Sports
Wolverines dominant, chase 'one more' Monday
Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) celebrates a play with Michigan guard Trey McKenney (1) in the first half of their Final Four game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday, April 4, 2026. INDIANAPOLIS — UConn gets a turn in front of the Michigan steamroller on Monday night when the 2025-26 college basketball season closes with the national championship at Lucas Oil Stadium. And if the first five failed attempts can teach the Huskies anything, it might be just two words: Good luck.
Michigan stomped Arizona 91-73 on Saturday night in a no-contest national semifinal in the late game at the Final Four that followed UConn holding off Illinois.
Michigan was all gas, no brake in improving to 36-3 and earning a spot in the title game with a fifth consecutive blowout in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Aday Mara scored 26 points, Trey McKenney had 16 and generations of Wolverines celebrated with Chris Webber, Jalen Rose and the Fab Five courtside at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Michigan had 26 points off turnovers and made 12 of 27 3-pointers.
The barrage had Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd shaking his head long before Elliot Cadeau splashed his second 3 and gave the Wolverines a 27-point lead with 12:20 left in the game.
“We never could get in a rhythm. So they get a ton of credit for that. No one’s been able to do that to us all year,” Lloyd said. “So it was an impressive performance by them.”
There was little life remaining in the Wildcats, who were atypically frustrated for most of their third loss of the season (36-3).
With Michigan All-American Yaxel Lendeborg in and out of the game — first due to foul trouble, later to have his rolled ankle checked and taped to return — the Wolverines flexed their title-worthy depth.
“Yax, I think, had two fouls and a couple — then two injuries. And so we were obviously extremely concerned,” Michigan coach Dusty May said. “But when we went small we were obviously concerned — when you’re playing Arizona going small and we were able to get stops, the guards were flat and wings were flying in and keeping balls alive.”
Cadeau missed 12 of his 14 shot attempts in the first half, but McKenney could scarcely miss and Arizona had no way to slow down 7-foot-3 center Mara.
McKenney made three 3s in less then five minutes during a second-half sprint that helped Michigan kick its way to a 77-47 lead with 10:31 on the clock.
Mara was more of a constant.
He made 11 of 16 field goals, three of them emphatic and emotional dunks. On defense he slapped away shots, changed countless more and harassed Arizona freshman Koa Peat into a night to erase from his memory.
Peat took a team-high 18 shots (made six) and had only 11 points with 10 minutes left in the game. He eventually led Arizona with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Arizona had a couple of roundhouse punches left as the deficit hovered around 30 points, but a true game never materialized.
“We got down a little bit, and we’ve been down a few times this year. But not like that,” Lloyd said.
Peat and Brayden Burries cashed 3s and Big 12 Player of the Year Jaden Bradley, limited to 25 minutes due to foul trouble, outsprinted the Wolverines for a layup that narrowed the gap to 81-60. The Wildcats forced a stop and then Cadeau’s fourth foul sent Bradley to the line for one-and-one. He came away with two and whittled the margin to 19.
Burries was 2 of 10 from 3-point range. He finished with 13 points, as did Bradley.
“They had a great defensive plan. They were pretty bigger,” Burries said. “But I feel like most of our shots were just, like, in and out. Like, it was in the rim and then out. Sometimes it’s just not your day, and today just wasn’t our day.”
It was still a 19-point game when Mara lowered his right shoulder and tugged Tobe Awaka with him for a five-footer on the baseline that gave him a career-high 25 points and added the free throw to balloon Michigan’s lead to 86-64 with 5:19 left.
“Aday was sensational. He was at the rim, catching lobs. He was a force down low. He was a pressure release up top. I mean, he’s such a smart basketball player,” May said. “And obviously his rim protection — he did a great job on Peat. He did a great job forcing a lot of those misses around the basket because of his aggression.”
Michigan improved to 8-1 in the Final Four and meets UConn (34-5) on Monday. The Huskies controlled the game until the final eight minutes when the Fighting Illini threatened, but UConn proved too much. The Huskies are now 7-1 all-time in the Final Four. Michigan is 1-6 and UConn is 6-0 all-time in the national title game.
“We know it’s just one more, so we’re going to try to get it,” Mara said.
–By Jeff Reynolds, Field Level Media
Sports
Timo Baumgartl scores in 61st minute as St. Louis City tie FC Dallas
Apr 11, 2026; Frisco, Texas, USA; St. Louis CITY SC forward Simon Becher (11) dribbles the ball as FC Dallas defender Osaze Urhoghide (3) defends during the first half at Toyota Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images Timo Baumgartl’s 61st-minute goal negated Louicius Deedson’s opener as visiting St. Louis City SC earned a 1-1 draw against FC Dallas.
The equalizer was the first goal in four matches at Toyota Stadium for St. Louis (1-3-3, 6 points), which has gone 1-0-2 in its last three matches after getting shut out in three straight.
Dallas (3-1-3, 12 points) is now unbeaten (2-0-2) in its last four matches and has outscored St. Louis, 8-1, in those four home matches.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in the opening 45 minutes, despite chances from both sides. St. Louis’ Marcel Hartel had two chances himself early on.
