The dust of the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament has settled, and four teams remain. It is now easy to compare and contrast the styles of the remaining teams.
Today, let’s look at what each remaining team in the field is the best at compared to their competitors.
Best Offensive Efficiency: Illinois
The 2026 Final Four consists of three of the top-five teams in KenPom’s offensive efficiency metric. Illinois is widely recognized as the most lethal offense in the country, but Arizona (No. 4) and Michigan (No. 5) aren’t far behind.
UConn (No. 28) is the furthest behind in this category.
Best Defensive Efficiency: Michigan
This is where the Michigan-Arizona matchup separates from the Illinois-UConn matchup. Michigan is first in the country on KenPom here, while Arizona is second. UConn is No. 9 while Illinois is all the way down at No. 20. Offense will be much harder to come by in the Michigan-Arizona matchup.
Fastest Tempo: Michigan
Michigan and Arizona (to a lesser extent) like to get up and down the floor in a hurry. Michigan is at No. 22 in the country, while Arizona is at No. 56 in possessions per 40 minutes adjusted for opponent. The other semifinal will be played much, much slower, as Illinois (296th) and UConn (319th) are some of the slowest teams in college basketball this year.
Lowest Turnover Percentage: Illinois
The Fighting Illini win this superlative in a landslide, as they are top-10 in the country in not turning the ball over. Arizona is respectable in this category, sitting at 62nd nationally. Michigan (154th) and UConn (174th) really struggle in this department.
Offensive Rebound Percentage: Illinois
The closest category to date, Illinois narrowly edges out Arizona, as the Fighting Illini are third in the country while the Wildcats are fourth. UConn (26th) and Michigan (48th) certainly aren’t slouches here, but they just aren’t elite offensive rebounding teams like Illinois and Arizona are.
Defensive Rebound Percentage: Tie – Arizona and Illinois
Somehow, Arizona and Illinois have identical defensive rebounding percentages, according to Torvik. Somewhat surprisingly, none of the Final Four teams are in the top-25 nationally in defensive rebounding. Arizona and Illinois are tied for 28th, Michigan is 44th and UConn is 85th. The Huskies, other than Tarris Reed Jr., struggle to rebound.
Free Throw Shooting Percentage: Illinois
Illinois is far and away the best free throw shooting team in the Final Four. The Fighting Illini shoot 78 percent from the line as a team, good for 14th-best in the country. Michigan and Arizona are mediocre free throw shooting teams at 74.2 and 73.5 percent, respectively. It’s worth noting UConn is a below-average free throw shooting team at just 71.9 percent, which is 206th nationally.
Offensive Two-Point Shooting Percentage: Michigan
This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who’s watched Michigan play this year. Nearly every shot at the rim goes in thanks to Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr. At 61.3 percent, this puts Michigan second nationally behind only St. Thomas. UConn and Illinois both make roughly 57 percent of their two-point attempts while Arizona is down at 55.2 percent.
Defensive Two-Point Shooting Percentage: Arizona
Arizona and Michigan are both elite in this category, with the Wildcats narrowly edging out the Wolverines. Both defend so well that opponents are shooting less than 45 percent from two on the season. UConn isn’t far behind, giving up 46 percent of these shots. Illinois is a ways back, allowing 48 percent from the field, though that is still above average.
Offensive Three-Point Shooting Percentage: Michigan
This is one of the first categories in which none of the Final Four teams are elite. Michigan leads the pack at 36.9 percent, but that is 30th nationally. Arizona isn’t far behind at 36.7 percent, but it shoots a significantly smaller volume of threes. UConn and Illinois both shoot below 35 percent from three.
Defensive Three-Point Shooting Percentage: Michigan
Defending the three-point line is a tricky thing to do in college basketball. All four teams are above average at it, but Michigan is the best of the bunch, giving up just 30.4 percent (16th nationally). The other three teams all give up shooting percentages between 30.7 and 31.1 percent, so there isn’t a huge gap here.
Tallest: Illinois
The Fighting Illini are the tallest team in the entire country. However, don’t mistake height for size, as Illinois’ big men like to stay behind the three-point line and shoot. Arizona is the seventh-tallest team in the country, with Michigan just behind at 23rd. Notably, UConn is just 47th in average height.
Most Experienced: UConn
The value of experience is debated more in college basketball than any other sport. Whatever your opinion, it’s worth noting UConn has experience in spades. Michigan isn’t far behind thanks to Yaxel Lendeborg, Roddy Gayle Jr, Nimari Burnett, and Will Tschetter. After UConn and Michigan, there is a giant gap with both Arizona and Illinois being pretty young teams.
