Final Four takeaways: Michigan KOs Arizona, Hurley's legend grows

After 68 teams started, only four remain with the national semifinals taking place Saturday in Indianapolis. theScore highlights key takeaways from the Final Four and what the results mean moving into Monday's title game.

Michigan by first-round knockout

If the No. 1 vs. No. 1 showdown between Michigan and Arizona was a massive heavyweight fight, consider the Wolverines the victors by a stunning 1st-round knockout. Michigan has laid waste to just about anybody in its path this year with 11 wins by at least 30 points and seven by 40-plus. But this was Arizona, a team that has left a similar trail of destruction throughout the season. Michigan couldn't do it again, right?

That thought lasted roughly 5 minutes into the game, with the Wolverines racing out to a 16-5 lead. That got stretched to a 16-point halftime edge despite the fact Michigan's star Yaxel Lendeborg only played five minutes due to foul trouble and injury. Add the Elite Eight blowout win over Tennessee to Saturday's early brilliance and the Wolverines became the first team with halftime leads of at least 15 points in both the regional final and national semifinal since 1968, according to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.

The most alarming thing about the first half is the fact the Wolverines didn't even look great on offense in building that massive lead. Eight offensive rebounds and nine forced turnovers gave them countless extra possessions that helped them stack up points to stretch their advantage. If Michigan looked that dominant without its best showing on offense, how scary would it be if the shots started to drop?

We didn't have to wait long to get that answer and it was utterly terrifying. The Wolverines torched the nets to begin the second half, making seven triples to just seven total baskets for Arizona in the opening 8 minutes. That pushed the lead to 30 and allowed the entirety of media row to finish their game stories by the final tip. The 91-point total ensured a new record for the Wolverines as they became the first team to ever score at least 90 in each of the first five games of an NCAA Tournament.

We may have scoffed at the time, but Lendeborg wasn't kidding when he told the nation exactly who Michigan was.

This runaway train simply cannot be beaten if the 3-pointers are falling. That will make Monday's title game matchup incredibly intriguing given UConn's elite performance at limiting Illinois' shooting Saturday.

Arizona buried from the jump

Look, we're not here to say that Arizona's coaching staff might've been a bit distracted this week by the Tommy Lloyd to North Carolina rumors. However, if they had been, Arizona's performance against Michigan is exactly how that might look.

Lloyd signed a new deal to stay at Arizona on Friday, one that will reportedly see his annual salary rise to $7.5 million and ensure he no longer reports to the school's athletic director. Just over 24 hours later, his Wildcats' title hopes were essentially dashed after 20 minutes of dismal offensive basketball. Arizona looked entirely unprepared to face the Wolverines' swarming defense, turning the ball over nine times in the opening half. The result was the largest halftime deficit of the season for the Wildcats. And it only got worse.

We've praised Arizona in the past for the ability to light up a scoreboard without relying on the 3-pointer. That's an exceptional quality to have, but if the other team is raining triples like a torrential downpour, the simple math tells us you aren't going to have a good time. The final number saw Michigan make six more triples than Arizona in the contest to make the final margin 18 points - the exact number the Wildcats ended up losing by.

The overall view is that this was a highly successful season for Arizona that brought the program back to the national powerhouse conversation. However, the ending will certainly leave a bitter taste in Wildcats' fans mouths - especially with an expected NBA exodus from the roster.

Hurley's got the Illinois blueprint

If you believe the KenPom numbers, Illinois entered Saturday with not only the best offense this season, but the No. 1 all-time since his efficiency rankings first dropped in 1997.

It's probably a safe bet Dan Hurley doesn't buy those stats. Illinois has now played 37 total games on the season and failed to score more than 62 points just twice. The opponent in each? You guessed it: UConn.

Illinois averaged 46% shooting from the floor this season with a 34% clip from beyond the arc. In two games against Hurley's Huskies, the bricks got laid to the tune of 32.6% from the floor and an eye-popping 22% from deep.

The Illini's electric offense relies heavily on floor spacing with almost every player on the roster capable of knocking down triples. That puts great pressure on the defense when helping, often leading to wide-open looks from all over the floor. That type of approach had Illinois averaging 14.5 assists per game as a team. However, UConn is arguably the best team in the country at on-ball defense, a skill that heavily limits the need to help. Without wide-open looks to put the scoreboard to work, Illinois finished with only 3 assists on the night.

You can even trace Hurley's dominance over Brad Underwood and Illinois back to the 2024 NCAA Tournament when UConn held the Illini to a season-low 52 points.

The defensive masterclass is just the latest feather in the cap of the outrageous March Madness resume Hurley is building. He doesn't have the longevity of the all-time greats, but his NCAA Tournament winning percentage is virtually unmatched among coaches with at least 15 games experience.

Hurley's numbers get even more impressive when looking at the betting line. According to Evan Abrams of The Action Network, the UConn coach is now a perfect 11-0 against the spread in the Sweet 16 of later.

The next achievement for Hurley on the all-time list will put him in rarefied air. A third title in four years would put UConn alongside the likes of UCLA and Kentucky as the only programs to do so historically, and give the program seven national championships - trailing only the Bruins and Wildcats.

No task too tall for Reed

We've already compared Tarris Reed Jr.'s NCAA Tournament performance this year to peak-Shaquille O'Neal, but surely the UConn center would struggle against an Illinois team that is the tallest in Division I, right?

The answer would be an emphatic no. Big or small, short or tall, Reed kept cooking to put up another dominant showing. His final line of 17 points and 11 rebounds now gives him 104 and 65 for the entire tournament. If those sound like significant totals - well, they are.

Reed roasted Illinois in the opening half with 11 and 6 by the break, but foul trouble and some questionable offensive sets saw him take just two shots in the first 15 minutes of the second half. That was certainly one of the reasons the Illini cut the lead to just 4 with five minutes to play.

An immediate touch on offense after that for Reed led to an easy bucket and he added two free throws two minutes later to help UConn stave off the comeback.

Both Arizona and Michigan roll out massive frontcourts with plenty of bodies to throw at Reed in the title game. However, we'd be foolish to think that's going to cause the UConn star any issues given how he's balled out all tournament thus far.