INDIANAPOLIS — Even the Michigan players couldn’t disguise their surprise with nonchalant answers in the locker room after the game:
“Coming into the game, I was like, ‘Man, this is going to be a crazy game to watch and be a part of,” freshman forward Oscar Goodman said. “And then we got hot and I was like, ‘Man, we can just run away with this.’ ”
Well, it was a crazy game to be a part of, but not for the reasons most people, like Goodman, expected — Michigan blew Arizona all the way back to Tucson.
Now, the Wolverines have one shot to achieve their ultimate goal, and UConn is the final barrier. Michigan will take on the Huskies at 8:50 p.m. EST on Monday night.
Here are five key takeaways from the stunning Final Four win…
Mara Domination
Arizona had absolutely no answer for junior center Aday Mara on the pick and roll. The 7-foot-3 big man finished with 26 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two blocks, creating nightmare matchups all night.
The Wildcats were letting him get a lane to the basket off of the screen, and once that happens, there’s nothing anyone can do to stop him. The only way to guard it is to impede his path to the basket early, and Arizona just couldn’t get it done.
Sometimes, it really does pay off just to be bigger than everyone else on the court. Saturday night, it certainly helped Mara.
Lendeborg Limited, No Problem
Graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg only played five minutes in the first half and 14 minutes total. The Wolverines had no problem picking handling business even without the normal contributions from their best player.
Lendeborg picked up two fouls within the first minute-and-a-half of the game and was forced to come out. When he did eventually return, it only took a few minutes for him to go down with a knee injury. He sat the rest of the first half, and he was diagnosed with an MCL sprain in his left knee.
Lendeborg did play nine minutes in the second half, but he clearly wasn’t at full strength.
Michigan was able to get the job done largely without him, but against UConn on Monday, it will need Lendeborg as healthy as possible.
Wide Assist Margin
Michigan finished the game with 22 assists, and Arizona had just five. That stat alone tells the story.
The Wolverines were comfortable and confident on offense. They were moving the ball, shifting the defense, and finding open looks. On the other hand, the Wildcats had very little fluidity to their game, and they were forced into contested and low-quality looks.
It’s a credit to both Michigan’s offensive scheme and its defensive intensity. It played stellar on both sides of the ball, and the assist margin proves that.
Numerous Mini-Runs Wear Down Arizona
Piece by piece, the Wolverines built their massive lead. It wasn’t in the massive chunk like it was against Tennessee, instead, they persistently chipped away until the lead swooned to more than 20 points.
In the first half alone, Michigan put together five runs of 6-0 or greater. And in the second half, it added three more.
The 21-0 run against Tennessee was flashier, but the constant puncture wounds the Wolverines inflicted Monday night was just as effective. Each time the Wildcats thought they’d bandaged their wounds, Michigan came back with another round.
Only UConn Stands In The Way
There’s only one game left in the 2025-26 college basketball season, and Michigan will take part, facing UConn on Monday night.
With the win, Michigan moves to 8-1 in the Final Four all time — including the vacated wins in 1992 and 1993 — but it has only finished the job one time in 1989.
The second-seeded Huskies took down No. 3 seed Illinois 71-62, and will provide a unique, slow-paced challenge.
At the end of season, only one team goes home with the ultimate prize, and the Wolverines will do everything in their power to ensure it is them.
