Wolverines dominant, chase 'one more' Monday

INDIANAPOLIS -- UConn gets a turn in front of the Michigan steamroller on Monday night when the 2025-26 college basketball season closes with the national championship at Lucas Oil Stadium. And if the first five failed attempts can teach the Huskies anything, it might be just two words: Good luck.

Michigan stomped Arizona 91-73 on Saturday night in a no-contest national semifinal in the late game at the Final Four that followed UConn holding off Illinois.

Michigan was all gas, no brake in improving to 36-3 and earning a spot in the title game with a fifth consecutive blowout in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

Aday Mara scored 26 points, Trey McKenney had 16 and generations of Wolverines celebrated with Chris Webber, Jalen Rose and the Fab Five courtside at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Michigan had 26 points off turnovers and made 12 of 27 3-pointers.

The barrage had Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd shaking his head long before Elliot Cadeau splashed his second 3 and gave the Wolverines a 27-point lead with 12:20 left in the game.

"We never could get in a rhythm. So they get a ton of credit for that. No one's been able to do that to us all year," Lloyd said. "So it was an impressive performance by them."

There was little life remaining in the Wildcats, who were atypically frustrated for most of their third loss of the season (36-3).

With Michigan All-American Yaxel Lendeborg in and out of the game -- first due to foul trouble, later to have his rolled ankle checked and taped to return -- the Wolverines flexed their title-worthy depth.

"Yax, I think, had two fouls and a couple -- then two injuries. And so we were obviously extremely concerned," Michigan coach Dusty May said. "But when we went small we were obviously concerned -- when you're playing Arizona going small and we were able to get stops, the guards were flat and wings were flying in and keeping balls alive."

Cadeau missed 12 of his 14 shot attempts in the first half, but McKenney could scarcely miss and Arizona had no way to slow down 7-foot-3 center Mara.

McKenney made three 3s in less then five minutes during a second-half sprint that helped Michigan kick its way to a 77-47 lead with 10:31 on the clock.

Mara was more of a constant.

He made 11 of 16 field goals, three of them emphatic and emotional dunks. On defense he slapped away shots, changed countless more and harassed Arizona freshman Koa Peat into a night to erase from his memory.

Peat took a team-high 18 shots (made six) and had only 11 points with 10 minutes left in the game. He eventually led Arizona with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Arizona had a couple of roundhouse punches left as the deficit hovered around 30 points, but a true game never materialized.

"We got down a little bit, and we've been down a few times this year. But not like that," Lloyd said.

Peat and Brayden Burries cashed 3s and Big 12 Player of the Year Jaden Bradley, limited to 25 minutes due to foul trouble, outsprinted the Wolverines for a layup that narrowed the gap to 81-60. The Wildcats forced a stop and then Cadeau's fourth foul sent Bradley to the line for one-and-one. He came away with two and whittled the margin to 19.

Burries was 2 of 10 from 3-point range. He finished with 13 points, as did Bradley.

"They had a great defensive plan. They were pretty bigger," Burries said. "But I feel like most of our shots were just, like, in and out. Like, it was in the rim and then out. Sometimes it's just not your day, and today just wasn't our day."

It was still a 19-point game when Mara lowered his right shoulder and tugged Tobe Awaka with him for a five-footer on the baseline that gave him a career-high 25 points and added the free throw to balloon Michigan's lead to 86-64 with 5:19 left.

"Aday was sensational. He was at the rim, catching lobs. He was a force down low. He was a pressure release up top. I mean, he's such a smart basketball player," May said. "And obviously his rim protection -- he did a great job on Peat. He did a great job forcing a lot of those misses around the basket because of his aggression."

Michigan improved to 8-1 in the Final Four and meets UConn (34-5) on Monday. The Huskies controlled the game until the final eight minutes when the Fighting Illini threatened, but UConn proved too much. The Huskies are now 7-1 all-time in the Final Four. Michigan is 1-6 and UConn is 6-0 all-time in the national title game.

"We know it's just one more, so we're going to try to get it," Mara said.

--By Jeff Reynolds, Field Level Media