INDIANAPOLIS — Michigan’s wait for a competitive NCAA Tournament game extends to the national championship game Monday after the Wolverines mauled Arizona, 90-73 on Saturday night.
Michigan was all gas, no brake in improving to 36-3 and earning a spot in the title game with a fifth consecutive blowout in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Aday Mara scored 26 points, Trey McKenney had 16 and generations of Wolverines celebrated with Chris Webber, Jalen Rose and the Fab Five courtisde at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Michigan had 26 points off turnovers and made 12 of 27 3-pointers.
The barrage had Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd shaking his head long before Elliot Cadeau splashed his second 3 and gave the Wolverines a 27-point lead with 12:20 left in the game.
There was little life remaining in the Wildcats, who were atypically frustrated for most of their third loss of the season (36-3).
With Michigan All-American Yaxel Lendeborg in and out of the game — first due to foul trouble, later to have his rolled ankle checked and taped to return — the Wolverines flexed their title-worthy depth. Cadeau missed 12 of his 14 shot attempts in the first half, but McKenney could scarcely miss and Arizona had no way to slow down 7-foot-3 center Mara.
McKenney made three 3s in less then five minutes during a second-half sprint that helped Michigan kick its way to a 77-47 lead with 10:31 on the clock.
Mara was more of a constant.
He made 11 of 16 field goals, three of them emphatic and emotional dunks. On defense he slapped away shots, changed countless more and harassed Arizona freshman Koa Peat into a night to erase from his memory.
Peat took a team-high 18 shots (made six) and had only 11 points with 10 minutes left in the game. He eventually led Arizona with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Arizona had a couple of roundhouse punches left as the deficit hovered around 30 points, but a true game never materialized.
Peat and Burries cashed 3s and Big 12 Player of the Year Jaden Bradley, limited to 25 minutes due to foul trouble, outsprinted the Wolverines for a layup that narrowed the gap to 81-60. The Wildcats forced a stop and then Cadeu’s fourth foul sent Bradley to the line for one-and-one. He came away with two and whittled the margin to 19.
Burries was 2 of 10 from 3-point range. He finished with 13 points, as did Bradley.
It was still a 19-point game when Mara lowered his right shoulder and tugged Tobe Awaka with him for a five-footer on the baseline that gave him a career-high 25 points and added the free throw to balloon Michigan’s lead to 86-64 with 5:19 left.
Michigan improved to 8-1 in the Final Four and meets UConn (34-5) on Monday. The Huskies held off a late Illinois rally to improve to 13-1 all-time in the Final Four. Michigan is 1-6 and UConn is 6-0 all-time in the national title game.
–By Jeff Reynolds, Field Level Media
