Most important player for each Final Four team's national title aspirations

The best player on a team isn't always the most important player, and that rings true among the men's Final Four participants in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

On Saturday in the national semifinals, No. 2 seed UConn will take on No. 3 seed Illinois, followed by No. 1 seed Arizona against fellow No. 1 seed Michigan.

The Big Ten Conference hasn't won a national title since Michigan State cut down the nets in 2000. Yet, the Big Ten has two Final Four teams in the 2026 Big Dance, giving the conference an excellent chance to halt its 26-year drought. Let's look at the most important player on the remaining four teams.

Most important player on every Final Four squad

Solo Ball, junior guard at Connecticut
2025-26 stats: 12.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game; 39.0 percent from the field, 29.2 percent from three-point land and 85.2 percent from the free-throw line

Ball is UConn's third-leading scorer, but he has struggled with his shooting in the NCAA Tournament thus far. In four games entering the Final Four, he is making just 27.8 percent from the field and 14.3 percent from beyond the arc. For the Huskies to win their third national championship in four years, Ball will have to be better. Much better.

Tomislav Ivisic, junior center at Illinois
2025-26 stats: 10.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game; 48.8 percent from the field, 31.4 percent from deep and 75.0 percent from the charity stripe

Ivisic will be able to stretch the floor for Illinois on offense because he's a credible threat for a big man from deep. However, if the Fighting Illini hopes to knock off UConn, Ivisic and the rest of the Illinois frontcourt will have to do a stellar job of containing Connecticut senior center Tarris Reed Jr., who is averaging 21.8 points, 13.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.0 steals per contest in March Madness.

Motiejus Krivas, junior center at Arizona
2025-26 stats: 10.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.9 blocks per game; 56.9 percent from the field, 30.8 percent from long range and 78.5 percent from the free-throw line

Krivas anchors a Wildcats defense that is No. 2 via KenPom in adjusted defensive efficiency. Arizona's frontcourt will try to contain arguably the top overall player in this spring's NCAA Tournament, Michigan senior forward Yaxel Lendeborg. Krivas is vital to those efforts. In the Big Dance, he's averaging nearly a double-double per game of 10.0 points and 9.5 boards, along with 2.5 blocks per contest.

Elliot Cadeau, junior point guard at Michigan
2025-26 stats: 10.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game; 41.6 percent from the field, 37.7 percent from three-point land and 69.4 percent from the free-throw line

As a team, the Wolverines connect on 36.0 percent from beyond the arc. It is one of the squad's strengths. Michigan doesn't have issues scoring, as it averages 86.8 points per game. For the Wolverines to get past Arizona and reach the national title game, they can't solely rely on Lendeborg and others to score in the paint. The Wolverines will need to make some three-pointers, and Cadeau is hitting on 40.0 percent from downtown in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.