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INDIANAPOLIS—The way the 2025-26 season played out, it was inevitable that Arizona and Michigan would end up facing each other. That it’s not for the national title is the only surprising part.
Since the Wolverines demolished Gonzaga by 40 points in November in Las Vegas, the same place the Wildcats began their season with a takedown of defending NCAA champion Florida, it felt like the teams were on a collision course. During the nine weeks that the UA was ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25, the longest run in school history, Michigan was No. 2 in six of those polls.
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And any list of the top title contenders included both at or near the top along with Duke, who by getting the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament set up a semifinal that’s a de facto final.
Arizona (36-2) takes on Michigan (35-3) in a battle of No. 1 seeds, the 26th time that’s happened in the Final Four since the tourney field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985 and the 16th in a semifinal. Last year all four No. 1 seeds made the Final Four, but before that a 1 vs. 1 matchup prior to the final hadn’t happened since 2018.
The Wildcats are on a 13-game win streak since losing two in a row in February, beating their four West Region opponents by an average of 21 points. Michigan was even more dominant, steamrolling the Midwest Region by an average of 22.5 points including a 33-point win over Tennessee in the Elite Eight.
This won’t just be a matchup of No. 1 seeds, but also the top two squads in KenPom, where Michigan’s +38.95 is just ahead of Arizona’s +38.92. The Wolverines have the No. 1 defensive efficiency, the Wildcats No. 2, while the UA is 4th in offensive efficiency to Michigan’s No. 5 ranking.
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“It’s been really impressive to watch,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said of Michigan. “You catch them on TV a few times. I hadn’t did a deep dive into them or anything like we have now. Obviously they beat up on Gonzaga pretty good, and that doesn’t happen very often….
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/ncaa-final-four-arizona-michigan-210000705.html
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Publish date : 2026-04-03 21:00:00
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