Michigan to face UConn for NCAA men's basketball title after overpowering Arizona

Michigan overpowered Arizona early and humbled the 'Cats all night long, turning the Final Four meeting billed as the Game of the Year into a 91-73 Wolverines highlight reel Saturday night in Indianapolis.

Junior centre Aday Mara scored a career-high 26 points and had nine rebounds, a dinged-up Yaxel Lendeborg had 11 points in 14 minutes and the Blue blew through their fifth straight March Madness opponent by double digits while becoming the first team to break 90 points five times in a single tournament.

Next up, a title matchup Monday against UConn, a 71-62 winner over Illinois in the early semifinal that was billed — wrongly — as the undercard to this battle of No. 1 seeds.

Michigan and Arizona came in with the nation's top two defences, a pair of top-five offenses and somewhere between eight and a dozen NBA stars between them.

But it was the Wolverines (36-3) who looked like pros, running to a double-digit lead only 5:31 into the contest, then swatting and slamming Arizona into oblivion. Koa Peat had a quiet 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Big 12 champion Wildcats (36-3).

They shot 6 for 17 from three, 36 per cent overall and had two assists and nine turnovers over a first half that ended with them trailing 48-32. Sparkplug Jaden Bradley got his fourth foul 94 seconds into the second half and finished with 13 points, most in extended garbage time. Arizona's only two losses before this were by four and by three back in February.

They trailed by nine less than 2:30 into this one. Michigan packed the paint on defense, basically giving the team that averaged the fifth-fewest three attempts in the country this year free rein from long distance, then daring Arizona to create inside.

The Wilcats failed at both. Even more