Mt. Pleasant, IA- The 2026 KILJ Bracket Challenge, sponsored by The Press Box, will wrap up after tonight’s National Championship contest between #1 Michigan and #2 UConn with tip-off slated for 7:50 pm. It has been an arduous climb back for the Wolverines, while Dan Hurley can cement himself as one of the greatest coaches in collegiate history.
An entertaining tournament had a rather anticlimactic semifinal series; yet the matchup for the title is expected to be a thriller.
What Happened
The first Final Four showdown pitted #3 Illinois against #2 UConn. The Fighting Illini had a bit of an easier path, beating #14 Penn and #11 VCU by an average of 28 points before taking down #2 Houston by 10 points and shutting down #9 Iowa’s offense in the second half to beat the Hawkeyes, 71-59.
The Huskies had to claw their way to the Final Four after handling #15 Furman and #7 UCLA by double digits in the first two rounds. UConn then brushed past #3 Michigan State, 67-63, before sprinting back from a near twenty-point deficit in the Elite Eight to knock off #1 Duke, 73-72.
In Indianapolis, the change of venue was causing havoc for both teams on offense as Illinois made just three of their 14 three-point attempts, while UConn drilled only 7-of-17 attempts from deep. Accordingly, the Fighting Illini held the lead for only a total of three minutes and some change, as UConn went on to make 12 threes and Illinois knocked down only 34% of their shots in a 71-62 final.
For Coach Hurley, he has led the Huskies to the National Championship in three of the last four seasons and will be looking for the program’s seventh banner and third since 2023. Tarris Reed Jr. continued to be a force in the pain with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The nightcap between #1 Michigan and #1 Arizona was never close. A 9 to 0 run got the game within five points for the Wildcats with 6:43 remaining in the first half, but Michigan responded by outscoring Arizona 20 to 9 to end out the half and rode that momentum to a 91-73 dismantling.
Two years ago, Michigan had gone just 8-24 and had just hired Dusty May away from Florida Atlantic University after leading the Owls to their just their second NCAA Tournament in program history and first appearance in the Final Four, where they were a buzzer-beater away from advancing to the championship game. Now, May has led the Wolverines to consecutive Sweet 16 appearances, one Big Ten championship, and now has a chance to claim a national championship for the Big Ten for the first time since 2000, when Michigan State took down Florida 89-76. The Wolverines last won the title in 1989.
Of course, the important part of Saturday’s brawls: the bracket challenge. We started the tournament with 60 completed brackets. 35 of those brackets picked Arizona to advance to the Final Four and 28 had Michigan in the Final Four. On the left side of the bracket, UConn was picked to go the Final Four in just six brackets, while Illinois was chosen for five brackets, a meager 8.3%.
To break it down further, no one picked Illinois to play for a championship—great guessing. UConn was selected to advance to the championship game in just two of the brackets—you thought 8.3% was meager try 3.3% for the Huskies. Michigan advanced to nine championship matchups for a generous 15%, while Arizona was selected for the championship game 27 times or 45% of the time with 12 brackets hailing the Wildcats as the winner.
So, Michigan’s win knocked out 43% of the brackets with only one of the brackets picking UConn and Arizona to meet up in the championship contest. Now, seven brackets did pick Michigan to win the national championship and only one bracket correctly selected the championship showdown. That bracket belonging to Mat Wilson is also the only bracket to pick UConn as the national champion.
The Final Four results also ushered in six new names into the top 10 with Andy Krutsinger and Lesa Fitzpatrick being our highest climbers, as both were tied in 52nd place after the first two rounds and now have the chance to finish tied for 5th if the results go their way.
Standings
- Mat Wilson: 246 Finals Prediction: UConn (winner) vs Michigan
- Jakin Bunnell: 212 Final Score
- Sharon Menke: 192 Finals Prediction: Michigan (winner) vs Duke
- Matt Donnolly: 182 Finals Prediction: Michigan (winner) vs Duke
- Dan Clouer: 180 Finals Prediction: Michigan (winner) vs Houston
- Andy Krutsinger: 178 Final Prediction: Michigan (winner) vs Michigan St.
- Lesa Fitzpatrick: 178 Final Prediction: Michigan (winner) vs Duke
- Joseph Koller: 178 Final Score
- Alan Buckert: 176 Final Score
- Karen Brimhall, Georgie Alter, and Janel Fedler: 174 Final Score
More
Stay tuned to KILJ for the final standings tomorrow, April 7th.