Ty Predicts the Final Four
/
The men's Final Four is set. UConn will face Illinois in the first game Saturday night, and Arizona will face Michigan in the second game. We have two number 1 seeds, a 2 seed and a 3 seed. We have two Big Ten teams, one Big East team and one Big 12 team. All power conferences, all teams that were ranked inside the top 15 most of the season. This is the way of the current world in men's college sports. The teams that can pay and use the transfer portal correctly will continue to run college sports until some changes are made. It's going to be awhile before we see George Mason or Loyola Chicago in the Final Four. With that being said, I'm going to do a preview and prediction.
UConn-Illinois is going to be an interesting clash of styles. Illinois likes to score fast and furious. They have guys who can shoot from anywhere on the floor. They also have guys that can protect the rim on defense and rebound the ball. They play like an NBA team. Iowa exposed a few things that I think UConn can use to their benefit, probably better than Iowa did. UConn has solid veteran leadership and some young talent. Alex Karaban is a very good shooter and has been here before. Tarris Reed has become one of the better throwback big men in all of college basketball. He has some of the best low post moves I've seen in awhile. Solo Ball can attack and shoot. Braylen Mullins just made the biggest shot of the tournament. That kid can score in bunches. This should be a fun game to watch. I'm curious as to how it will all turn out. Illinois has shooters galore and I think that will separate them from UConn. UConn just gave everything they had in their last game. They came back from down 19. They had little to no chance of winning that game. They needed a bad pass to create a miracle shot. I think that may bite them in the butt this weekend. Illinois is also a really good basketball team that has been consistent and well rounded all tournament long. They easily overcame the mild adversity Iowa threw their way, and they just feel like a team destined to play for the title to me. I think the game will be close up until the end. UConn's bigs will make life tough for Illinois' big men. But the shooting separates Illinois from UConn. UConn is not the dominant team they were in the very near past, and that will only help Illinois push into the final. I say Illinois wins by 8, but it will be that wide because UConn will have to foul late, and free throws will make it seem like a bigger margin of victory than it really is. Illinois will be the first team to make it to the title game.
Now onto the game I want to watch, and I bet most of the country wants to watch as well.
Arizona and Michigan have been at the top of the rankings all season long. Both teams went a long, long time undefeated. Both teams won their regular season conference title. Arizona won the Big 12 title tournament, while Michigan played in the Big Ten tournament title game. Michigan has a program record 35 wins at the moment. Arizona has 35 wins as well. Arizona just showed how good of a team they can be last weekend. Purdue gave them everything they had in the first half. Then Arizona locked in and completely took over. They dominated the second half against a very good Purdue team. They won that game going away. They clawed and scratched, and with about 12 minutes left in the game they totally took over. It was wild to watch. I have been riding with Arizona as my pick to win it all this year most of the season. I picked them in all four brackets I filled out this year. They are a very, very good team with multiple NBA draft picks on the floor. Michigan has had a year to remember. It has been awesome for me to watch as a fan. And they have been as dominant as any team can be in this tournament to this point. They have scored 90 plus points in every game. They have won every game by double figures. Their closest margin of victory was 13 in the Sweet Sixteen. They just beat Tennessee in the Elite Eight by 33 points. Yaxel Lendeborg has been playing out of his mind. Elliot Cadeau is running the offense brilliantly. Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr have been manning the front court. And Roddy Gayle Jr and Trey McKenney have been making plays all over the court. Michigan has looked every bit the number 1 seed they have earned. This game is going to feature so many future pros. It will be the closest thing we have to watching two college teams full of NBA players. Both teams also have guys that can beat you on any night. They don't need one guy to do it all. They have multiple guys that can go off and take a game over. I have been batting it back and forth about who I want to pick. Michigan has been awesome. Arizona has been just as dominant and they beat a better team in their Elite Eight matchup. I'll be rooting so god damn hard for Michigan, but I'm going to stick with my pick of Arizona heading to the title game. They have more weapons and bigs that can matchup with the size of Michigan. It will be a close, very well played game of basketball, but I think Arizona is going to hit a big shot to win the game by three points. And I will be absolutely devastated.
That leaves me with Illinois and Arizona playing for the title, and there's no need to beat around the bush, Arizona will roll. They are a better team with a better coach and a better roster. That's just facts. And any one of their players would win Most Outstanding Player. I'll go ahead and go with Koa Peat.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.