The four teams left standing were all viewed as fringe men’s national title contenders before the season — but only if everything came together. There were no guarantees. Only UConn was ranked in the top four of the AP preseason poll. Michigan was seventh, Arizona 13th and Illinois 17th.
Yet, they’re all on their way to Indianapolis because they proved they were the best in a particular category during their NCAA tournament runs.
If this were an awards show, Arizona would win the honor of most balanced team. The Wildcats are top 10 in offensive and defensive efficiency. In Saturday’s Elite Eight win over Purdue, eight Wildcats scored.
Michigan would win the award for best defense. Led by a frontcourt featuring three 6-foot-9 standouts and a 7-3 center, the Wolverines are currently ranked first in adjusted defensive efficiency. In Sunday’s Elite Eight win over Tennessee, they outscored the Vols by 23 points in the last 10 minutes of the first half.
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Illinois would take the best offensive engine award. The Illini have been No. 1 in adjusted offensive efficiency for the bulk of the season. They’ve made 59% of their shots inside the arc since March 1.
Connecticut would earn the best coach honor. At one point in the first half of Illinois’ Elite Eight win over Duke on Sunday, Dan Hurley’s Huskies had missed 13 of 15 shots. Yet, they clawed back in the second, giving Hurley a chance to make history as the first coach since John Wooden to win three national titles in four years.
Every team that reached the final weekend of the season had to fight to get there. There is no debate about that. They’re all deserving of this shot at history.
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1. Michigan WolverinesOriginal seed: No. 1 (Midwest)Tournament results: Def. No. 16 Howard 101-80 (first round); def. No. 9 Saint Louis 95-72 (round of 32); def. No. 4 Alabama 90-77 (Sweet 16); def. No. 6 Tennessee 95-62 (Elite Eight)
The Wolverines believe they can be the best team in Michigan history, but they’ll have to win Saturday against Arizona to even have an argument, because they have some serious competition:
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At the top of the list is the 1998-89 team that won the school’s only national championship. That group was led by future NBA all-star Glen Rice.
Then there’s the 1964-65 team, which lost in the national title game. That team had Cazzie Russell, widely viewed as the greatest player in school history.
The 1975-76 squad had All-American Rickey Green and three other future NBA players when it lost in the national title game.
And, of course, there are the Fab Five teams that reached the national championship games in 1992 and 1993. Those two groups had three future NBA standouts — Chris Webber, Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose — leading the way.
Trey Burke was the national player of the year when he led Michigan to the national title game in 2013.
But this 2026 group has Yaxel Lendeborg, who finished with 27 points and seven rebounds in Sunday’s Elite Eight win over Tennessee and is one of three NBA prospects on the roster. These Wolverines have the talent to win it all.
Dusty May might also be putting together the greatest coaching effort in school history. Those other iconic Michigan teams had the luxury of time to build those rosters. May didn’t even know, last March, who would be playing for him this season — four of his starters were at other schools at the time. But in less than a year, his team is in the Final Four. So, yes, this team is making a case to be one of the greatest Michigan teams and May, who’s also in the Final Four for the second time in four years after leading Florida Atlantic there in 2023, could one day be considered one of Michigan’s greatest coaches.
Up next: vs. Arizona (Saturday, following Illinois-UConn, TBS/truTV/HBO Max)
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Brayden Burries’ hustle play punctuates Arizona’s Elite Eight win
Brayden Burries dives on the floor and gets the ball to Ivan Kharchenkov for a layup to help send the Wildcats to the Final Four.
2. Arizona WildcatsOriginal seed: No. 1 (West)Tournament results: Def. No. 16 Long Island 92-58 (first round); def. No. 9 Utah State 78-66 (round of 32); def. No. 4 Arkansas 109-88 (Sweet 16); def. No. 2 Purdue 79-64 (Elite Eight)
It might be best to discuss Arizona’s dominance under coach Tommy Lloyd — whose performance this season won’t quiet the North Carolina coaching rumors — by looking at what he left behind at Gonzaga..
Lloyd was Mark Few’s top assistant when the Zags went to the Final Four in 2021. They had not only turned Gonzaga into a respected powerhouse but had made the Bulldogs the West Coast’s preeminent program. Lloyd has now snatched that title from the hands of his former mentor, with these Wildcats.
Over the past five years, Few has won 143 games. In that same span, Arizona has won 148 — and counting — under Lloyd.
How has he done it? It hasn’t been with 3-point shooting: Only 26.4% of the team’s field goal attempts this season have been from deep — 363rd out of 365 teams. Lloyd is old school. He has assembled a team that’s full of talent, including projected first-round draft picks Motiejus Krivas, Brayden Burries and Koa Peat. He has the Big 12 Player of the Year, Jaden Bradley. He also has a supporting cast no other team remaining in this tournament can match.
