US NCAA: Final Four ‘Madness’ unfoldsIn a sign of the times, the Illinii – a Big Ten team with more wins in the conference over the last seven seasons than any other program – will pass for something resembling Cinderella when college basketball’s biggest party kicks off in Indianapolis on Saturday. All that momentum and good vibes at UConn. And somebody has to play the part of the unheralded “little guy.” At the Final Four, that role belongs, improbably, to Illinois. But, in one of a few strange twists on the odds chart, the Wildcats are 1 1/2-point underdogs to Michigan in Saturday night’s marquee semifinal, a matchup of No. Illinois is a 1 1/2-point favorite over UConn.

Source: Philippine Star April 04, 2026 16:47 UTC