The University of Michigan and the University of Connecticut are the last two teams standing at the end of the men’s NCAA tournament, and they will face off in the national championship April 6.
Michigan took down fellow No. 1 seed in the University of Arizona, while the No. 2 seed UConn took down the No. 3 seed University of Illinois.
UConn vs. Illinois
UConn and head coach Dan Hurley will return to their third national championship game after a 71-62 win over Illinois.
“We’re a tough program, we’re a group of fighters,” Hurley said in an interview with ESPN. “We’ve got incredible will. We go into these games, we’re ready for battle. For us, it’s not a game that we’re just kind of running around in uniforms throwing the ball around, hoping it goes in. That’s not what we’re doing out there. We’re fighting.”
Senior Tarris Reed Jr. led the pack for the Huskies with 17 points and 11 rebounds while freshman Braylon Mullins added 15 points.
After making a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of their game against the University of Duke, Mullins did it again against the Fighting Illini. Mullins made a 3-pointer with under one minute remaining to give UConn a 66-59 lead that effectively sealed the game.
“The set was going to be run for anybody on the team,” Mullins said. “You’ve just got to shoot with confidence. Just trying to find the best look on the floor, and I know our point guards are going to get us the ball, so I think that was the biggest shot I hit tonight.”
Michigan vs. Arizona
Michigan punched its ticket to the national championship after a 91-73 win over Arizona.
Junior center Aday Mara had a career-high 26 points while adding nine rebounds.
“These guys have such, I guess, extensive background in playing high-profile basketball games,” Michigan head coach Dusty May said in an interview with ESPN. “We just felt like we are battle-tested.”
Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg had 11 points on 3-4 shooting but suffered an ankle injury that will be worth monitoring ahead of the national championship.
Michigan’s defense stifled the Wildcats offense all night as Arizona shot 6-17 from behind the arc and 36% from the field.
“They were outstanding tonight,” Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd said. “Really had us on our heels tonight. We never could get into a rhythm. No one’s been able to do that to us all year.”
The Wolverines will now return to the national championship with a chance to win their first title since 1989 and second title overall.
The national championship starts April 6 at 6:50 p.m.
