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Michigan vs Arizona live updates, news, predictions, how to watch Final Four game

SDF StaffBy

This is the game most college basketball fans have circled. The last two No. 1 seeds remaining, Michigan and Arizona meet in Saturday’s Final Four nightcap, with some referring to it as the de facto national title game.

Illinois or UConn may have something to say about that Monday night, but this game has all the ingredients to be a March Madness classic.

Here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s national semifinal between the Wolverines and Wildcats, including predictions and how to watch.

‘NOW GO FINISH THE JOB’: Arizona’s last Final Four team relishing Wildcats’ return

IN-DEPTH: Yaxel Lendeborg is Michigan March Madness star … and class clown

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See the best photos of Michigan basketball’s run to 2026 Final Four

Michigan Wolverines guard Roddy Gayle Jr. (11) shakes hands with forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) against the Howard Bison during the second half of a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Keybank Center.

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Arizona vs Michigan live score

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What time is Arizona vs Michigan Final Four game?

  • Time: 8:49 p.m. ET, Saturday, April 4.

What channel is Arizona vs Michigan? How to watch Final Four, streaming info

  • The game is airing on TBS, TNT, truTV, streaming via HBO Max.

  • Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press: Michigan 86, Arizona 83. Michigan has felt all year that if it plays its “A” game, it can beat anyone in the country. Arizona will certainly put that to the test. But this Michigan team, led by Lendeborg (coming off his best month of the season), remains on a mission. Onto the title game the Wolverines go.

  • Blake Toppmeyer: Arizona. The Arizona-Michigan semifinal will be the de facto national championship game. They looked like the two best teams all tournament. Slight advantage to Arizona, a team without weakness. Everyone in the Wildcats’ starting five averages in double figures scoring.

  • John Brice: Arizona. I’ll say it: this is the national championship game. Both teams are playing their best; it’s easy to tab Michigan after its evisceration of Tennessee and the early line. Give me Tommy Lloyd’s blend of vets and freshman phenoms.

  • Jordan Mendoza: Arizona. In one of the best matchups in Final Four history, Arizona’s depth comes up clutch with a big game in the paint to win a thriller.

  • Paul Myerberg: Michigan. In what feels like a de facto title game, Michigan’s frontcourt of Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara gives it an edge in what should be a high-scoring semifinal

  • Eddie Timanus: Arizona. This meeting is probably taking place a round too early, but don’t get me started on everything the committee did wrong with this field. Since we are getting this game, let’s just hope it lives up to its billing. I had the Wildcats winning the whole thing going in, so I’ll stick to my guns.

  • Matt Glenesk: Michigan. Billed as the real national championship game, this matchup should be awesome. Michigan has looked as good as anyone so far this tournament (along with Illinois). Arizona had a blip in the first half vs. Purdue before opening a can on the Boilermakers. There’s so much talent in this one, but I’m going with Wolverines, who haven’t showed any vulnerabilities this tournament.

  • John Leuzzi: Arizona. This one feels like a real toss-up, given how dominant both teams have looked in the first two weekends. Arizona wins in an all-time Final Four with Jaden Bradley and Koa Peat hitting big shots at the end.

  • Brent Schrotenboer: Arizona. Best team from the best league wins: Arizona of the Big 12. Time for the first national champion west of Kansas since 1997.

  • Craig Meyer: Michigan. These have been two of the three best teams in the country for much of the season and very little separates them. The Wolverines have just a little more experience in this situation, with an older roster and a coach who has been on this stage before, which will be enough for them to eke out a tight win. While it’s tempting to call this the de-facto national title game, let’s pump the brakes. Just ask Houston’s 1983 team how that conventional wisdom worked out.

  • Ehsan Kassim: Arizona. This one will be an instant classic and will come down to the wire. The Wildcats escape with a close victory over Dusty May’s crew.

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See the best photos of Arizona basketball’s run to 2026 Final Four

Arizona Wildcats forward Ivan Kharchenkov (8) reacts in the first half against the LIU Sharks during a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena.

Arizona vs Michigan betting odds: Who is favored to win?

Odds provided by BetMGM.

