Here are today's regional finals (all times Central, AP rankings in parentheses):
MIDWEST REGION FINAL (Chicago, Ill.):
1:15 P.M. (CBS): (3) Michigan (34-3) v. Tennessee (25-11)
Now that Kentucky has decided to deemphasize basketball, Tennessee has begun to dominate basketball in our part of the country much as it has long done with football. The Vols are in the Elite Eight for the third year in a row. UK hasn't been there since 2019, and may never get there again. U of L hasn't been there since 2015. Memphis hasn't been there since 2008. Western hasn't been there since 1971. Vandy hasn't been there since 1965.
UK fans still make fun of UT because the Vols have never been to the Final Four. And, to be honest, I do not think they will be able to get past Michigan today. But you can't go to the Final Four unless you get to the Elite Eight. Rick Barnes has done an extraordinary job for the Big Orange. This year, UK beat Tennessee twice. Vandy took two of three from Tennessee, and eliminated the Vols from the SEC tournament. But UK and Vandy both went out in the Second Round of the NCAA's, and UT has a shot at the Final Four. That's really impressive.
Of course, it's also impressive that Dusty May, the Michigan coach, could win the National Title in only his second year at the school. After all, the Wolverines went 8-24 in 2024, Juwan Howard's last year as coach. Since then, May has gone 27-10 in 2025 and 34-3 so far this year. Of course, May has a history here -- he took Florida Atlantic (!) to the Final Four in 2023, so he knows what he is doing. Michigan was smart to hire a coach who had enjoyed so much success in the NCAA Tournament, and we can only wish that UK had done the same. But of course, Michigan was trying to win, and UK apparently was not.
EAST REGION FINAL (Washington, DC):
4:05 P.M. (CBS): (1) Duke (35-2) v. (7) Connecticut (32-5)
On March 24, 1990, Duke beat UConn 79-78 on a buzzer beater by Christian Laettner in overtime to win the East Region. At that point, neither Duke nor UConn had ever won the NCAA Championship. Since then, however, they have played a dominant role. The Blue Devils have five titles: 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, and 2015. The Huskies have six: 1999, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2023, and 2024. And people can say whatever they want about Arizona and Michigan, but I can assure you that those of us who live on the East Coast expect the winner of this game to go all the way -- if only because they so often do.
To me, the tournament began with five teams who could win it all: Duke, UConn, Arizona, Michigan, and Florida. The Gators went out last week, but the other four are still dancing. This game is the first time in the tournament that any of the true favorites are going against each other. I'm very excited to see what will happen.
