MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The men's Final Four is set after a dramatic last-second win by UConn. Huskies guard Braylon Mullins sank the game-winning shot Sunday night with 0.4 seconds left on the clock. Illinois, Michigan and Arizona round out the Final Four. Here to tell us about all of it is Martenzie Johnson of ESPN's Andscape. Martenzie, good morning.
MARTENZIE JOHNSON: Good morning. How are you, Michel?
MARTIN: Instant highlight reel...
(LAUGHTER)
MARTIN: ...For the next however many decades. OK. UConn was trailing for almost the entire game. At one point, weren't they down, like, 19 points?
JOHNSON: Yes, that's correct.
MARTIN: How did they turn it around?
JOHNSON: They stopped turning the ball over. They started making shots. They kept it close towards the end. I feel very bad for Tarris Reed Jr. because he was the catalyst behind all of that. He had 26 points. He kept UConn in it. But as you said, Braylon Mullins, who had not made a three-pointer all game, Michel...
MARTIN: (Laughter).
JOHNSON: ...Decided, with 0.4 seconds, it's my time to shine. He's a freshman, by the way.
MARTIN: He's a freshman, exactly, from Indiana...
JOHNSON: From Indiana.
MARTIN: ...Where the Final Four is going to be played. So why did he get the ball? I'm just curious. Like, why did they give him the ball?
JOHNSON: Oh. Oh, I love this. They didn't give him the ball. Well, the team didn't give him the ball. Duke gave him the ball.
MARTIN: Oh, OK.
JOHNSON: There were a couple of seconds left in the game. Duke was up. All they had to do was inbound the ball and get it up the court. But unfortunately, Cayden Boozer, he got trapped. He got nervous. He threw the ball ahead, but it got tipped. It went right into Braylon's hands, who passed it to a teammate, who passed it back to Braylon. And he made a logo three-pointer. It was amazing, Michel.
MARTIN: It's so annoying. This is, like, the one time I decided to be an adult and go to bed on time.
JOHNSON: (Laughter).
MARTIN: And missed the whole thing. OK, so let's talk about the other four, at least, how much - how many we have time for. Michigan was last place in its conference two years ago. Now they're in the Final Four. So who are you watching there?
JOHNSON: Yaxel Lendeborg is probably the story of the entire tournament. He didn't play most of his high school, college basketball career. He only played in 11 games. Then he went to a junior college, then he went to University of Alabama-Birmingham, and now he's at Michigan as the best player on one of the best teams in the country. He has guided them throughout this entire tournament. Watch Yaxel Lendeborg. I promise, you won't be let down.
MARTIN: I'm thinking, you know, we keep saying, gosh, there are no more Cinderellas because, you know, the best players all gravitate to the same teams. I'm thinking maybe we should stop thinking about it that way and think that the Cinderellas are the players.
JOHNSON: The Cinderellas are the player. But also, the best teams have the best players. And they give you the best games. I love Cinderellas, don't get me wrong. I like a upset every now and then. But you got four of the best teams in the country who - I can't even tell you who's going to win at this point, Michel. So as much as I miss Cinderellas, we got the best players right here.
MARTIN: So who do you see with clear momentum going into this weekend?
JOHNSON: It's got to be UConn. They're the modern dynasty. Before 1999, Michel, they won zero championships coming out of the Big East. Now, this year, they're looking at No. 7. So they haven't looked as dominant as they have in recent years. But after overcoming a 19-point deficit against Duke of all teams, Michel, I think they got the momentum.
MARTIN: So the last question here is, do you think UConn is going to be the team that other people love to hate, like the way Duke was for all these years because they were so dominant? Now people are just going to hate on UConn just for the sport of it?
JOHNSON: Maybe not for the sport of it, but because of Dan Hurley, who I actually happen to like. But a lot of people don't like him because of his attitude. But when you do this for your team (laughter), what can you say, Michel?
MARTIN: What can you say? That's Martenzie Johnson of ESPN's Andscape. Martenzie, thank you.
JOHNSON: Thank you, Michel.
(SOUNDBITE OF SOULS OF MISCHIEF SONG, "93 'TIL INFINITY") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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