The Arizona men’s basketball team advanced deeper into the NCAA Tournament than any UA squad in 25 years.
And then, just like that, it was all over.
Michael Lev is a senior writer/columnist for the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson.com and The Wildcaster.
The Wildcats’ unforgettable, record-setting season came to a crashing halt Saturday night in Indianapolis with a shockingly lopsided 91-73 loss to Michigan in the national semifinals.
A UA team that had lost two games all season by a combined seven points was never in it against a Wolverines club that had just as much length and strength, more poise and more outside shooting.
Michigan will face UConn for the national championship Monday night. Arizona will have to wait at least another year — with a largely remade roster — to try to win it all for the first time since 1997.
Here are my top five takeaways from the Wildcats’ first Final Four appearance in a quarter-century:
1. Unpleasant surprise
No one saw this coming.
Yes, Michigan appeared to be Arizona’s equal on paper. Maybe slightly better in certain ways.
But a noncompetitive blowout? No chance.
Yet, from the very beginning, the Wolverines were the better team. And it wasn’t disputable.
Michigan’s 91 points were the most by a UA opponent this season. Arizona’s 36.6% shooting from the floor was a season low. So were its five assists.
The Wolverines matched the Wildcats in points in the paint — an area where Arizona usually dominates. Michigan doubled Arizona in 3-pointers made — including shooting a ridiculous 7 of 11 in the second half. Any hope of a UA comeback died right then and there.
Arizona guard Brayden Burries gets squeezed out by Michigan forward Morez Johnson Jr., left, and guard Elliot Cadeau (3) in the first half of their Final Four game in Indianapolis, April 4, 2026.
Despite playing in multiple pressure-packed situations this season — including the Big 12 Championship Game and an Elite Eight contest in which they trailed by seven at the half — the Wildcats didn’t seem ready for the moment. They looked nervous and rushed and fell behind 10-1 within minutes. The closest they got was five points, two times.
After Motiejus Krivas’ hook shot made it 28-23 with 6:43 left in the half, Michigan responded with a 7-0 run. Arizona never cut it to single digits thereafter.
Even with star forward Yaxel Lendeborg limited to 14 minutes because of fouls and injuries, Michigan proved to be Arizona’s physical equal while also executing at a much higher level. The Wolverines didn’t back down when the Wildcats tried to bully them. And Michigan took advantage of Arizona’s sloppiness, turning 14 UA turnovers into 26 points. (The Wolverines ended up with 13 turnovers, but the Wildcats scored just 12 points off of them.)
Arizona had to bring its A-game to Lucas Oil Stadium. Michigan is that good.
Instead, the Wildcats played their worst game of the season. In that sense, the outcome wasn’t surprising at all.
2. Bitter yet sweet
It’s difficult in the moment to appreciate the sweetness of the season when the ending is so bitter.
But all things considered, it was a hell of a year.
Arizona was picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 preseason poll. The Wildcats made it to the Final Four. None of the many great UA teams featuring many future pros over the previous 23 seasons could make that claim.
Even when you’re in that upper tier of annual national contenders, making the Final Four constitutes a successful season. Full stop.
Arizona finished with a school-record 36 wins. The Wildcats just couldn’t win the last game they played.
It wasn’t for lack of trying. The effort was there. The execution went missing.
You could never say these Cats didn’t play hard. Before Saturday night, you could rarely say they didn’t play well.
They were an undeniably likable group, devoid of egos, supportive of one another, appreciative of the adoration heaped upon them by Wildcat Nation.
They thrilled us. They spoiled us. They seldom disappointed us.
The ending wasn’t what anyone wanted. But I’m convinced that only one team in the entire NCAA field could have beaten Arizona. That team just happened to be the one the Wildcats faced in the national semifinals.
3. Mara Madness
You could argue that Michigan out-Arizona’d Arizona.
The Wolverines (40 rebounds) nearly matched the Wildcats on the boards (44). Michigan had seven fewer offensive rebounds (18-11) but seven more second-chance points (19-12). And the most astonishing stat of all: The Wolverines had more than four times as many assists (22-5).
Arizona had an advantage all season near the rim thanks to the indomitable presence of the 7-foot-2 Krivas. The Wildcats found out what it’s like to face a big man of his stature.
Aday Mara, the 7-3 transfer from UCLA, was the most dominant force on the court. How he never became more than a role player for the Bruins remains a mystery. (Good job, Mick Cronin.)
Michigan center Aday Mara gets the slam dunk early against Arizona in their Final Four game in Indianapolis, April 4, 2026.
