UConns Braylon Mullins let out a radiant, triumphant smile before exchanging a high-five and locking foreheads with head coach Dan Hurley, a moment of pure joy as the Huskies marched on to their third national title game in four years. Mullins, a 6-foot-6, slim-built five-star freshman, was just six days removed from authoring one of the most unforgettable shots in NCAA Tournament history a buzzer-beating 3 to eliminate top-seeded Duke in the Elite Eight. On Saturday night, he delivered yet another defining moment, burying a cold-blooded dagger 3 with under a minute remaining to seal the win over third-seeded Illinois and punch UConns ticket to yet another Final Four. "The start to the game, and then the finish to the game," Hurley said of his freshman star, glancing back at the roaring crowd behind him. "Hes amazing." Just like that, the Huskies are headed back to the national championship, where they will take on No. 1-seeded Michigan, who took care of Arizona in dominant fashion. Here are four takeaways from the Final Four. 1. UConns status as a modern-day dynasty is no longer debatable There was no shortage of eye-popping stats circulating on social media ahead of Saturdays Final Four matchup between UConn and Illinois. One centered on senior Tarris Reed, who entered the game averaging 22 points and 13.5 rebounds through four NCAA Tournament games, putting himself firmly in the conversation for Most Outstanding Player if the Huskies finished the job. Another highlighted UConns suffocating defense, which had held every opponent under 66 points per game during the tournament and hadnt allowed a team to score more than 75 since Creighton did it back on Feb. 18. But the most staggering stat of all? UConn is now 12-1 in Final Four games. CBS play-by-play announcer Ian Eagle summed it up perfectly as the final horn sounded and the Huskies punched their ticket to a third national championship game in four years: "They are the bluest of bloods in college basketball right now." Its hard to argue that. For years, the sports blue-blood conversation has been dominated by programs like Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Kansas. Its time to officially add UConn into that mix. Outside a Round of 32 loss last year to No. 1 seed Florida the eventual national champion UConn has been as dominant as any program in the country in recent memory. The Huskies have won 19 straight games in the Sweet 16 or later and, remarkably, have captured all six of their national championships since 1999. Thats more than triple the combined total of this years other Final Four participants: Michigan, Arizona, and Illinois. "Youre set up for success at UConn," Hurley said in a postgame interview. "Ive got the best staff in the country and an incredible group of players. Theres nothing like that bus ride to the stadium on Monday night when youre one of the last two teams standing." 2. The Huskies won with a complete team effort Theres a lot of truth to the following sentiment: brackets set the stage for March Madness, but the NCAA Tournament is often defined by its superstars. We saw it last year with Florida All-American Walter Clayton, and in past runs from Anthony Davis, Kemba Walker, Carmelo Anthony, and countless others who carried their teams on the sports biggest stage. But that hasnt been the formula for this UConn group. Yes, Tarris Reed Jr. has been the Huskies most productive player throughout the tournament. Yes, Alex Karaban ranks among the most accomplished players in program history. But UConns ability to hold off Illinois second-half comeback on Saturday had far more to do with balance than individual stars. The Huskies had four players score nine or more points, yet none finished with more than 17. Mullins coming off that buzzer-beating 3 to eliminate Duke in the Elite Eight set the tone early. He knocked down three of his five attempts from beyond the arc in the first half and led all scorers with 12 points before the break. Mullins cooled off in the second half, but thats when UConns depth took over. Junior guard Solo Ball had a strong second half, finishing with 13 points while going 5-of-11 from the field, but the real difference came on the defensive end. UConn held Illinois to just 34% shooting from the field and 23% from 3-point range while holding Andrej Stojakovic and David Mirkovic Illinois' second- and third-leading scorers to just 15 combined points on 6-of-17 shooting. The most telling stat: this marked just the second time all season Illinois has been held under 65 points. The first? A 74-61 loss to UConn back on Nov. 28. "This year hasnt been a joyride," Hurley said in the postgame press conference. "We havent been a machine of destruction. Weve been a team thats had to grind out games like this." 3. Michigan was ready for the moment. Arizona wasnt. In a game billed as a heavyweight fight and by some as the de facto national championship Dusty Mays team looked composed and in control from the opening tip. Arizona, meanwhile, never seemed comfortable on the big stage. Michigan raced out to a 10-1 lead and pushed the margin to 16 in the first half, immediately setting the tone. Point guard Elliot Cadeau, who faced questions all week about how the Wolverines would handle Arizonas dynamic back court of Jaden Bradley and Brayden Burries, proved to be the most poised guard on the floor, playing under control and dictating the tempo throughout. Michigan's Aday Mara established his presence down low early on and never let up. The 7-foot-3 junior big man controlled the paint on both ends, outplaying Arizonas interior duo of Motiejus Krivas and Koa Peat. Mara, a transfer from UCLA, finished with a career-high 26 points and nine rebounds in a dominant performance. All season, Arizona has thrived by attacking the rim, scoring more than 56% of its points from inside the arc, a mark that ranked 14th nationally and easily led all Final Four teams, according to KenPom. But Michigan completely disrupted the Wildcats' identity, holding them to just 37% shooting and forcing 14 turnovers, their highest total of the tournament and eight more than they committed in their Elite Eight win over Purdue. "They had us on our heels all night, and we could never get into a rhythm," Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd said in the postgame press conference. "No ones been able to do that to us all year." 4. Michigan looks like a team of destiny In todays college basketball landscape, where NIL and the transfer portal have reshaped roster building, its nearly impossible to label a true preseason favorite. That is especially true for a team like Michigan, whose top four players Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr., Mara and Cadeau were all playing elsewhere last season. But as the year progressed and Dusty Mays group began to gel, it became clear this was a really talented team. The Wolverines opened the year 14-0, outscoring opponents by an average of 28 points per game, then tore through the Big Ten to a 19-1 record, winning the conference by four games. Their dominance has only intensified in March. Entering Saturday night, Michigan had won its first four NCAA Tournament games by an average of 22.5 points, the closest being a 13-point win over Alabama in the Sweet 16. That trend continued in the Final Four, where a 9173 win over Arizona added yet another emphatic chapter to their storybook run. Michigan has now beaten all five tournament opponents by double digits, becoming the first team in NCAA Tournament history to score 90 or more points in five games in the Big Dance. And perhaps most impressive, they did it Saturday without a fully healthy Lendeborg, who played just 14 minutes after suffering an injury in the first half. Lendeborg called it "a weird feeling," but added, "theres no way I miss the game on Monday night." The Big Tens national title drought has loomed over this tournament, with the conferences last championship coming in 2000, when Tom Izzo led Michigan State to a national title. This Michigan group looks like a team of destiny, and one poised to end that drought. 4. Whats next? No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 2 UConn (Monday) After overpowering Arizona and controlling the game for all 40 minutes Saturday, Michigan advanced to the national championship with a chance to secure the programs second title (1989). Standing in their way is a UConn team chasing its seventh national championship, all since 1999. The Huskies haven't lost an NCAA Tournament game beyond the opening weekend since 2009. With one more win, they would break a tie with North Carolina for the third-most titles in history, trailing only UCLA (11) and Kentucky (eight). This game has all the makings of an instant classic.

