FAN SIDED - The Final Four is set. On one side of the bracket, we have a battle of titans between two No. 1 seeds, Michigan and Arizona. On the other side, it’s No. 2 UConn versus No. 3 Illinois — the March Madness buzzsaw of Dan Hurley against this year’s greatest college basketball success story, Brad Underwood and his “Balkan Bloc” from Champaign.

All four teams deserve to be here. We should get plenty of great basketball over the weekend.

Michigan Wolverines Best player : Yaxel Lendeborg

Yaxel Lendeborg ought to finish second in Wooden Award voting, behind only Duke freshman Cameron Boozer. A 23-year-old in his sixth year of college basketball, this is Lendeborg’s first — and last — run with a high major program. It’s safe to say he was built for this stage: Lendeborg is a hellacious defender and the skeleton key for Michigan’s offense, with a chameleonic skill set that allows him to impact winning in a variety of ways, even when he’s not scoring.

The man can score, though, and he’s done so throughout the tournament. Lendeborg has 20-plus points in three of Michigan’s four games thus far, including 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists in their Elite Eight beatdown of Tennessee. Lendeborg is converting 73.8 percent of his attempts at the rim and shooting 37.2 percent on a healthy 3-point volume. His sterling 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio shows just how thoroughly he’s mastered the college game. He can spot up, face up, bully mismatches in the post or operate as a connective hub in the middle of the floor. There are few more bulletproof talents in the sport right now.

Arizona Wildcats Best player : Brayden Burries

Jaden Bradley won Big 12 Player of the Year in somewhat controversial fashion, but it has become clear over the last couple months that freshman Brayden Burries is Arizona’s best player. He does so much to impact winning, efficient at all three levels on offense and active on defense (2.8 STL%). He doesn’t carry a huge on-ball load, but he’s effective attacking closeouts and slicing to the rim, able to mix speeds and use his strong frame to absorb contact and jail defenders.

Arizona’s rotation, top to bottom, might be the most talented in college basketball. Burries began the season in a rut, but he locked in around late November and never looked back. He won’t dominate touches, but Burries is a classic star in his role. He just finds ways to contribute and keeps mistakes to a minimum, with uncommon poise for a freshman.

UConn Huskies Best player : Tarris Reed Jr.

The conventional answer is probably Alex Karaban, a four-year staple of UConn’s lineup who has started 148 of his 149 appearances for the Huskies. That said, Tarris Reed has stolen the crown this season. The 6-foot-10 wrecking ball is enjoying a dominant NCAA Tournament run: He dropped 31 points and 27 rebounds against Furman in the first round, and in the Elite Eight upset of Duke, Reed managed 26 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and four blocks. A proper stat sheet stuffing.

Reed does so much for UConn. He’s a blow-up artist on defense (9.1 BLK%, 2.1 STL%), a legitimately elite rebounder on both ends and a bonafide hub offensively, averaging 2.4 assists with a slo-mo post game that sees him weaponize both immense strength and underrated finesse. Illinois will attempt to space the floor and put Reed in space on defense; Michigan or Arizona can both blugdeon teams with physicality in the paint. If the Huskies are going to pull this off, Reed needs to meet the moment.

Illinois Fighting Illini

Best playe r: Keaton Wagler Who else? Keaton Wagler, the 150th-ranked recruit in his class at 247 Sports, has turned in a sensational campaign in Champaign. Wagler went from a completely unheralded freshman to the engine of college basketball’s top-ranked offense and a potential top-five pick in June’s NBA Draft. While he can struggle to turn the corner and put consistent pressure on the rim, Wagler is a shifty ball-handler, able to poke and prod the defense and create space with his refined footwork. The processing and shot-making, at his age, is special. He epitomizes the system Brad Underwood has built at Illinois.

Wagler is highly malleable, able to thrive as a lead guard, a spot-up shooter or as a connector. He’s a reactive passer, processing the floor from a high vantage point and surgically exploiting lapses in the defense. For all his struggles at the rim, Wagler’s elite shooting makes up for it. He’s automatic beyond the arc and equally deadly in the mid-range. Illinois’ offense is disciplined and unselfish on the whole, but it starts with Wagler. Whether he’s simply setting the table or taking over a game, he is seldom not the most important player on the floor.

Illinois and UConn take to the stage first at 5:09 p.m. followed by Arizona and Michigan at 7:50 p.m.

Both games can be viewed on TBS and TNT channels.

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