Mara never scored more points than the 26 he piled up Saturday night. That’s almost as stunning as the assist disparity when you consider the size and depth of Arizona’s frontcourt.
Many of those points came on pick-and-roll lobs. Even when the Wildcats’ coverage was sound, Mara simply soared over whoever was guarding him and threw the ball down.
Mara finished 11 of 16 from the field and 4 of 4 from the line. Eight of his points came on dunks. He also had nine rebounds and two blocks.
Arizona’s big men didn’t play badly. Krivas and Tobe Awaka combined for 19 points on 8 of 14 shooting and 15 rebounds. Koa Peat had a team-high 16 points (albeit on 6-of-18 shooting) and a team-best 11 boards.
But the Wildcats struggled to consistently put bodies on the opportunistic Wolverines, who slashed to the hoop for baskets or rebounds far too often. It was yet another way in which Arizona got a taste of its own medicine.
4. Freshmen flop
For maybe the first time all season, all of Arizona’s uber-talented freshmen played like, well, freshmen.
Peat, Brayden Burries and Ivan Kharchenkov combined to make just 12 of 42 shots. Dwayne Aristode made his only attempt, a 3-pointer, but turned the ball over twice in 10 minutes.
Peat was his usual aggressive self but struggled to finish against Mara and Michigan’s other bigs. Burries didn’t see a field goal go through the hoop until 13:53 remained. (His first “made” field goal was a goaltended layup.) Kharchenkov too often tried to do too much, played out of control and had a team-high-tying three turnovers.
They all missed the steadying hand of senior point guard Jaden Bradley, who was limited to 25 minutes because of foul trouble. How big a deal was that? Bradley was the only Wildcat with a positive plus/minus rating (plus-1).
Michigan's Elliot Cadeau, left, and Arizona's Ivan Kharchenkov (8) chase a loose ball during the first half of an NCAA Tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Indianapolis.
Bradley played his last game in a UA uniform Saturday night. At least two of the freshmen probably did, as well.
Burries and Peat are projected first-round picks. It would be surprising if either returned for a second season (although with NIL money flowing the way it is these days, you never say never).
Kharchenkov is a first-round talent whose game needs refinement. He’d be wise to come back for another year to develop his offensive and leadership skills. He’d also be entering a stacked draft this year if he chose to come out.
Aristode has a long way to go. He has desirable size, defensive skills and shooting ability but needs considerable work on his handle and playmaking ability. At least one more season is the play here.
If Krivas decides to come back — a 50/50 proposition as he also has entered the first-round conversation — Arizona has the makings of a solid nucleus. His and others’ decisions will be made in the coming weeks. At least we know who will be coaching the 2026-27 Wildcats.
5. Weekend win
The weekend wasn’t a total loss. Tommy Lloyd will remain Arizona’s coach for the foreseeable future — an outcome that wasn’t guaranteed when the week began.
Saturday’s result doesn’t change how I view Lloyd in any way. He has the perfect personality for this job and this town. He’ll have the Wildcats back in the Final Four sooner than later — especially with assurances that the program will have the resources needed to compete with the best of the best.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd tries to make his case to one of the officials that a Michigan players was hanging from the rim on a Wolverine basket in the second half of their Final Four game in Indianapolis, April 4, 2026.
The timing of this whole affair wasn’t ideal, and it’s hard to deny that it wasn’t a distraction to some degree. But at least UA basketball fans didn’t suffer the double whammy of a season-ending loss and a beloved coach’s departure. UA baseball fans endured that crummy combo in June 2021 when the Wildcats lost 14-5 to Stanford in the College World Series and Jay Johnson left for LSU just days later.
No element of the Lloyd saga is more fascinating than the revelation that he will now report directly to UA president Suresh Garimella. This essentially proves what I had heard and wrote about on Tucson.com earlier in the week: Lloyd and AD Desireé Reed-Francois aren’t seeing eye to eye.
It’s a testament to the leverage Lloyd had that he and his representatives were able to work that into the deal. (Whether it’s actually written into it is TBD.) It also required a sacrifice by Reed-Francois, whose long-term future at Arizona is far less certain than it was a week ago.
Losing the popular and successful Lloyd to North Carolina would have instantly drained the goodwill Reed-Francois has built here through needed financial reforms, progressive business deals and deserved contract extensions for other coaches. All parties, including DRF, did what they had to do to get the deal done.
Now Lloyd can turn his full attention to building another championship-caliber roster. Is there anyone you’d rather have in charge of that project?
