Michigan (36-3 straight up, 19-20 against the spread) destroyed Arizona 91-73 as a 1.5-point favorite in Saturday’s national semifinals at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The 164 combined points went ‘over’ the 157.5-point total.
The Wolverines darted out to a 10-1 lead before a 4-0 run brought the Wildcats to within five. Dusty May’s team responded with a 6-0 surge thanks to a pair of buckets inside from Aday Mara.
Michigan built its lead to 26-10, but Arizona countered with a 13-2 run to cut the deficit to 28-23 with 6:43 remaining in the first half. From there, however, the Wolverines outscored the Wildcats 20-9 to take a 48-32 lead into halftime.
Michigan buried Arizona early and often in the second half, extending the lead to 77-47 with 10:31 left. The Wolverines coasted to victory the rest of the way.
Mara was the catalyst with 26 points, nine rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocked shots. He hit 11-of-16 field-goal attempts and all four of his free throws. Trey McKenney drained 4-of-6 treys en route to a 16-point effort.
Elliot Cadeau finished with 13 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and four steals, while Morez Johnson had 10 points, seven boards and four assists. Yaxel Lendeborg scored 11 points in 14 minutes of action, but he landed on an Arizona player’s foot, rolling his ankle and sustaining a sprained MCL.
“No one has been able to do that to us all year,” said Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, who signed a contract extension earlier in the weekend.
Michigan became the first team in NCAA Tournament history to score at least 90 points five times. The Wolverines have won their first five NCAAT games by margins of at least 13 points.
They’ll face UConn (34-5 SU, 17-22 ATS) in the finals after the Huskies took out Illinois by a 71-62 count as 1.5-point underdogs. The 133 combined points dipped ‘under’ the 139.5-point total.
Dan Hurley’s team improved to 18-1 both SU and ATS in its last 19 NCAA Tournament games. Tarris Reed led the way with 17 points and 11 rebounds. He went ‘over’ his player prop for points (15.5) thanks to a pair of free throws (in a one-and-one situation) with 13 seconds left.
Freshman Braylon Mullins had 15 points, three rebounds and two steals, as he buried 4-of-7 attempts from beyond the arc. Solo Ball finished with 13 points, but he sustained a foot injury that’s keeping him out of Sunday’s practice. Ball is listed as ‘questionable’ vs. Michigan.
UConn star senior Alex Karaban has now been limited to single digits with his scoring in back-to-back games. He had only five points vs. Duke in the Elite Eight, and he had just nine points on 1-of-8 FGAs against the Fighting Illini. With that said, Karaban found other ways to contribute, finishing with four rebounds, one steal, one blocked shot and four assists without a turnover.
Lendeborg left the win over Arizona in the first half after getting injured, but he did return to play in the early going of the second half. The results of an MRI came back clean.
“I’m sure he’ll give it a go tomorrow, but that’d be entirely up to him and the medical staff,” May said during his media session on Sunday.
As of early Sunday afternoon, most books had Michigan installed as a 6.5 or seven-point favorite with a total of 144 or 144.5. The Huskies were +260 on the money line at both Circa and the Westgate SuperBook.
The Wolverines are seeking their first national championship since 1989 when they beat Seton Hall at the old Kingdome in Seattle thanks to a pair of free throws by Rumeal Robinson in the final seconds of overtime.
UConn is going for its third national title in the last four seasons. The Huskies have won outright in all three games as underdogs this year.
These schools have met three time. UConn won a 69-61 decision as a 16.5-point home favorite on Feb. 7 of 2009. The 130 combined points stayed ‘under’ the 136.5-point total.
In a rematch at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor the next season (1/17/10), Michigan beat the Huskies 68-63 as a one-point home underdog. The 131 combined points dropped ‘under’ the 133.5-point tally.
On Nov. 25 of 2015 in the Bahamas, UConn downed Michigan 74-60 as a 4.5-point ‘chalk.’ The 134 combined points slithered ‘under’ the 137-point total.
Tip-off is scheduled for Monday night at 8:50 p.m. Eastern on TBS and TNT.