Final Four Matchups Set
March Madness reaches the semifinals this weekend — the men’s Final Four pits UConn vs Illinois and Arizona vs Michigan as the winners head to Monday’s championship, while the women’s Final Four tip‑off began Friday with the first game at 4 p.m. MST. These semis are the last big test before national titles and are already shaping bracket narratives and pro‑scouting conversations. (espn.com) (azcentral.com)
The men’s Final Four will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, with the two semifinals on Saturday, April 4 and the national championship game on Monday, April 6. (ncaa.com) Saturday’s semis are set to tip at 6:09 p.m. Eastern for the early game and 8:49 p.m. Eastern for the nightcap, and both sessions will be carried across the TNT/TBS/truTV family. (ncaa.com) UConn reached Indianapolis after erasing a 19‑point deficit to beat Duke, capped when freshman Braylon Mullins buried a 35‑foot, last‑second three with 0.4 seconds left; Illinois punched its first Final Four ticket since 2005 with a 71–59 win over Iowa in which the Illini out‑rebounded Iowa by 17 and freshman Keaton Wagler scored 25. (ncaa.com) Arizona and Michigan enter the weekend as No. 1 seeds meeting in the nightcap, a rare semifinal pairing of two top seeds. (ncaa.com) Michigan arrives at 35–3 and reached the Final Four by winning its four tournament games by an average of 21 points, while Arizona is 36–2 after an Elite Eight win that snapped a long Final Four drought for the program. (sports.yahoo.com) The women’s Final Four is underway in Phoenix at the Mortgage Matchup Center; Semifinal Game 1 was scheduled for Friday at 4:00 p.m. Mountain (UConn vs. South Carolina) and Game 2 for 6:30 p.m. Mountain (UCLA vs. Texas), with the winners meeting Sunday for the title. (ncaa.com) Two short player threads to watch: Illinois freshman Keaton Wagler broke out this season (including a 46‑point game earlier in the year) and has become the Illini’s go‑to scorer. (espn.com) UConn is making its third Final Four in four seasons, and Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg has been a tournament focal point, producing large scoring and rebounding totals through the regional rounds. (ncaa.com)
