UCLA's Mick Cronin Reveals His Final Four Predictions

UCLA went just 1-3 against those opponents this season, with the lone win coming Feb. 21 against Illinois, when Donovan Dent made the game-winning layup at the buzzer in overtime to seal a 95-94 victory. Nonetheless, Cronin is more than qualified to offer his takes on the Final Four now that the field is set.

On an appearance with Wake Up Barstool, Cronin shared how he believes the Final Four will go.

“Vegas always tells the truth, I’m sure it’s Michigan, Arizona, and then UConn, Illinois,” Cronin said, regarding the tier difference in the matchups. “Whoever wins Michigan/Arizona will be favored in the final. Michigan, to me, has more firepower."

"In fairness to Arizona, we played in November, and it was early, and they had three great freshmen, and they’re much better players right now than they were in November. To me, 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, and their size is going to pose a problem for what Arizona does to people, which is punish you at the rim.”

“Although Arizona can definitely win because they have NBA players — Brayden Burries is unbelievable, Koa Peat plays in the NBA, I think Krivas in the middle plays in the NBA, and Kharchenkov’s going to play in the NBA,” Cronin added. “I just think Michigan shoots the ball better when it comes down to it. You put a gun to my head, I'd go Michigan.”

As for the other game between UConn and Illinois, Cronin said, “Never discount UConn,” given their experience on deep tournament runs. All in all, it seems like Cronin believes the winner of Arizona vs. Michigan in the Final Four will be the eventual national champion. Both the Wildcats and Wolverines have been arguably the two most dominant teams in college basketball this season.