Four Teams Come to Indianapolis. Only One Leaves!
(And the other three leave later on)
Illinois Fighting Illini v UConn Huskies
6:09 ET/5:09 GTZ. TBS/truTV/HBOMax.
BoilerUp89: Dan Hurley has never lost after the Sweet 16. Illinois returns to the Final Four for the first time since 2005. Will the pressure of the moment get to them? If it doesn't and UConn's magic doesn't occur, I really like the Illini's chances to run the B1G title game losing streak to 9. Illinois has been playing really well as of late while UConn barely got thru the easy region.
MaximumSam: These teams did play in November and the Huskies took away Illinois' lunch money. But that was a different time - Mihailo Petrovic actually played. Keaton Wagler only played 14 minutes, two more than fellow freshman Brandon Lee. Of course, UConn was different, too Tarris Reed and Braylon Mullins also barely played. Anyways, go Bumrichous.
Kind of...: Going to harp on what I always harp on with Illinois. Their defense just doesn't create much pressure on the opposing team, so, if Illinois shoots well and/or gets a bunch of offensive boards, they'll probably win. If not, they won't. I think they should win. They're favored for a reason. But 1) Tarris Reed is 6'11", 265, 2) UConn's starting lineup is all 6'4" or above, and 3) hate him or really hate him, Hurley is an excellent coach and has had all week to come up with a game plan. Among other things, he's well-known for paying a lot of attention to Euro ball and incorporating aspects of that. No idea if that matters tonight, but if it wins, expect Jay Bilas or some other dipshit to try to suggest that they saw it coming for that reason.
AlmaOtter: My 82 year old grandma made a joke last night about how disconsolate I’m going to be after my team loses today. She’s a kind, quiet, religious woman. She’s never wrong and she’s got an inside line to higher powers. UConn by a million.
Michigan Wolverines v Arizona Wildcats
8:49 ET/7:49 GTZ. TBS/truTV/HBOMax.
BoilerUp89: Really interesting matchup. Arizona's guards are gonna be a defensive problem for Michigan, but on the flip side Michigan's trio of interior towers may be able to prevent the Wildcats from driving into them and getting to the foul line. Arizona's a decent three point shooting team, but they don't really like to shoot them. If anybody is gonna beat Arizona, I think it's this Michigan team due to the matchup issues they can cause but these Wildcats feel like the best team this season.
MaximumSam: The late night consolation game. Word is it may be relegated only to TruTV because TBS would rather play reruns of Punky Brewster.
Kind of...: Yeah, agree with BoilerUp89. Feels like Michigan matches up better with Arizona than almost anybody. Makes sense since KenPom has Michigan #1, the only team ahead of Arizona. All the same it feels like Arizona has more paths to winning. The two most likely are: 1) Bradley significantly outplays Cadeau, and/or 2) Wildcat penetration gets Mara in foul trouble and Arizona then gets the offense going. At the same time, Lendeborg is the best all around player on either roster and Michigan moves the ball REALLY well. We like to hate on them, but they're a very unselfish team. And they will shoot, and make 3s, which might actually, finally, bite Arizona. Or maybe not. No outcome would really surprise me. Should be a fantastic game for at least 35 minutes, though.
