Michigan and Arizona will face off in the Final Four, with a place in the national title game at stake. Both teams are No. 1 seeds and have dominated throughout the year. Each boasts an average margin of victory exceeding 20 points in March Madness.
The winner of this game is expected to be the favourite in Monday’s national championship.
Title Odds Shift After Duke’s Exit
The Arizona Wildcats and Michigan Wolverines are the two remaining No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. They are considered the clear front-runners to win the national title.
Following Duke’s exit, both Arizona and Michigan experienced slight bumps in their national title odds before heading to Indianapolis. Making their first Final Four appearance in 25 years, the Wildcats are now the favourites to claim a title. Arizona and Michigan have exchanged the top spot in BetMGM’s national title odds since the Wolverines initially took over as +700 favourites in late November.
Arizona briefly overtook Michigan as the favourite in January during its undefeated start. However, they relinquished the position back to the Wolverines after suffering back-to-back Big 12 losses in February.
Since then, Arizona has been on a 13-game winning streak, with eight of those wins against top-25 teams.
Cadeau’s Condition and Impact
Elliot Cadeau is set to play after an allergy scare earlier in the week. This is good news for both Cadeau and the Wolverines. The junior North Carolina transfer has improved in his first year in Ann Arbor.
Cadeau is averaging double digits in scoring for the first time in his college career, at 10.2 points per game. He also had 10 assists in Michigan’s Elite Eight win over Tennessee. He’s an essential complement to Yaxel Lendeborg as both a secondary scoring and playmaking threat for the Wolverines.
Arizona’s Key Player
Koa Peat has rediscovered his form since returning from a late-February leg injury. In the last two rounds he has averaged 20.5 points per game on 58.6 percent shooting. He also recorded 5.0 rebounds per game and 2.5 assists per game.
These efforts helped fuel Arizona’s blowouts of Arkansas and Purdue. In the semifinal against Michigan, his battles with Morez Johnson are expected to be important.
The odds slightly favour Michigan, but by the slimmest of margins. The winner of that semifinal will be the clear favourite to win the national championship game two nights later against either opponent.