Michigan Looks Unstoppable Barreling Into Men’s Hoops Title Game Against UConn

INDIANAPOLIS — Michigan had just scored, which was a frequent occurrence Saturday night. The score was 26–10, the rout underway. Aday Mara, the Wolverines’ 7' 3" tower of terror, turned to run back downcourt and collided with Arizona’s Ivan Kharchenkov.

The result of that collision symbolized this entire Final Four game.

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Kharchenkov, a solidly built 6' 7" and 230 pounds, went flying like a small child who had been trucked by a moose, landing on his backside several feet from where he had been standing. The Wildcats won 36 games this season in large part by being bigger and stronger than their opponents—and then they ran into the Wolverines. Upon contact with Michigan, all of Arizona landed with a thud—blasted on the inside, blitzed on the outside and ultimately buried, 91–73.

This much anticipated showdown of No. 1 seeds was a colossal anticlimax and a shocking mismatch. The game devolved into garbage time with more than 10 minutes remaining. The beatdown was so thorough that Michigan could coast into the national title game even with Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg playing just 15 minutes due to early foul trouble and an injured left leg.

If the Wolverines replicate this performance on Monday night against UConn, that game won’t be close, either. UConn needs several players to grow several inches between now and Monday night, or Dan Hurley needs to find some more of the magic he used to paralyze Illinois in the other semifinal.

“They barely have any weak links,” Arizona center Motiejus Krivas said.

Michigan’s Aday Mara scored 26 points and had nine rebounds in the Wolverines’ Final Four rout. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

Michigan has gotten back in touch with its Terminator side. The Wolverines were a juggernaut that fed nine straight respectable opponents into a wood chipper from Nov. 24 to Jan. 2, winning by an average margin of 36.7 points. Naturally, things got harder in Big Ten play, although they still won the regular-season title by a fat four games.

Once the NCAA tournament started, the maulings commenced again. Average winning margin in five Big Dance games: 21.6 points. The Wolverines have scored 90 or more points in all of those games, a first in tourney history. They followed a 33-point bludgeoning of Tennessee in the regional final with this annihilation, leading by as many as 30 and never trailing.

In the process, Michigan handed Arizona the worst loss by a No. 1 seed in a national semifinal since 2008, when Kansas beat North Carolina by 18.

This was, in several instances, a case of men vs. boys. Arizona starts three freshmen, and they were all rocked back on their heels in the early going by the length, strength and ferocity of the Wolverines. Brayden Burries and Koa Peat are likely ticketed to the first round of the NBA draft this summer, and Kharchenkov might be drafted as well if he puts his name in. But they were manhandled by Michigan’s veterans from the opening tip, combining to go 3 for 17 from the field in the first half with four turnovers.

Arizona is coached by Tommy Lloyd, who spent 20 years as an assistant to Mark Few at Gonzaga. The similarities between their playing styles are clear, starting with that they both rely on size to exert their will against smaller opponents. The Wildcats have spent all season pounding the ball into the paint and scoring over and through opponents.

Then along comes gigantic Michigan, and suddenly the formula doesn’t work so well. The Wolverines smoked the Zags by 40 in November, and for a while this game was headed toward that kind of margin, too.

“This Arizona model this year—they’re the souped-up version, they’re the steroid version of Gonzaga,” Michigan coach Dusty May said. “We just felt like if a team relies on scoring 15 feet and in, with Aday and Morez [Johnson Jr.] and Yaxel and Nimari Burnett and Roddy Gayle, because of our size, length, it’s going to be tough to score enough points 15 feet and in.”

The proof is in the stat sheet: Arizona was 20 of 54 from two-point range, a mere 37%. That’s the Wildcats’ worst two-point shooting game of the season.

Michigan guard Elliot Cadeau carves through the Arizona defense during their Final Four game. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

“They were outstanding tonight,” Lloyd said. “Really had us on our heels tonight. 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.”

Michigan hit the Wildcats with an array of roundhouse punches.

Mara, a UCLA transfer, had a career-high 26 points in 30 minutes. “Aday was sensational,” May said. “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. 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.”

Elliot Cadeau, a transfer point guard from North Carolina, was the aggressive tone-setter early and finished with 13 points, 10 assists and five rebounds. May said he was confident Cadeau would have a big game because of Arizona’s defense, but also “because of the stage. He’s fearless. He’s incredibly competitive.”

Trey McKenney, the only freshman in May’s rotation, came off the bench to score 16. Johnson, an Illinois transfer, contributed to the interior assault with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Michigan’s Trey McKenney blocks a shot by Arizona’s Brayden Burries during the men’s Final Four. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

Lendeborg, a UAB transfer, was productive in his brief time on the court, scoring 11 points while going 3 for 3 from three. There was some surprise that May played him in a couple of different stretches in the second half, but the coach wasn’t going to take anything for granted in a national semifinal.

“Apparently you guys missed the UConn-Duke game,” May said, referencing the regional final comeback upset by the Huskies over the Blue Devils. “The game was already decided that we were playing Duke tomorrow. They were up 19, correct, in the second half? [Actually the first half.] And who won?

“You’re playing Arizona, one of the best teams—statistically, the No. 1 or 2 team all year in the country and you’re up 20 with 10 minutes left, with 8 ½ minutes left. We didn’t feel quite as confident as you guys did that we could just put the kids to bed.”

Turned out it was bedtime after all. Arizona, accustomed to being on the delivery end of punishing its opponents, never stood a chance. The Wildcats were knocked down early and lit up throughout by the only team capable of physically punking them.

Michigan is a runaway train barreling into Monday night, a dominant team that must now beat the dominant program of the last four seasons. Sounds daunting, but if the Wolverines show up for the last game like they have throughout this tournament, it could be another beatdown.

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