From The Sports Desk: The 'Final' countdown

Three weeks of March Madness has come down to this.

Three weeks of March Madness has come down to this. Illinois vs. UConn, two teams that no one expected to be here, and Michigan vs. Arizona, which might be the game of the tournament. Which team will cut down the nets? We break down the matchups below.

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Final Four weekend starts with the women’s games tonight. We’ll be live-blogging all of the games through the weekend. Follow along at NBC News.

UConn's Tarris Reed drives around Patrick Ngongba of the Duke Blue Devils on March 29, 2026.Emilee Chinn / Getty ImagesThe first game features two teams that no one expected to be here. UConn shocked Duke in the Elite Eight, and Illinois toppled higher-seeded Houston in the Sweet 16. Which of these two teams can keep its March magic going?