PHOENIX (AZFamily/AP) – 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.
Junior center 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 defenses, 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 3, 36% 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.
Wildcats supporters packed Phoenix bar
Arizona fans gathered at watch parties across the state to see their team compete in the Final Four, but the night ended in disappointment.
One of the largest gatherings took place at Dirtbags, a popular Wildcats bar in Phoenix’s Arcadia neighborhood.
The bar, which was packed with celebrating fans at the same time last week after a Wildcats win, emptied quickly after the loss.
“I am just glad we made it to the final four in the first place,” one fan said. “But to get super close and not make it, it’s sad but at the same time, you take what you get.”
Another fan pointed to the team’s future prospects: “We had a great season, Tommy’s locked up for the next five years, we’re ready to go.”
Others echoed the sentiment of disappointment mixed with optimism.
“Disappointed, but they played really well, we’ll get them next year for sure,” one fan said.
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