Men’s Final Four power rankings: How do Illinois, UConn, Arizona and Michigan stack up?

Editor’s note: This article is part of the Bracket Central series, an inside look at the run-up to the men’s & women’s NCAA Tournaments, along with analysis and picks during the tournaments.

The Final Four is set, and we finally got an instant classic of a game to set the stage for Indianapolis. After double-digit victories by Illinois, Arizona and Michigan to start the Elite Eight weekend, Duke and UConn gave us an all-timer on Sunday evening.

That game featured a stunning collapse by one of the country’s best teams — a second consecutive year with an agonizing NCAA Tournament loss for Duke and head coach Jon Scheyer — and a dramatic deep bomb from Huskies freshman Braylon Mullins that will be replayed over and over as a monumental March moment.

The bracket looks imbalanced now: The two best teams, Arizona and Michigan, play each other in the semifinals. That showdown between the Wildcats and the Wolverines promises to be an unbelievable battle between two teams that dominated their excellent leagues and have combined for just five losses all season.

Fortunately, though, UConn and Illinois are both more than good enough to avoid Saturday’s nightcap becoming a de facto championship game. UConn has now beaten multiple No. 1 seeds (Duke and Florida) this season, while Illinois plays a high-variance style that is capable of beating anyone on a given night if the shots are falling.

So no, this Final Four is not all No. 1 seeds like last year, and it also lacks any kind of Cinderella story. But it should give us some tremendous battles on Saturday, leading up to “One Shining Moment” on Monday night. Here’s how the last teams standing stack up.

Conference Big 12 Big East Big Ten

Region East Midwest South West

Loading

Try changing or resetting your filters to see more.

The Wildcats struggled for 20 minutes on Saturday night, trailing Purdue 38-31 at the break. Then … they did the opposite of struggle. A 48-26 second-half blitz (sparked by a quick 16-3 run) displayed the awe-inspiring ceiling that the gigantic Wildcats possess, and even a veteran Boilermakers squad could not withstand Arizona’s onslaught. It ultimately became a comfortable 15-point victory, sending the Wildcats to their first Final Four since 2001, when Lute Olson was in charge.

Arizona’s balance was on full display this weekend. Four starters scored in double-digits, led by the Wildcats’ trio of freshmen: forward Koa Peat (20 points, seven rebounds), bruising wing Ivan Kharchenkov (18 points, eight rebounds) and scoring guard Brayden Burries (14 points, six rebounds). Arizona’s interior defense also shined, holding an elite Purdue offense to just 39.0 percent shooting inside the arc.

The Wildcats now get a shot at Michigan, one of the very few teams that has matched and maybe even exceeded Arizona’s dominance this season. Both teams have consistently crushed opponents at the rim, and their duel in the paint should be absolutely fascinating.

Dusty May’s team looked like November Michigan on Sunday afternoon, routing Tennessee 95-62. The Wolverines ran wild in the open floor, generating steals and tough shots that led directly to quick and easy looks on the other end. Yaxel Lendeborg was brilliant again, scoring inside and out as part of a 27-point performance, and point guard Elliot Cadeau was fantastic as a distributor in the transition demolition.

Sunday’s star may actually have been Michigan’s defense. The Vols shot just 38 percent inside the arc, turning to meticulous post-ups to create interior opportunities. Michigan repeatedly got easy looks early in the shot clock, while Tennessee had to labor through offensive action to even get a shot up.

That dominance sets the stage for a Michigan-Arizona big boy battle in Indianapolis. Along with Duke, those two squads have been a step ahead of the rest of the country all season. The paint will not be a place for the meek on Saturday. The basketball gods gave us a gift with this one.

The Illini won the quasi-Big Ten Invitational in Houston, coming from behind to eventually knock off Iowa and claim the South Region. Illinois trailed by as many as 10 and did not take its first lead until 23 minutes had gone by in the game. The pace was a crawl — Illinois’ 55 total possessions marked its slowest game of the year — but the Illini shot a blistering 61.1 percent inside the arc and outrebounded the smaller Hawkeyes 38-21.

Freshman phenom Keaton Wagler was the star, going for 25 points while consistently burying inferior Iowa defenders on switches. Andrej Stojakovic had a similar effect off the bench, repeatedly getting downhill and posting 17 points on nine field goal attempts. The length of Illinois’ guards and wings helped swing the game.

The Illini will now hop on the bus from Champaign to Indianapolis for a rematch with UConn. Illinois lost to the Huskies at Madison Square Garden in late November, but this is an entirely different version of Brad Underwood’s team. Wagler played just 14 minutes in that game; he is essentially a 35 minutes per game guy now. Illinois is also hoping to exorcise the demons of its 2024 Elite Eight loss to UConn, the infamous “30-0 run” game. The Illini would badly like to flip the script.

What an incredible game in Washington, D.C. UConn erased a deficit that stretched as large as 19 points to stun the top overall seed, with a pivotal steal in the final 10 seconds setting up a near-buzzer-beater from Braylon Mullins to take the lead.

The Huskies, March magic fully intact, head to their third Final Four in the last four seasons. Sunday marked the first time in NCAA Tournament history that a No. 1 seed lost after leading by 15 or more points at halftime.

Indianapolis awaits, and so does a rematch with Illinois. The Huskies beat the Illini 74-61 at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 28. Tarris Reed Jr. was extremely quiet in that one (two points, five rebounds), and Mullins played just 10 minutes in his season debut. Reed has been a dominant force through four NCAA Tournament games (21.8 points per game, 13.5 rebounds per game), and Mullins is now an integral rotation piece. This version of the Huskies may be even better than that one.

No. 3 Michigan State

67-63

The Bracket Central series is sponsored by E*Trade from Morgan Stanley.

The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Sponsors have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.