Now everybody knows why Dusty May was confident enough to scout UConn before playing Arizona

Yaxel Lendeborg, the Big Ten Player of the Year and First-Team All-American, picked up two fouls in the first 82 seconds of the most highly anticipated Final Four showdown in years. Then, midway through the first half, he suffered a scary ankle injury that held him out until halftime and severely limited him after the break. Everything was set up for a Michigan disaster. Instead, the Wolverines were dominant. 

Michigan rolled to a 91-73 win over Arizona at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday night, never trailing the entire way. It was the type of performance that suddenly made everybody understand why Dusty May spent the final hours leading up to his second Final Four appearance, scouting the first game of the Final Four between Illinois and UConn. 

May reportedly wanted to see UConn in person. The Wolverines beat Illinois 84-70 in Champaign in February, but hadn’t seen Dan Hurley’s Huskies, who kept the Illini at arm’s length the entire way to advance to their third national championship game in four years with a 71-62 win. 

Michigan never left any doubt vs. Arizona

May could have been accused of overlooking Arizona, and Kenny Smith stopped just short of doing that on the TNT pregame. After that performance, though, it’s clear that his team was ready for the Wildcats. 

Michigan handled Arizona’s physicality, using its three-big lineup with Lendeborg, Aday Mara, and Morez Johnson to neutralize Arizona’s typical interior dominance. Even when Michigan went small, it was able to handle the Wildcats, and a second-half barrage of threes only extended a 16-point halftime lead. 

In many ways, Michigan and Arizona are similar. Both use massive front courts to control the paint and get easy baskets at the rim while preventing their opponent from doing the same with a stout rim protector. The biggest difference, though, is Michigan’s willingness to fire from three. Arizona had the third-lowest three-point attempt rate in the country this year, and even with the Wildcats trailing much of the way, Michigan put up 10 more threes and made six more, outscoring Arizona 36-18 from beyond the arc. 

That advantage was too much for Arizona to overcome, but it wasn’t just three-point shooting. Michigan set the tone for the game with its physicality, set the pace in transition, and got a maestro performance from Elliot Cadeau despite his shooting struggles. 

May has been to the Final Four before, in 2023 when he was the head coach of FAU. Then, he was happy to be there. This time, he came to Indianapolis to win two games, not just one, and after that blowout win, it makes sense why he was confident enough to get a look at the Huskies.