All articles tagged with #final four
After earning Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors, Elliot Cadeau will return to Michigan for his senior season, posting 10.5 points, 5.9 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game and improving his 3-point shooting as the Wolverines aim to contend in the Big Ten.
The 2026 NCAA basketball finals drew strong audiences: the men’s championship on TNT Sports averaged 18.3 million viewers across TBS/TNT/TruTV, up from 18.1 million in 2025 on CBS and about 23% higher than 2024, making it the most-watched men’s title since 2019. The women’s final on ABC/ESPN drew 9.88 million, up about 16% from 2025 and ranking as the third-most-watched women’s final on record. The men’s Final Four averaged 14.2 million, down ~8% from 2025, while the tournament-wide average reached 10.9 million, up 7% and the second-highest since 1994.
Geno Auriemma apologized again for his postgame confrontation with Dawn Staley after UConn's Final Four loss to South Carolina, urging a focus on growing women’s basketball. The clash followed UConn’s 54‑game win streak and a handshake dispute that required staff to separate the coaches; Staley accepted the moment and both coaches called to move on and elevate the sport.
After UConn beat Duke in the Elite Eight, Dan Hurley’s postgame moment with referee Roger Ayers was described by Ayers as nothing, with no contact or malice; the Huskies advance to the Final Four to face Illinois, paced by Mullins’ go-ahead three.
South Carolina dominated TCU 78-52 in the Elite Eight to reach a sixth consecutive Final Four. Joyce Edwards led with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while freshman Agot Makeer came off the bench for 18 points in 31 minutes, as the Gamecocks leveraged single coverage and strong defense to seal the win and set up a repeat Final Four field.
South Carolina defeated TCU 78-52 to reach a sixth straight Final Four, led by Joyce Edwards with 24 points, and will face UConn in Phoenix after last season’s title-game rematch. In the other Elite Eight, Texas routed Michigan 77-41 to reach back-to-back Final Fours, with Madison Booker scoring 19 and Rori Harmon dishing 13 assists as they prepare to meet UCLA in Phoenix.
UNC is conducting its first national men’s basketball coaching search since 1952, pressed to hire quickly as the transfer portal opens April 7 and staff planning becomes essential, with Final Four coaches Tommy Lloyd and Dusty May among early targets; pursuing an NBA head coach could complicate timing since the NBA season runs past April 12, a dynamic that underscores how the transfer era reshapes the Tar Heels’ hiring timetable and fuels fan anticipation while other Carolina programs post victories.
South Carolina rolled past TCU 78-52 to reach their sixth straight Final Four, earning a Friday rematch with top seed UConn in Phoenix. Texas crushed Michigan 77-41 to advance to back-to-back Final Fours and will face UCLA. Joyce Edwards led SC with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Madison Booker paced Texas with 19 points and Rori Harmon flirted with a triple-double with 13 assists.
The piece argues that Michigan, a young but improving squad with a strong inside-out game and legitimate three-point shooting, could upset Texas and earn a Final Four berth, despite Texas’ size, depth, and status as the favorite.
Bleacher Report’s post-Elite Eight power rankings cap the 2026 NCAA men’s tournament with a Final Four featuring Michigan, Arizona, Connecticut and Illinois. The semifinals tilt Arizona vs. Michigan and UConn vs. Illinois, with UConn’s stingy defense and a rising scoring threat from Tarris Reed Jr., Illinois’s nation-leading offense led by Keaton Wagler and David Mirkovic, Arizona’s guard-driven attack and paint control anchored by Jaden Bradley and Brayden Burries, and Michigan’s size-based three-big lineup shaping the path to the title. The piece also notes a buzzer-beater by Braylon Mullins and emphasizes that guard play and game pace will largely determine the champion.
Michigan leads the four remaining Final Four teams (Michigan, Arizona, Illinois, UConn) in national championship chances after the Elite Eight, with its top-tier defense and interior play giving the Wolverines the edge; Arizona sits No. 2 thanks to a dominant inside game and strong backcourt, Illinois is No. 3 due to skilled-size frontcourt and Wagler’s ascent, and UConn ranks No. 4, aided by elite coaching and defensive prowess but needing more reliable outside shooting.
Pat Forde argues that Michigan vs. Arizona is the marquee Final Four matchup and the de facto national championship, with UConn and Illinois earning their berths through tough, high‑level wins. The piece emphasizes the teams’ dominant margins, historic semifinal precedents, the Big Ten drought context, and the appeal of European big men fueling the rosters.
Freshman Braylon Mullins hit a 40-foot game-winning three with 0.4 seconds left, capping a 19-point UConn comeback to edge Duke 73-72 in the East Regional final and sending the Huskies to the Final Four in Indianapolis to face Illinois.
The Final Four is set in Indianapolis with Arizona and Michigan widely seen as the frontrunners and UConn and Illinois able to challenge. The Elite Eight produced a Duke collapse and a late Huskies rally, setting up a semifinal pairing of Arizona vs. Michigan and Illinois vs. UConn. Arizona rode a dominant 48-26 second half to beat Purdue, Michigan crushed Tennessee, Illinois weathered Iowa in a slow-paced, efficient win, and UConn erased a big deficit to stun Duke. With no Cinderella story among the four, the weekend promises high‑level basketball and potential rematches en route to a memorable final.
Michigan rolled to a 95-62 Elite Eight victory over Tennessee in Chicago, using a 21-0 run and a 48-26 halftime lead to punch its ninth Final Four berth and set a date with Arizona in Indianapolis.