Final Four bold predictions: Which drought continues? Who wins it all?

It all comes down to this. What wild things will go down in theFinal Four?

There have been some incredible moments that have made the 2026 Men's NCAA Tournament unforgettable, truly encapsulating what makes March Madness such a spectacle. It only makes sense those instant classics continue on the sport's biggest stage, withArizona,Michigan,ConnecticutandIllinoisheaded to Indianapolis, two wins away from becoming national champions.

With just three games left in the season, it's time for one more batch of bold predictions, just in time for the 2026 Final Four.

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See the best photos of Illinois basketball's run to 2026 Final Four

Buzzer-beating shot

There have beenso many clutch plays during this tournamentin the final seconds, why not go for another?

One thing that will carry over from last season's Final Four is all of the participants are pretty evenly matched. You could make a plausible case for every one of them to end up on top, which is why we will have some extremely close games in Lucas Oil Stadium.

All of the 2025 Final Four games were decided by six points or less, and that will happen once again. Whether its the semifinals or the championship, it goes all the way down to the final seconds, with someone becoming the hero for their team.

Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Enterprise Center on March 22, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Nebraska's Berke Buyuktuncel celebrates with fans following a second-round game in the NCAA men's basketball tournament between Nebraska Cornhuskers and Vanderbilt Commodores at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on March 21, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Arkansas Razorbacks cheerleaders in the second half against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Moda Center on March 19, 2026 in Portland, Ore.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> A Texas Christian University Horned Frogs cheerleader practices before the game during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 19, 2026 in Greenville, SC.

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See best of March Madness 2026, from mascots and fans to celebrities

Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the second round of the2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournamentat Enterprise Center on March 22, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.

UConn extends Final Four streak

The Final Four round is getting close to being called the Connecticut Invitational, and the Huskies will prove why on Saturday, April 4.

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In its seven Final Four appearances, UConn has advanced and won the national championship game six times, currently riding a four-game winning streak in the semifinals. Dan Hurley has yet to lose after the round of 32, with a 10-0 record in the Sweet 16 or later. It's truly some mind boggling success UConn has on the biggest stage.

In the Final Four, UConn continues that run. The Huskies are going to have their hands full dealing with the scoring threat of Illinois, but the Huskies are one of the most experienced teams in the quartet. Alex Karaban comes up big down the stretch for some key buckets to get UConn its fifth straight Final Four round win, and back to the title game for the third time in four years.

See the best photos of Michigan basketball's run to 2026 Final Four

Big Ten title drought continues

This tournament has beenall about the Big Tens success. However, it won't be able to punctuate it with a national championship.

Getting two teams in the Final Four gives the Big Ten a 50% chance of claiming the title-winner, and there's a chance of it being an all-Big Ten championship game, which a conference hasn't done since the Big Eight had Kansas and Oklahoma in 1988. However, the Big Ten teams have some major task ahead of them. UConn's experience will come up clutch against Illinois, and Michigan faces a relentless Arizona team. Even though the Wolverines offense is on a level of its own, the Wildcats defense is able to limit it, and the deep rotation is able to land a few big blows to Michigan. Arizona makes the right plays at the end to win a classic.

With Illinois and Michigan losing, it means the streak without a Big Ten champion extends to 26 years, a tough ending after being the best conference in all of March.

See the best photos of Arizona basketball's run to 2026 Final Four

The West wins with Arizona taking it all

In 2026, the West Coast becomes the Best Coast.

Arizona was the last West Coast team to win a national championship, back in 1997, and it will end up being the next one to win it all again.The Wildcats shed off the March woesthat have plagued the program for most of the 21st century, thanks to a loaded team that can beat you in a multitude of ways. With too many weapons for teams to neutralize, Arizona powers through the field to claim its second national championship, winning it in the same city it won its first one in.

The West Coast has tried to claim the top prize this century, with Final Four trips from Arizona, UCLA, Gonzaga, Utah, Oregon and San Diego State all falling just short, but it will be the 2025-26 Wildcats that bring glory back to the region.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Final Four bold predictions: Who makes championship game, and wins it

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

April 02, 2026

Final Four bold predictions: Which drought continues? Who wins it all?

It all comes down to this. What wild things will go down in theFinal Four? There have been some incredible mom...

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Alabama AD gives big opinion on SEC championship game's future: 'The ship has sailed'

TUSCALOOSA, AL – The boss ofAlabamaathletics believes the SEC championship game should be no more.

"I think the ship has sailed. It's run its course,"Alabamaathletic directorGreg Byrnesaid of the SEC championship game, during an exclusive interview with USA TODAY.

Folks, this is seismic.

Consider the source. This isn't some gadfly calling for change.

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We're talking about the veteran AD atAla-bama. TheCrimson Tidemade the Georgia Dome and then Mercedes-Benz Stadium their home away from home the past 30-plus years.

