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The men’s Final Four is set with UConn stunning Duke to join Illinois, Arizona and Michigan

Illinois' Zvonimir Ivisic cuts part of the net after beating Iowa in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight on Saturday in Houston. Associated Press

The Final Four is set. Illinois will face UConn, and Michigan will take on Arizona on Saturday, with the winners squaring off two nights later for the national title.

The Arizona-Michigan game is a matchup of top seeds. UConn, after a 19-point comeback for a 73-72 win over Duke, is seeded second and will play No. 3 seed Illinois.

Arizona is the early favorite to take the title in Indianapolis, listed at 19-10 odds by BetMGM Sportsbook, followed closely by the Wolverines — coming off a 95-62 drubbing of Tennessee on Sunday — at 2-1.

Michigan is a 1 1/2-point favorite in its semifinal.

The Huskies beat Duke with a 3-pointer from the logo with 0.4 seconds left by Braylon Mullins, who grew up just outside Indianapolis and will return home looking for more magic. The is the third trip to the Final Four in four seasons for UConn (33-5), which won it all the last two times it made it.

Arizona (36-2) is back at the Final Four for the first time since 2001 and hasn't won the title since 1997. Michigan (35-3) is in search of its second title — the other came in 1989. And lllinois (28-8) has never won it all; the Illini last made the Final Four in 2005.

Here’s a recap of the weekend’s Elite Eight games:

UConn 73, Duke 72

Mullins sank a desperation 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to give UConn an astonishing victory over top-seeded Duke, earning the Huskies a spot in the Final Four after they rallied from a 19-point first-half deficit.

The Blue Devils led by three before UConn's Silas Demary Jr. made one of two free throws with 10 seconds left. With Duke playing keep-away to prevent the Huskies from fouling, Cayden Boozer's pass near midcourt was deflected, and after UConn came up with the ball, Demary made a shot from well behind the 3-point line.

It's the second straight season to end in a huge collapse for Duke, which was the top overall seed in this year's tournament. The Blue Devils led by six with 1:14 remaining before falling to Houston in last year's national semifinals.

Michigan 95, Tennessee 62

It was Yaxel Lendeborg, Elliot Cadeau and Aday Mara. Morez Johnson Jr., Trey McKenney and Nimari Burnett, too. The list goes on and on.

Michigan got it done together, just like it has all season long.

Lendeborg scored 27 points, Cadeau had 10 assists and the deep, unselfish Wolverines rolled into the Final Four. Johnson added 12 points for Michigan, which has 11 victories this season by at least 30 points. Mara had 11 points and blocked two shots in the Midwest Region final.

Making the most of its size and athleticism on both sides of the court, Michigan (35-3) advanced to its first Final Four since 2018 and ninth overall.

Arizona 79, Purdue 64

Coach Tommy Lloyd climbed the ladder, cut the last strand of the net and waved to the Arizona fans while they chanted, “Tommy! Tommy!”

Lloyd and the Wildcats are back in the Final Four for the first time since Lute Olson's heyday 25 years ago as Arizona once again looks like a threat to win it all.

Freshman Koa Peat scored 20 points with his strength inside and Arizona's defense bottled up Purdue in the second half to give the top-seeded Wildcats a victory in the West Region final Saturday night.

After years of disappointment in March, Lloyd has gotten Arizona (36-2) back to being a championship contender thanks to a talented freshman class led by Peat to go along with veterans like Big 12 Player of the Year Jaden Bradley.

Illinois 75, Iowa 59

Illinois is heading to the Final Four for the first time in 21 years, and Andrej Stojakovic made clear the Fighting Illini have much bigger goals.

“I don’t want anybody to think this is it,” he said. “We didn’t get to the Final Four just to get there. We’re coming to win two more games.”

Freshman Keaton Wagler scored 25 points and Illinois ended Iowa's underdog March Madness run by dominating in the frontcourt, beating the Hawkeyes on Saturday to end a Final Four drought that dated to 2005.

This will be the sixth trip to the Final Four for Illinois, which has never won a national title. The Illini will face either Duke or UConn next weekend in Indianapolis.

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