Three weeks of March Madness has come down to this. Illinois vs. UConn, two teams that no one expected to be here, and Michigan vs. Arizona, which might be the game of the tournament. Which team will cut down the nets? We break down the matchups below.
Final Four weekend starts with the women’s games tonight. We’ll be live-blogging all of the games through the weekend. Follow along at NBC News.
Illinois vs. UConn
The first game features two teams that no one expected to be here. UConn shocked Duke in the Elite Eight, and Illinois toppled higher-seeded Houston in the Sweet 16. Which of these two teams can keep its March magic going?
Key matchup/player: 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.
Key stat: The Fighting Illini are one of the most balanced teams in the country as five different players — Keaton Wagler, Andrej Stojakovic, David Mirkovic, Kylan Boswell and Tomislav Ivisic — average more than 10 points per game. Without one or two players to key on, UConn could be in for a long night defensively.
Prediction: 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 Wagler — firing on all cylinders. Illinois 73, UConn 68.
Michigan vs. Arizona
This might be the game of the tournament, a matchup between two No. 1 seeds, with rosters full of future NBA talent. Buckle up. This promises to be a tremendous game.
Key matchup/player: Arizona beats teams by obsessively focusing on getting into the paint. Watch whether the Wildcats’ Koa Peat, Motiejus Krivas and Jaden Bradley can continue that. “We’ve had a lot of good players that are great at putting their head down, getting to the paint, and then making plays,” Arizona assistant TJ Benson told CBS Sports.
Key stat: This is a clash of styles. By choice, Arizona attempts only 16 3-pointers per game, one of the lowest averages in the 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.
Prediction: 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.
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What We're Reading
Illinois has made it to the Final Four and they’re powered by an influx of talent from Europe. Our Greg Rosenstein looks into how that’s happened.
Michigan starting point guard Elliot Cadeau is out of the hospital and will be ready for this weekend after suffering an allergic reaction to an accidental exposure to nuts.
Last night went from bad to worse for the Lakers. They were blown out by the Thunder, and Luka Dončić suffered a hamstring injury.
A junior college basketball player who died after a head injury in a game wasn’t given proper medical care, his family’s lawyer says.
Meet the 9-year-old who can lift three times her body weight.
Phil Mickelson is out of the Masters, citing personal health reasons.
The Dodgers are introducing a blue uniform as an alternate road jersey for the first time in the team’s history.
Virginia QB Chandler Morris lost his bid for a seventh college season.
What We're Watching
The women’s Final Four starts tonight, with four No. 1 seeds in action. After a tournament full of blowouts, will we get some tightly contested games? Our NBC News team is live-blogging the games tonight, and all through the weekend. Come hang out with us!
All times are Eastern:
- 7 p.m.: No. 1 UConn vs. No. 1 South Carolina, on ESPN
- 9:30 p.m.: No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 1 Texas, on ESPN
That’s it for now! We’ll be back Monday.
