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Apr 3, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; The Arizona Wildcats huddle during a practice session ahead of the Final Four of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images
INDIANAPOLIS—The way the 2025-26 season played out, it was inevitable that Arizona and Michigan would end up facing each other. That it’s not for the national title is the only surprising part.
Since the Wolverines demolished Gonzaga by 40 points in November in Las Vegas, the same place the Wildcats began their season with a takedown of defending NCAA champion Florida, it felt like the teams were on a collision course. During the nine weeks that the UA was ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25, the longest run in school history, Michigan was No. 2 in six of those polls.
And any list of the top title contenders included both at or near the top along with Duke, who by getting the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament set up a semifinal that’s a de facto final.
Arizona (36-2) takes on Michigan (35-3) in a battle of No. 1 seeds, the 26th time that’s happened in the Final Four since the tourney field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985 and the 16th in a semifinal. Last year all four No. 1 seeds made the Final Four, but before that a 1 vs. 1 matchup prior to the final hadn’t happened since 2018.
The Wildcats are on a 13-game win streak since losing two in a row in February, beating their four West Region opponents by an average of 21 points. Michigan was even more dominant, steamrolling the Midwest Region by an average of 22.5 points including a 33-point win over Tennessee in the Elite Eight.
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This won’t just be a matchup of No. 1 seeds, but also the top two squads in KenPom, where Michigan’s +38.95 is just ahead of Arizona’s +38.92. The Wolverines have the No. 1 defensive efficiency, the Wildcats No. 2, while the UA is 4th in offensive efficiency to Michigan’s No. 5 ranking.
“It’s been really impressive to watch,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said of Michigan. “You catch them on TV a few times. I hadn’t did a deep dive into them or anything like we have now. Obviously they beat up on Gonzaga pretty good, and that doesn’t happen very often. When they did that, that obviously got my attention.”
Michigan coach Dusty May, who beat Lloyd and Arizona when he was at Florida Atlantic in 2024, sees a lot of similarities between that UA team and the one he’s about to face—“they were really good then and they’re really good now,” May said—as well as with his own squad.
“We feel like we’re built in a similar fashion to Arizona,” May said. “When we watch them, we see ourselves other than a few stylistic differences. We see a lot of ourselves in them, and it’s going to be a battle. We believe it’s going to be won in the 39th or 40th minute of this game.”
Like Arizona, Michigan has a sizable frontline led by 7-foot-3 Aday Mara, a transfer from UCLA, as well as consensus All-American Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson, both 6-9. Lendeborg is a matchup nightmare, shooting 64.8 percent on 2s and 37.2 percent on 3s with 15 triples in the last five games.
“He’s obviously an elite talent,” Lloyd said of Lendeborg, a 6th-year senior who began his college career at a junior college in Yuma. “You put the skill with those physical tools, and looks like to me he’s got that alpha dog in him. Dusty has done an incredible job just putting him in positions to utilize all his skills. There’s probably not one way to guard him. You’ve probably got to try a little bit of everything and then hope you get a little bit lucky and some of those shots just don’t go in.
Arizona may have the edge in the backcourt, with the duo of senior Jaden Bradley and freshman Brayden Burries showing off their blend of experience and superstardom in the tourney. Bradley will be playing his 14th NCAA tourney game on Saturday, third-most among players in the Final Four (teammate Tobe Awaka is second, at 15).
“I feel like we’re just playing a version of ourselves,” Bradley said. “I feel like from from the top five to their bench players, I feel like we’re very similar. They’re very physical in the post, we’re physical. We’re a bigger team, they’re a bigger team. Their point guard (Elliot Cadeau) loves finding his teammates, and when they need a bucket, he can go get one, and I feel like I have to do the same for my team.”
With so many similarities, it may be hard for one team to find an area to exploit without exposing their own flaws. That’s where one of Lloyd’s most oft-used mantras will come into play.
“Honestly, I think you’ve just got to get on the court and figure it out,” he said. “I think both teams are probably adept at what they do, and we’re going to get out, and I think both of us are going to try to play to our strengths and see how it feels. To me, that’s the biggest thing. We’ve obviously got a lot of respect for Michigan. They’ve had an incredible season and they’re incredibly well built, and we know there’s going to be a ton of challenges tomorrow, and we’re going to have some moments where we have to figure some things out.”
Arizona is currently a 1.5-point underdog, per FanDuel Sportsbook. The Wildcats have only been underdogs three times this season, winning all three.
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