As the NCAA men’s basketball tournament heads toward its conclusion, the University of Michigan, the University of Arizona, the University of Illinois and the University of Connecticut all punched their tickets to the Final Four in Indianapolis.
As we approach the Final Four matchups between Arizona and Michigan, along with UConn and Illinois, let’s take a look at how each team won in the Elite Eight.
In the Elite Eight, Michigan was able to take down the Tennessee Volunteers, Arizona took down Purdue, Illinois came out on top over Iowa and UConn took down Duke thanks to some late-game heroics.
Michigan vs. Tennessee
The Wolverines showcased their offensive firepower in a 95-62 win over the Volunteers. Forward
Yaxel Lendeborg led the way for Michigan with 27 points on 10-19 shooting.
“When this group got together… we all wanted to make it to the national championship and win,” Lendeborg said in an interview with ESPN. “We worked tirelessly on making sure that our mental is right, not just physical, and we all trust each other. We all play hard for each other.”
Head coach Dusty May now leads Michigan to the Final Four in only his second season at the helm for the Wolverines. In the win over Tennessee, Michigan also extended its single-season record wins total with 35.
“We have a sign in our locker that [reads] ‘April Habits,’ and from Day 1, we challenged these guys to develop championship-level habits that would allow us to win a Big Ten championship, and would also allow us to turn the calendar from March until April,” May said. “Now we’ve put ourselves in position to do that.”
Michigan now will face fellow No. 1 seed Arizona in the semifinals April 4.
Purdue vs. Arizona
Arizona prevailed 79-64 over Purdue after making a second-half comeback. After trailing 38-31 at the end of the first half, the Wildcats outscored the Boilermakers 48-26 in the second half.
“I said, ‘Guys, the coaching staff and I are going to leave right now,'” head coach Tommy Lloyd said in an interview with ESPN. “‘You guys got a few minutes to talk amongst yourselves and kind of figure this deal out, and let’s go kick their ass in the second half.'”
Arizona’s top freshmen, Brayden Burries, Ivan Kharchenkov and Koa Peat combined for 52 points in the biggest moment of their young careers.
The Wildcats now head back to the Final Four for the first time since 2001 and extended their single-season record wins total to 36.
Illinois vs. Iowa
Illinois also got back to the Final Four for the first time in 21 years after beating Iowa 71-59.
“It’s better than I dreamt it would ever be,” head coach Brad Underwood said. “Thirty-nine years in the business, and that’s all I’m going to say about my side of this. This is about these guys.”
Freshman guard Keaton Wagler had 25 points in the win. Illinois also controlled the paint as they outscored Iowa 40-12 in the paint and out-rebounded them 38-21.
Duke vs. UConn
UConn pulled off a last-second 73-72 win over Duke to complete a comeback. After trailing 44-29 at halftime, the Huskies began to claw back into the game in the second half.
Even after the comeback, it looked like it was going to come up short as Duke led 72-70 with five seconds left in the game. However, Braylon Mullins deflected a pass that the Huskies were able to recover. Mullins ended up back with the ball and nailed a three from 35 feet away to give UConn the win.
“It just felt like the window where you’ve just got to let March Madness take over,” head coach Dan Hurley said. “March magic.”
UConn will now face Illinois April 4 in the Final Four.
