The Final Four is set: Arizona plays Michigan while UConn faces Illinois. All four teams have shown that they can go all the way. There was one team that faced all four of these teams. Mick Cronin’s UCLA Bruins faced Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, and UConn. He was victorious against Illinois but lost to the other three. Cronin recently gave his verdict on the Final Four.
“I’m sure it’s Michigan-Arizona and then UConn-Illinois. Both games are really well matched. Whoever wins Michigan-Arizona will be favored in the final. So, you know, let’s go Michigan-Arizona. They’ll play that game second because TV will do that because that’s probably the so-called feature game. Matchup of the front lines,” Cronin said.
He believes Michigan has more firepower than Arizona, saying that Michigan’s freshmen have significantly improved over the last few months.
“When Michigan takes their time offensively, and they don’t take early contested threes, and they make you defend them, I think they’re clearly the best team,” Cronin shared.
He said Arizona tries to punish teams at the rim, but that will be difficult against Morez Johnson, Aday Mara, and Yaxel Lendeborg. He praised Brayden Burries and Koa Peat. Cronin eventually picked Michigan to come out as the winner.
“I think Krivos, Mo Krivos in the middle plays in the NBA. And Karchinkov’s going to play in the NBA. So they got players. But I just think Michigan shoots the ball better when it comes down to it,” he added.
Talking about the other game, Mick Cronin shared how Illinois has improved since their last matchup against UConn.
“Keaton Wagler wasn’t a starting point guard back then. They were playing Petrovic at the point guard. The guy they paid millions to from Serbia. They ended up inserting Wagler. They inserted Mirkovic, Humrichous, became a six-man again. Illinois is a different team when that game was played,” Cronin recalled the game UConn beat Illinois 74-61.
“I said this yesterday morning on the show, they were talking about Duke, and I said just don’t underestimate to accommodate UConn’s competitive winning heart and toughness, and that’s gonna have to carry them through again because Illinois has more firepower. They just do,” Cronin continued.
He mentioned that UConn doesn’t have a top-10 pick, but Illinois does, in Keaton Wagler. Cronin shaded UConn talent in front of Illinois, saying:
“Never discount UConn when they have this much talent, and they’re trying or never give up.”
Fans React to Mick Cronin Picking Final Four Winners
We witnessed the magic of March Madness last night when UConn’s Braylon Mullins hit a three-pointer from the logo at the final second against Duke to win the Elite Eight. Duke was shocked, and UConn was delirious.
Some fans online were not on board with Mick Cronin. However, some agreed with his assessment.
“A) Can’t pronounce Keaton Waglers name correctly . Is Wah-gler not Vah-gler. Hes a freaking 2nd team all-American that you literally played and had media guides for pronunciation for. B) they did not pay petro “millions” lmao. C) Mick Cronin is a moron,” one fan claimed.
“Mick Cronin is spot on. At this stage, it’s less about talent gaps and more about execution under pressure. Michigan vs Arizona feels like a coin flip, but whoever comes out of that battle-tested probably carries momentum into the final. It’s going to come down to composure, defense, and who makes the big plays late,” one fan agreed.
“This idiot said Petrovic was our starting point guard in December and that we pay him millions,” another slammed Cronin.
“It’s amazing how a college coach who is obviously very educated about college basketball can have such a different perspective than a lot of others. I think what he said about the Michigan game was way off. I think a lot of Big Ten fans who worship Michigan are in for a shock,” another commented.
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