Since the SEC became the first conference to introduce a conference championship game in the 1992 season, no team has played for the championship or won more titles than the Crimson Tide.

Now, though, Byrne would prefer to proceed directly from the regular season to the CFP.

"It's a great event," Byrne said of the SEC championship game. "I don't like the idea of it going away, but I think it's reality, with an expanded playoff."

Byrne emphasized he's but one voice, but he must know he's a prominent voice. He's not alone in his opinion, either.

Two prominent athletic directors favor dumping SEC championship

Earlier this offseason, Texas athletic directorChris Del Conte indicated his preferenceto dump the SEC championship game.

Even before Byrne and Del Conte spoke out, SEC coaches started to question the utility of a game that used to be one of the big events on the college football calendar.

"(Coaches) don't want to be in it," Lane Kiffin said in 2024.

These are not whimsical musings from pundits and pot-stirrers.

When coaches don't think the juice of the SEC Championship is worth the squeeze, and when prominent athletic directors like Byrne and Del Conte think it's time to end the game, you must take seriously that conference championship games are an endangered species.

"Why have a conference championship game?" Del Conte said in February.

The obvious answer to that question: Money.

The SEC championship generates gobs of it.

How, then, to offset that lost revenue if the SEC championship went bye-bye?

Byrne's proposal: Expand the playoff.

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"If you're going to a 16-team playoff, you're adding more games," Byrne said. "I would imagine it would be pretty good content."

By pretty good, he also means revenue-generating.

Greg Byrne: Drop SEC Championship. Go to 16-team playoff

To be clear, the playoff isn't going to 16 teams — yet, anyway. The playoff will remain at 12 for at least the 2026 season, because the SEC and Big Ten could not come to terms on a playoff expansion plan.

The SEC, ACC and Big 12 favored a proposal to expand the playoff to 16 teams, using a 5+11 format. The Big Ten stood in persistent opposition while uncorking a variety of other plans, the latest of which revolve around 24 teams.

Some SEC coaches, like Tennessee's Josh Heupel and Georgia's Kirby Smart, havevoiced interest in 24 teams.

At Alabama, Byrne continues to favor 16.

"I think we need to pick a lane," he said. "We were headed for 16, and then there seemed to be pressure for 24. So, as soon as we get to 24, I guess you could say, 'Well, we better go to 48.' I mean, at some point, we have to pick a lane."

Byrne's lane: Sixteen-team playoff. No SEC championship game. Start the playoff sooner. Conclude the playoff sooner.

Byrne's preference for a 16-team playoff would include an automatic bid awarded to each of the Power Four conferences, plus a Group of Six auto bid, and then 11 at-large bids.

How would the SEC's automatic bid be decided if the conference championship went away? Byrne's suggestion: Award the bid to the first-place team in the standings, with tiebreaker protocol used if necessary.

"The top teams in the SEC are going to get in," Byrne said, whether via automatic bid or at-large selection.

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SEC Championship built within a bygone era, before the playoff existed

Conference championship games weren't built for this era. Former SEC commissioner Roy Kramer launched the conference championship and revolutionized the first weekend in December within a bygone ecosystem.

No playoff existed back then. The conference championship became a way to create a prize (and more exposure and revenue) between the end of the regular season and bowl games. Other conferences eventually followed the SEC's lead.

After the arrival of the BCS era and then the four-team playoff, conference championship games served as an important data point for postseason selection.

Once the playoff grew to 12 teams, the SEC championship game surrendered some clout. Consider last season. Georgia beat Alabama 28-7 on Dec. 6 in Atlanta. No sooner had the game ended than all focus shifted to the playoff — in particular, whether Alabama's loss would cost it a playoff spot, even as other SEC teams not in the game enjoyed firm footing for qualification.

"There was some sweating," Byrne said. "We were puckered up, Saturday night and into Sunday."

As it turned out, neither Georgia nor Alabama budged even one spot in the CFP rankings that came out the next day. Georgia took home an SEC trophy, but, otherwise, it was as if the game never happened.

A crowd of 77,247 turned out that December day in Atlanta, but the energy inside the building paled in comparison to the environment a month later, when Indiana fans turned Atlanta into their personal play pen, and the Hoosiers routed Oregon in a playoff game.

If you attended both games, you couldn't help but wonder if one of those games might be headed toward extinction. Hint: It's not the playoff game. Conference championship games are living on borrowed time.

Blake Toppmeyeris the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. Email him atBToppmeyer@gannett.comand follow him on X@btoppmeyer.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Time to end SEC championship game in football? Alabama boss says yes

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

April 02, 2026

Alabama AD gives big opinion on SEC championship game's future: 'The ship has sailed'

TUSCALOOSA, AL – The boss ofAlabamaathletics believes the SEC championship game should be no more. "I thi...

Read More