That sets up Monday night’s championship game against UConn, which handled Illinois in the other national semifinal and moved into its third title game in four years. So now college basketball gets a final that is hard to ignore even if you tried. On one side is Dusty May, the calm, fast-rising coach a lot of the country can get behind. On the other is Dan Hurley, a coach nobody would mistake for subtle and nobody has to pretend is universally loved. It is a clean contrast, and after Saturday, it is the right matchup.
Michigan’s path into this game was not just impressive because it beat Arizona. It was the way it did it, and the fact it did it while Yaxel Lendeborg was clearly compromised. Lendeborg, the All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year, suffered a left MCL sprain and ankle injury in the first half after being fouled on a drive. He left the floor in visible pain and returned later, but he was moving gingerly and played only nine minutes in the second half. Even with that major piece limited, Michigan put Arizona on its heels from the opening tip and never really let up.
That part matters because Arizona had spent the season doing this to other people. Tommy Lloyd’s team had controlled tempo, punished opponents around the basket and generally forced games to be played on its terms. Against Michigan, none of that held up. The Wolverines led by 16 at halftime even though Lendeborg played only five first-half minutes, Michigan’s frontcourt had foul trouble, and Elliot Cadeau shot 2-for-14 from the field. Then the game turned into a rout. The lead swelled to 30 in the second half, and Arizona never got closer than 17 after that.
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Aday Mara was the centerpiece of the destruction, finishing with 26 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks while shooting 11-for-16 from the field. Morez Johnson Jr. added 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Michigan matched Arizona in points in the paint, won the second-chance points battle 19-12, scored 26 points off turnovers and buried 12 three-pointers. In other words, the Wolverines did not just beat Arizona. They beat Arizona at Arizona’s kind of game and then added a shooting clinic on top of it.
May’s postgame comments reflected the identity his team has taken on. “We’ve played with great physicality all year,” he said. “We’ve done a great job in the weight room. We’ve done, I think, a real solid job of not beating our guys up in practice but yet preparing them for the mental and physical wear and tear of these types of games. But it’s a mindset. It’s not as if Morez Johnson needs to get souped up to go bang against those guys. That’s who he is by nature.” He was just as direct about Mara’s impact, saying, “Aday was sensational.”
Tommy Lloyd did not dance around it either. “They were outstanding tonight,” he 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.” Later, he added, “I think we just came out and we played a team that was really well-built. They have a great coach. They were able to take control of the game. And then really, they were like surgical at a point.”
Michigan’s march to the final has now turned into the biggest story left in the tournament. The Wolverines have looked enormous, composed and punishing, and May has come off as exactly what his players and staff describe him to be: steady, unrattled and unfazed. Assistant Mike Boynton said that is part of the program’s edge, calling it May’s “secret sauce.” That profile is a big reason much of the country is likely to line up behind Michigan on Monday night.
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Waiting on the other side is UConn and Hurley, who have made the title game feel like a recurring event. The Huskies’ win over Illinois put them one step from another championship and added another chapter to a run that has made them the standard of the sport. Michigan is now trying to become the first team to beat UConn in the Final Four since 2009.
So that is the title game. One side has the coach plenty of fans can rally around. The other has the coach plenty of people would love to see lose. That is not bad theater for a Monday night in April. It is exactly the matchup college basketball was hoping to get.
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