  • Moneyline: Michigan (-118); Arizona (-102)

Arizona’s road to Final Four

  • First round: beat No. 16 Long Island, 92-58

  • Second round: beat No. 9 Utah State, 78-66

  • Sweet 16: beat No. No. 4 Arkansas, 109-88

  • Elite Eight: beat No. 2 Purdue, 79-64

Michigan’s road to Final Four

  • First round: beat No. 16 Howard, 101-80

  • Second round: beat No. 9 Saint Louis, 95-72

  • Sweet 16: beat No. 4 Alabama, 90-77

  • Elite Eight: beat No. 6 Tennessee, 95-62

Arizona basketball stat leaders

SCORING

  • Brayden Burries, 16.1 ppg

  • Ivan Kharchenkov, 10.5 ppg

  • Motiejus Krivas, 10.4 ppg

REBOUNDING

ASSISTS

Michigan basketball stat leaders

SCORING

  • Yaxel Lendeborg, 15.2 ppg

  • Morez Johnson Jr., 13.2 ppg

REBOUNDING

  • Morez Johnson Jr., 7.3 rpg

ASSISTS

Arizona Final Four history: Has Arizona basketball won a national championship?

This is Arizona’s fifth Final Four appearance, and first since 2001. The Wildcats won their only men’s basketball national championship in 1997… in Indianapolis.

  • 1988: lost semifinal to Oklahoma, 86-78

  • 1994: lost semifinal to Arkansas, 91-82

  • 1997: won semifinal over North Carolina, 66-58; won final over Kentucky, 84-79 in OT

  • 2001: won semifinal over Michigan State, 80-61; lost final to Duke, 82-72

Michigan Final Four history: Has Michigan basketball won a national championship?

This is Michigan’s ninth Final Four trip and first since 2018. The Wolverines won the 1989 national championship.

  • 1964: lost semifinal to Duke, 91-80; won third-place game over Kansas State, 100-90

  • 1965: won semifinal over Princeton, 93-76; lost final to UCLA, 91-80

  • 1976: won semifinal over Rutgers, 86-70; lost final to Indiana, 86-68

  • 1989: won semifinal over Illinois, 83-81; won final over Seton Hall, 80-79 in OT

  • 1992: won semifinal over Cincinnati, 76-72; lost final to Duke, 71-51

  • 1993: won semifinal over Kentucky, 81-78 in OT; lost final to North Carolina, 77-71

  • 2013: won semifinal over Syracuse, 61-56; lost final to Louisville, 82-76

  • 2018: won semifinal over Loyola Chicago, 69-57; lost final to Villanova, 79-62

Tommy Lloyd is staying put.

The Arizona coach announced on Friday, April 3 he has signed a new deal to stay with the Wildcats, spurning North Carolina after he was reportedly the leading the candidate for the Tar Heels’ open coaching job.

“I’m happy to announce I’m staying at Arizona. We’ve been able to get some things done the past couple days,” Lloyd said.

Is Dusty May a candidate for UNC basketball job? What Dusty May said about North Carolina job

May has fielded questions about the North Carolina job, but has not named the Tar Heels directly in his responses.

“After last year, I decided I’ll never respond to any job speculation,” May said at media availability April 3. “I had already agreed to terms with Michigan, was 100% done, and I made the comment that I was flattered about a certain job opening because of my background, and that was misconstrued, so I just decided I’m never going to comment on any job that I don’t have.

“I think it’s well documented how happy I am at Michigan. Obviously, my private life, my personal life, my family, their happiness is very important. I love it at Michigan, but you’ll never hear me comment on any other job unless Michigan lets me go, and then I’ll comment on every job.”

How old is Yaxel Lendeborg?

Yaxel Lendeborg is 23 years old. Lendeborg played three seasons at Arizona Western Community College before heading to UAB where he played two seasons. This is his first year at Michigan.

Elliot Cadeau has allergic reaction, carted away at Michigan Final Four send-off

The Wolverines’ departure to Indianapolis came with a scare, though.

Michigan point guard Elliot Cadeau was evaluated by team medical personnel for a possible allergic reaction to something he ate as the team prepared to leave Ann Arbor for Indianapolis on Wednesday, April 1, a team spokesman told the Detroit Free Press, a part of the USA TODAY Network.

Cadeau was determined to be “fine” by doctors, though out of an abundance of caution, he was continuing to receive medical supervision and would not be leaving for the Final Four until later in the day Wednesday.

Is Elliot Cadeau deaf? Michigan PG overcame hearing, vision issues

Elliot Cadeau is half-deaf in one ear, dealt with blurred vision in one eye. That hasn’t stopped Michigan point guard from turning in his best season.

∎ Read more about Cadeau overcoming adversity via USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg.

