NBA Draft: Three Questions for Michigan vs. UConn

March Madness has officially been whittled down to just two teams, with top-seeded Michigan and second-seeded UConn facing off tonight for all the marbles.

There's draft prospect galore featured in tonight's matchup, all of which are set to make a major impact on the outcome of the game.

Here are three questions heading into what should be a great title tilt:

How healthy will Yaxel Lendeborg be for his final game?

Yaxel Lendeborg has seen a non-traditional, though exceptional college career. And that’s coming to an end Monday regardless of result.

He’d of course like to go out by winning the national championship, though that’s up in the air given his injuries from Saturday’s game. While driving, he appeared to hurt both his knee and ankle on the same play, playing just 14 minutes.

Per Peter Thamel on X, Michigan’s trainer Chris Williams said that Lendeborg’s knee looks “very clean” structurally, and that he has a low grade MCL sprain and small bone bruise, in addition to an ankle sprain.

Michigan trainer Chris Williams told ESPN the MRI on Yaxel Lendeborg’s knee looks “very clean structurally, all the ligaments are very strong.” He says Lendeborg has a “low-grade” MCL sprain and a “small bone bruise” in his knee. He's "very optimistic" Lendeborg will play. pic.twitter.com/UKQcHExgk2
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 5, 2026

To this point, there likely isn’t much more Lendeborg can do to boost his draft stock, but gutting out a final game will certainly earn favor in NBA decision-makers eyes, regardless of individual and team result.

How will UConn’s 3-point shooters fare?

Given Michigan’s stellar defense, UConn is likely to be somewhat 3-point reliant on Monday, making the poise of their shooters all the more important.

Freshman Braylon Mullins — of Duke buzzer-beater fame — as well as senior Alex Karaban have been among the more important perimeter players all season long for the Huskies, though they’ve both been spotty of late. Both are slated to be ’26 draft prospects, likely somewhat in the late-first to mid-second range.

Karaban has shot 2-for-13 from deep in his last two games, though he has a storied UConn career full of 3-point makes. Mullins has been up-and-down through the tournament, starting 0-for-8 and going 1-for-5 against Duke, though he’s also had three games with multiple triples. And his one make against Duke was the most important shot of the event.

How both Mullins and Karaban fare will directly impact Monday’s outcome.

Can Aday Mara continue his dominance?

Michigan center Aday Mara put together one of the top games of the entire tournament on Saturday, pouring on a game-high 26 points on 11-for-16 shooting against Arizona.

At 7-foot-3, he’s unstoppable when in rhythm, able to shoot over opposing defenses and put a lid on the rim.

Mara’s had a phenomenal tournament so far, likely boosting his draft stock in the process. But he’s also been prone to lesser games through the regular season. So whichever version of Mara shows up could make or break Michigan if Lendeborg isn’t fully healthy.