigan's assistants worked with May at Florida Atlantic.

For his career, May is 188-82 as a head coach.

In eight previous trips to the Final Four, Michigan is 7-1 in national semifinal games. That record includes seven consecutive wins.

Christian Odjakjian and T'd Up with Pierre Andresen explain why Michigan has a “higher ceiling” than Arizona ahead of their Final Four matchup, and what makes Illinois vs. UConn "unpredictable."

Connecticut is 17-3 in the NCAA tournament under coach Dan Hurley, a .792 winning percentage that is third-best in tournament history among coaches with at least 15 games. Only Phil Woolpert and John Wooden have won at a higher clip, according to UConn.

Even better is Connecticut big man Alex Karaban, a member of the back-to-back NCAA title teams in 2023 and 2024. All-time, Karaban is now 17-1 in the tournament.

One other statistic to keep in mind as the Final Four begins in Indianapolis: Since 2022-23, UConn is 34-6 when playing on a neutral court.

Current Illinois coach Brad Underwood was the head coach at Daytona Beach Community College in Florida in 2005, the last time that the Illini made it this far in the NCAA tournament.

Connecticut and Illinois play one another with a national championship game berth on the line. Both teams already have a jump start on their scouting report after playing one another on Nov. 28 in New York's Madison Square Garden, when UConn won, 74-61. In that game Braylon Mullins — whose game-winning shot would stun Duke in the Elite Eight last week — made his UConn debut.

That matchup came just nine days after UConn also played another future Final Four team in Arizona. On Nov. 19, Arizona went on the road and won to snap the Huskies' 36-game home winning streak in non-conference games.