One of Dusty May’s son is a walk-on, the other is a student manager

Dusty May is surrounding by family on the Michigan bench. His son Charlie is a walk-on for the Wolverines, while another son, Eli, is a student manager — a role Dusty served under former Indiana icon Bob Knight.

In Michigan’s Elite Eight blowout win over Tennessee, Charlie got into the game and drilled a 3-pointer, much to the delight of his Wolverines teammates.

“It’s obviously tough to give up playing the game and being on a team wearing a jersey,” Dusty May told USA TODAY Sports about Eli’s role. “But I just thought as far as his long-term development, all the things our managers learn, problem-solving, they learn people skills. They learn to function. We try to give them a lot of responsibility because we know if they’re ever going to make it in coaching … they have to have the experience of doing meaningful work. Our managers have helped him become much more responsible.”

Where is Aday Mara from?

The 7-3 UCLA transfer is from Zaragoza, Spain. Mara was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year after leading the Big Ten with 2.6 blocks per game.

Is LeBron James’ son on Arizona roster? Does he play?

Bryce James, LeBron’s son, is on the Wildcats roster. The freshman is redshirting this season. Bryce was a three-star recruit out of Sierra Canyon, where brother Bronny James also attended,

Why Tommy Lloyd focused on freshmen and not ‘overpriced’ transfers

In the Year of the Freshmen across college basketball, no other freshman class in America has scored more points this season than the five active freshmen on Arizona, led by Brayden Burries, Koa Peat and Ivan Kharchenkov.

Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd instead took a different approach than many others last year, veering away from the transfer portal, where more experienced players typically seek to earn more money from their names, images and likenesses (NIL).

“We were able to get involved with some freshmen that we felt could be just big-time impact players in college basketball, no matter what year or what class they were,” Lloyd told USA TODAY Sports.

One reason Lloyd built his roster this way was because didn’t think there were going to be many “quality” transfers available in the portal.

“I thought it was going to be overpriced,” Lloyd said.

Yes, Tommy Lloyd is an aspiring DJ: DJ Tomm-EE

Tommy Lloyd’s sidequest includes spinning it on the turntables in becoming a DJ.

He may not strike you as one you’d see mixing songs or making the beat drop, but Lloyd is quite the music lover. And this hobby he’s picked up has come with a masterful teacher, “one of the best DJs of all time” in Mix Master Mike.

“My sport is the art of turntables and hip hop. His sport is basketball. We just decided to collide into those two professions, and now we’re here,” Mike told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s just an amazing thing.”

Lloyd insists his DJ career is “more of a joke” than his next profession, but he may be selling himself short. Mike insists he’s better than he likely thinks he is. You just don’t show your team samples of your mixes for nothing.

“It’s been a little bit of a — I guess — I don’t know if a childhood fantasy, but probably a manhood fantasy for me that’s come true,” Lloyd said. “It’s been awesome to have that relationship.”

Koa Peat 2026 NBA Draft, mock draft prediction

No. 19 overall to Miami Heat

Kalbrosky’s Analysis:

The Miami Heat have drafted several prospects known for their athleticism, which means a player like Arizona forward Koa Peat will probably have some appeal to their organization. Peat is an ideal match for this franchise given his versatility as a playmaking forward. The All-Big 12 forward just needs a jumper to carve out regular minutes as a high-impact pro. Arizona plays at a significantly faster pace (4.6 extra possessions) when Peat is on the floor relative to when he is not, per CBB Analytics, which would fit very well with Miamis fastest-paced offense in the NBA.

See USA TODAY’s full mock draft here

Koa Peat stats

(all stats as of March 15)

  • 53.7% field goal percentage

  • 31.6% three-point field goal percentage

Brayden Burries 2026 NBA Draft, mock draft prediction

No. 10 overall to Milwaukee Bucks.

Kalbrosky’s Analysis:

Arizona freshman Brayden Burries had two breakout games in January, which helped solidify his draft stock. But the All-Big 12 guard has continued to display his tantalizing talent, scoring 31 points with seven rebounds and five steals against Colorado on March 7 and 20 points with 12 rebounds and five assists during a victory against No. 14 Kansas on Feb. 28. Burries has proven productivity and that he is able to defend, relocate, move the ball and make 3-pointers off the dribble.

See USA TODAY’s full mock draft here

Brayden Burries stats

(all stats as of March 15)

  • 49.2% field goal percentage

  • 36.7% three-point field goal percentage

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Arizona vs Michigan predictions, news, updates, channel for Final Four game

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