Final Four predictions for men’s national championship with field set

We’ve got a Final Four. It seems like it’s going to be tremendous. Let’s predict how it all plays out.

FINAL FOUR: Illinois vs. UConn

It’s a classic matchup of the best offensive team in college basketball (Illinois) against a team (UConn) that has mostly relied on its defense to get to this point.

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The Illini have already gone through one elite defensive team (Houston) to get to the Final Four, but the Cougars didn’t have anyone who presents the types of difficulties inside that Tarris Reed Jr. does. The Huskies’ big man was tremendous against Duke, and he’ll need to be tremendous again on Saturday night for Dan Hurley to remain unbeaten in tournament games played after the second round.

UConn and Illinois actually met at Madison Square Garden all the way back on Nov. 28, with the Huskies controlling the game from start to finish and cruising to a 74-61 win. The biggest difference for the Illini between then and now has been the transition of Keaton Wagler from relatively unheard of freshman to one of the best players in college basketball and a likely top 10 NBA Draft pick.

Wagler played just 14 minutes and scored only three points in the first game against Connecticut. If either one of those stats are the same on Saturday, something will have gone horribly wrong for the Illini.

Illinois is playing its best defense of the season at the perfect time, it has the ability to expose UConn on the glass the same way that Duke did, and it has a more versatile array of offensive weapons than the Huskies did.

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It seems absurd to bet against Dan Hurley in this spot, but I’m calling for the reversal from the regular season matchup.

Prediction: Illinois 76, UConn 71

FINAL FOUR: Michigan vs. Arizona

Getting the privilege of seeing these two behemoths go at it has felt like a foregone conclusion since the moment the bracket came out. Or maybe for a few months before that.

Michigan is No. 1 in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency and No. 5 in…

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Publish date : 2026-03-30 18:46:00

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