He took the ball down to the end line in the third minute and sent it across the goal mouth, but there was nobody home to tap it in. Then, in the 21st minute, Hartel took the ball down the left side into the box and tried to beat Michael Collodi to the near post, but Dallas’ goalkeeper turned it aside.
In the 30th minute, Conrad Wallem just missed connecting with Sergio Cordova, which would have left the St. Louis attacker alone in the middle.
Dallas’ Kaick, who came on for his injured Brazilian countryman Ramiro in the 36th minute, was high on a header three minutes later off a cross into the box from Deedson.
Petar Musa, who came into the match tied for the MLS lead with seven goals, was quiet for most of the first half, but he came alive late.
He was called offside on an attempt that hit the post in the third minute of extra time, and then, one minute later, he took a pass from Logan Farrington into the box and forced a save from St. Louis goalkeeper Roman Burki, who had two saves.
Musa played a role in Dallas’ goal three minutes into the second half. He intercepted a St. Louis pass and freed up Deedson on the left side, and the Haitian International finished for his first goal of the season.
The assist was Musa’s first of the season, and the goal stood up for 20 minutes. St. Louis’ Daniel Edelman sent a ball to the far post, where two teammates ran onto it. Baumgartl got in first and finished Edelman’s cross with a right-footed shot from close range.
Burki and Collodi, who had four saves, denied late winners off attempts from both attacking sides to preserve the draw.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Team Liquid 1st team to 2-0 at LCS Spring
YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year. Team Liquid moved to the top of the standings with a win over Shopify Rebellion as Week 2 of the regular season of the LCS Spring event began Saturday.
Team Liquid won 2-0 in a battle of 1-0 teams, while LYON beat Dignitas 2-1 in the other match of the day.
Eight teams will compete in best-of-three matches in the round-robin regular season before advancing to the playoffs of the League of Legends event, which will be contested in best-of-five matches in a double-elimination format. The top two teams will qualify for the Mid-Season Invitational.
Liquid completed its sweep with a pair of wins on blue in 25 and 38 minutes. Brandon “Josedeodo” Villegas of Argentina and Ru-han “Morgan” Park of South Korea took home MVP honors in the triumph.
Dignitas won the opener of its match in 33 minutes before LYON roared back with a 36-minute victory on red followed by a 30-minute clincher on blue. American/Indian competitor Niship “Dhokla” Doshi and Jonah “Isles” Rosario of Australia were MVPs for the two LYON victories, and American Lawrence “Exyu” Xu was MVP of Dignitas’ opening victory.
Week 2 concludes Sunday with FlyQuest facing Disguised and Sentinels taking on Cloud9.
Regular season standings (Win-loss total, map differential)
1. Team Liquid, 2-0, 4-1
T2 Cloud9, 1-0, 2-1
T2. Disguised, 1-0, 2-1
T4. Shopify Rebellion, 1-1, 2-2
T4. Lyon, 1-1, 3-3
T6. FlyQuest, 0-1, 1-2
T6. Sentinels, 0-1, 1-2
8. Dignitas, 0-2, 1-4
–Field Level Media
Sports
Rose Lavelle records goal, assist in USWNT's victory over Japan
Apr 11, 2026; San Jose, California, USA; United States midfielder Rose Lavelle (16) reacts after scoring a goal against Japan during the first half at PayPal Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images Rose Lavelle celebrated her 100th start with a goal and an assist to help the U.S. women’s national team to a 2-1 win in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday to open a three-match series against Japan.
Lavelle, in her 119th match, scored in the 9th minute off a set piece then set up Lindsey Heaps in the 48th for the 2-0 lead.
Riko Ueki stunned the Americans in the 61st minute to cut the deficit in half on their first goal allowed in nine matches.
The friendlies continue Tuesday in Seattle and Friday in Commerce City, Colo.
The Americans got the early advantage after Sophia Wilson drew a foul. She played her first USWNT match since Oct. 27, 2024, and made her first start since the gold medal match in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Wilson gave birth to a daughter in September 2025.
On the ensuing restart, Trinity Rodman was to the left of the goal when she sent a flighted ball to the middle of the box. Lavelle used her left foot to flick it past goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita for her 28th goal with the national team.
The U.S. failed to double the lead 14 minutes later when an unmarked Alyssa Thompson at the left post couldn’t convert a cross from Wilson.
Alyssa and Gisele Thompson broke the USWNT record for sisters starting in the same match with four. Samantha and Kristie Mewis started in the same match three times.
It didn’t take long after the break to gain some breathing room thanks to the high pressure from Gisele Thompson which created a turnover. She sent Lavelle down the left channel but Lavelle’s service to the box was blocked.
Fortunately for the U.S., the ball deflected to Lavelle and she found Heaps on the run for a left-footed shot and her 40th goal.
The USWNT’s scoreless streak ended at 865 minutes as Ueki, who entered at the start of the second half, took a headed pass from Honoka Hayashi to score with a header from the center of the box.
Ueki almost tied it in the 78th minute with an 8-yard shot that forced a reactionary save by Claudia Dickey, who made four saves; Yamashita had one.
–Field Level Media
Timo Baumgartl scores in 61st minute as St. Louis City tie FC Dallas
Team Liquid 1st team to 2-0 at LCS Spring