Lloyd’s philosophy is simple. The Wildcats play great defense. They entered Sunday ranked first in adjusted defensive efficiency, and they dare opponents to outhustle them. Lloyd believes his top eight guys are better than the top eight guys of any opponent, no matter the style they play. That’s how he believes his team can win. And so far, he has been right.
Up next: vs. Michigan (Saturday, following Illinois-UConn, TBS/truTV/HBO Max)
3. UConn HuskiesOriginal seed: No. 2 (East)Tournament results: Def. No. 15 Furman 82-71 (first round); def. No. 7 UCLA 73-57 (round of 32); def. No. 3 Michigan State 67-63 (Sweet 16); def. No. 1 Duke 73-72 (Elite Eight)
Huskies coach Dan Hurley might build a statue of Alex Karaban — who hit a 3-pointer that cut UConn’s lead to one, then made the assist to Braylon Mullins on the winning 3 in Sunday’s Elite Eight victory over Duke — himself if the school doesn’t end up doing it. Karaban guarded Cameron Boozer throughout Sunday’s game, and Tarris Reed Jr. dominated in the paint as a Huskies squad that was down as many as 19 points came back in the last seconds.
It’s no secret Hurley doesn’t have a roster that can match the talent of the other teams in the field. Michigan has three projected first-round picks, and they’re all giants. Arizona has more depth than anyone and also three projected first-round picks. Illinois’ smallest starter is 6-2 Kylan Boswell, while 6-5 guard Keaton Wagler might be the best remaining player in the field.
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Although Hurley turned to the transfer portal the past two years to build his rosters, he has a continuity that’s rare at this stage. Three Huskies starters have played at least two years in Hurley’s system. Illinois is the only other team in the Final Four that can make the same claim. The difference is no other team in Indianapolis has a player with Karaban’s experience of winning at the highest level (he’s a holdover from the UConn squads that won back-to-back national titles in 2023 and 2024). Against Duke on Sunday, the Huskies might not have been the more talented group, but their experience gave them an edge against a squad full of freshmen that seemed to crumble when it squandered a big lead.
Karaban, who averaged 22 points in his first three NCAA tournament games, wasn’t great in the Elite Eight. But he didn’t have to be. His contribution was the calm that comes from playing in a bunch of games exactly like this one. In Indianapolis, he’ll be in a league of his own.
Up next: vs. Illinois (Saturday, 6:09 p.m., TBS/truTV/HBO Max)
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Andrej Stojakovic’s late and-1 helps send Illinois to Final Four
Andrej Stojakovic drives to the paint and scores the and-1 bucket as Illinois beats Iowa to reach its first Final Four in 21 years.
4. Illinois Fighting IlliniOriginal seed: No. 3 (South)Tournament results: Def. No. 14 Penn 105-70 (first round); def. No. 11 VCU 76-55 (round of 32); def. No. 2 Houston 65-55 (Sweet 16); def. No. 9 Iowa 71-59 (Elite Eight)
Illinois coach Brad Underwood’s roster features players from five different countries: Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Greece and the United States. The international flavor has been all the buzz this season, along with Underwood’s discovery of freshman Keaton Wagler, who didn’t get a scholarship offer from his home state school Kansas but is now pushing for a top-10 spot in the 2026 NBA draft after a surprising season. Tomislav Ivisic is a 7-foot-1 force in the paint. Andrej Stojakovic is a two-way threat who helped corral Iowa star Bennett Stirtz in Saturday’s Elite Eight win. David Mirkovic is a 6-9 forward who shot 40% from 3 in league play.
You’d think Underwood’s success with international players would encourage the notion that any coach can go over to Europe and recruit elite talent. Right?
Wrong. There isn’t a gym in Europe full of elite players college coaches can just walk in to and recruit from. Mining the international landscape for talent is laborious. And it’s only half the battle. Because Underwood’s real strength isn’t his knack for identifying international stars. Rather, it’s his ability to know exactly where those players fit in his system. He has built a group that has possessed the best offense in America for most of this season and has also played top-25 defense for the past month. Illinois’ wins over Houston and Iowa in the second weekend of the NCAA tournament were a byproduct of the size it uses to protect the rim, as well as the pressure it has applied to opposing backcourts.
Illinois is a selfless team full of players who fulfill their roles and were put in the right positions by Underwood. He knows himself, and he knows his system. Above all, he knows which players he needs for it to all work.
Up next: vs. UConn (Saturday, 6:09 p.m., TBS/truTV/HBO Max)