The Riyan Parag-led side secured back-to-back wins to kick off their season, beating GT at the Narendra Modi Stadium by six runs.

When it was time to mount a comeback, Arizona didn't have the shooting firepower to make it happen.

Real Madrid defensive target gives massive hint about his contract renewal in GermanyThe future of Nico Schlotterbeck has been in focus for quite some time now, especially amid reports linking him to a move to Real Madrid.In recent weeks, though, it has been reported extensively that the German international is set to renew his contract at Borussia Dortmund.Although Schlotterbeck, in a recent interaction, has refused to confirm these rumours, the defender has given his biggest hint yet about a potential renewal at Dortmund.Schlotterbeck on renewing at DortmundSpeaking to a Sky Sports journalist, Florian Plettenberg, Schlotterbeck was asked about his future amid reports of a renewal at Dortmund.In response, the German international confirmed he is indeed in talks with Dortmund and had already had a good conversation with Lars Ricken and newly-appointed sporting director Ole Book.I had a good conversation with Lars Ricken and with Ole Book. The negotiations will continue this week. I think it wont be long before I make my decision, he said. Ive been saying this all along: Of course, I can imagine staying. But all the discussions have to be right. Now well see how things develop, he added. This is by far Schlotterbecks biggest indication surrounding a potential contract renewal at Borussia Dortmund, which in turn could serve as a massive blow for Real Madrid.The Spanish giants, though, will always remain in contention to sign the talented centre-back at a later time, as reports suggest that the defender may have a release clause embedded in his contract.Keeping that in mind, Real Madrid might be able to approach Schlotterbeck in the summer of 2027. But for the coming summer, the club may have to look elsewhere in their bid to bring in defensive reinforcements.

