Michigan Juggernaut Rolls to National Title Game in Statement Rout of Arizona

INDIANAPOLIS — Michigan had no interest in the platitudes.

This would be the featured clash of the Final Four, a showdown between the Wolverines and fellow top seed Arizona. They've been on a collision course for a meeting in Lucas Oil Stadium ever since the bracket was unveiled.

Dating back to Selection Sunday, U-M and Arizona have stood as the March Madness front-runners. The odds, quite literally, have favored this duo.

Both teams, for the most part, cruised to four NCAA tournament wins. They matched the initial narrative and created the moment we all expected.

The grand vision, however, did not come to life in Michigan's 91-73 blowout.

No, from the opening tip, the Maize and Blue dominated—even as star forward Yaxel Lendeborg sat because of two early fouls. They roared to a 10-1 edge and held Arizona without a field goal for nearly four minutes to start the contest. By the under-12 timeout, Michigan led 22-10.

That early run didn't completely decide the game, considering Arizona fought back and brought the deficit down to five.

But it allowed U-M to play from a position of strength.

When the Wolverines answered that Arizona surge, they stormed to a commanding lead. Without their All-American once again due to ankle and knee injuries, center Aday Mara tallied 15 points and five rebounds in the first half to help Michigan built a 48-32 advantage at the break.

Lendeborg returned in the second half, drilling a pair of early triples as Mara added another bucket to extend Michigan's edge to 22.

From there, the rout was on.

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Arizona simply had no answers. Facing a big deficit was especially fatal for this offense, one that doesn't shoot many triples. Only two teams in the nation attempted three-pointers at a lower rate than the 'Cats, who lacked a high-volume perimeter option other than Brayden Burries.

Arizona's excellence in the paint minimized that factor all season, but digging out of a 20-point hole opposite this U-M team was practically impossible.

Adding to the Wildcats' woes, key guard Jaden Bradley played a modest 11 first-half minutes due to foul trouble. And then, he only lasted two minutes in the second half before a fourth whistle on him.

The reality? It probably wouldn't have mattered anyway.

Michigan rained 12 threes, had five players hit double-digit scoring and never missed a significant free throw. Mara netted a career-high 26 points, and Trey McKenney added 16. Elliott Cadeau didn't have an efficient shooting line, yet he stayed aggressive as a playmaker, tallied 13 points and dished 10 assists.

On defense, U-M contested everything well—an absolute necessity against what had been an elite two-point attack. Despite ceding 18 offensive rebounds, the Wolverines yielded only 12 second-chance points.

The train just kept on rolling.

Michigan first showed juggernaut potential in November's annihilations of San Diego State, Auburn and Gonzaga in Las Vegas. During that three-day stretch, the Wolverines won by 40, 30 and 40 points, respectively.

That kind of performance was never the expectation on Saturday, but what happened doesn't fit the "shocking" label. Clearly, we've seen it before.

The shock factor is simply that Arizona, even afforded a boost with Lendeborg's absences, only managed one valuable run.

Arizona controlled two minutes in a 9-0 spurt. The rest belonged to Michigan.

And that should be absolutely terrifying for Connecticut, which defeated Illinois in the earlier semifinal. During the 71-62 victory, UConn relied on its solid defense to survive a pair of five-minute ice-cold, scoreless stretches.

It's hard to image a repeat of those extended lulls would be anything but a death sentence in a matchup with Michigan.

Yes, UConn is capable. Great defense, great rebounding and a positive margin in three-pointers would give the Huskies a chance. Love him or hate him, Dan Hurley is a fantastic coach, as well. They'll be ready.

But if Michigan brings anything close to a similar performance, no matter how prepared UConn will be, it still may not be enough.

The juggernaut is on the doorstep of an emphatic championship.