From The Sports Desk: Bruin beatdown

From The Sports Desk: Bruin beatdown UCLA dominated in the women’s national title game. Will the men’s game be another blowout? Listen to this article with a free account 00:00 00:00 Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez of the UCLA Bruins celebrate with the trophy after the victory against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the National Championship of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament on April 5. Sarah Stier / Getty Images Share Add NBC News to Google April 6, 2026, 3:00 PM EDT By Tim Rohan After a March Madness full of blowouts, what did you expect? The UCLA women destroyed South Carolina 79-51 in the national championship game yesterday, the third-largest blowout in title game history. Tonight, Michigan, fresh off an 18-point win over Arizona in the national semifinal, plays UConn for the men’s national title. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. How did the Bruins pull it off? Will the Wolverines roll to a title, too? We break it all down below. A reminder: We’ll be live-blogging the game tonight, so follow along for real-time insight and analysis from our team. As always, be sure to check NBC News for all our coverage. Michigan vs. UConn During the first half of Saturday’s Final Four game between Michigan and Arizona, Yaxel Lendeborg , Michigan’s 6-foot-9 forward and leading scorer, injured his left knee and ankle. He spent a lot of time receiving treatment and when he returned in the second half appeared to be moving somewhat gingerly. “He played the second half like a 38-year-old at the YMCA,” Michigan coach Dusty May later said. It didn’t matter. Michigan jumped out to a lead as large as 30, as the Wolverines cruised to a 91-73 win over Arizona. The Wildcats were a fellow No. 1 seed and a trendy pick to win the tournament, and Michigan disposed of them as if they were a mid-major. The Wolverines have been doing this all season, though. In the regular season, they beat three ranked teams (Gonzaga, Aub...