R Ashwin praised Ravi Bishnoi who currently holds the Purple Cap in IPL 2026 with five wickets in two matches.

SportsLine's model simulated Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Connecticut Huskies and revealed its NCAA Tournament 2026 Final Four picks for Saturday

The Ultimate Fighting Championship kicked off a busy April with itslatest Fight Night event from the Meta Apex. Headlining UFC Vegas 115 was a lightweight scrap between veteran contenderRenatoMoney Moicano and rising prospect ChrisDuncan. The 13-fight card also featured fights in the lightheavyweight, bantamweight and womens strawweight divisions thatwill have repercussions later in the year.Here are the matches to make for winners of the UFC Vegas 115 maincard.RenatoMoney Moicano vs. PaddyPimblettMoney Moicano showed that he has plenty left in the tank bysubmitting Duncan (15-3) in the main event with a face crank. Carneiro (21-7-1) is now 5-2 in his last sevenfights and theres no shame in a short notice defeat to IslamMakhachev. The Brazilian is 36 but is still a tough out foranyone, so a fight against Pimblett next would make sense. Both menare fan-favorite contenders but arent championship level, so itdbe a thrilling Fight Night main event or a welcomed addition to anypay-per-view main card. Pimblett (23-4) is coming off a defeat toJustinGaethje but has surprised fans with recent wins over Bobby Greenand MichaelChandler. Let's see if "The Baddy" can add another respectedveteran's name to his record or if Carneiro can pull off theupset.VirnaJandiroba vs. GillianRobertsonJandiroba made it look easy against TabathaRicci, who she took a unanimous decision win over. After thewin, the former title challenger called out titleholder MackenzieDern for a rematch, but that doesnt seem likely at the momentor a fight many want to see a second time right away. A lot of thetop strawweight fighters are currently booked or have recentlyfought Jandiroba (23-4), but Robertson would be a competitive freshface at 115 pounds. Robertson (17-8) has been on the best run ofher career, as shes currently riding a five-fight win streak andholds victories over AmandaLemos, MarinaRodriguez and LuanaPinheiro. This would be a welcomed UFC Fight Night headlinerand the winner would be in a great spot moving forward.Abdul-RakhmanYakhyaev vs. JimmyCruteYakhyaev stayed undefeated with a rear-naked choke submission win over BrendsonRibeiro. Yakhyaev is 9-0 as a pro and is an exciting prospectat just 25. "The Hunter" is now 2-0 inside the promotion and I wantto see him face off against a veteran next. A fight versus Crutewould be particularly interesting as the Australian's creativegrappling would make it an interesting fight from a strategystandpoint. Crute (14-4-2) is riding wins over Ivan Erslanand MarcinPrachnio, which broke a five-fight winless streak. It'll showif we need to pump the brakes on Yakhyaev or if he's ready fortougher tests going forward.Related UFC Vegas 115 Round-by-Round ScoringEthyn Ewingvs. CodyGarbrandtEwing showed off his well-rounded game by punishing an overweightRafaelEstevam and picking up a knockout with a well-placed punch to the liver. Now 10-2 as a pro, "TheProfessor Finesser" is an interesting prospect to watch atbantamweight. The 28-year-old has shown a lot of poise, so I wantto see him take on a high-level gatekeeper next. Former championGarbrandt fits the bill and has shown how hittable he is in recentyears. However, No Love is still dangerous with wins overTrevinJones, BrianKelleher and Long Xiao.Lets see if Ewing can get past Garbrandt (15-7) and prove thathes ready to battle contenders at 135 as hed be a welcomed freshface, if so.TommyMcMillen vs. LukeRileyMcMillen made an impressive UFC debut as he overwhelmed ManoloZecchini with knees and punches. Now 10-0 as a pro, McMillen will look totake on a tougher opponent in his next fight. Id like to see the28-year-old striker take on Riley next. The English fighter iscoming off impressive victories over MichaelAswell and Bogdan Gradand impressed in Cage Warriors for several years. With Rileyholding a13-0 record of his own, itd have a strong storyline oftwo young prospects to watch clashing with the winner deserving allthe attention that they would get.