2026 Final Four: Best bets, odds for UConn-Michigan national championship game

The final game of March Madness is finally upon us, as No. 1 Michigan — fresh off a resounding91-73 win over No. 1 Arizona— will take on Dan Hurley and the 2-seed UConn Huskies in the 2026 national championship game on Monday night.

UConn, which closed as a 1.5-point underdog,defeated No. 3 Illinois 71-62on Saturday night in the otherFinal Fourgame. The Huskies have now won (and covered) in 18 of their last 19 tournament games.

Both teams are dealing with injuries, as Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg has saidhe’s playing “no matter what”despite suffering a sprained MCL and rolled ankle in the semifinal against the Wildcats. UConn guard Solo Ballsuffered a foot sprain in the win over Illinoisand was in a walking boot on Sunday. His status for the game is very much uncertain.

Arizona opened as a 7.5-point favorite atBetMGM, though the line moved to -6.5 on Sunday. The total is at 144.5.

Here are a few bets our college basketball experts like for the national championship game. We’ll add to this file up until tip on Monday night.

All odds courtesy of BetMGM.

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No. 2 UConn vs. No. 1 Michigan (-6.5, 144.5)

Matt Russell: The line is right on my projection of Michigan -6.2, so a bet on the side would come down to either hoping that UConn’s tournament magic continues against a Michigan team that’s dominated in the way that the 2023 and 2024 Huskies did on the way to back-to-back championships, or fading Dan Hurley in the Final Four — which continued to be no fun on Saturday.

Instead, let’s dig into the player prop market on the premise that Michigan’s interior play will bog things down for the Huskies, who want to play slow anyway (319th inKenPom’s adjusted tempo).

The first wager is backing Aday Mara to score in the post and via setups from Elliot Cadeau. The Wolverines’ center goes from a matchup with Motiejus Krivas and Tobe Awaka (where Mara was 11-for-16) to Tarris Reed Jr. and freshman Eric Reibe. With Lendeborg sore, that also might translate to more attempts for Mara.

Bet: Aday Mara over 13.5 points

Russell:The second player prop to look at is an under for a UConn guard.

Michigan’s perimeter defenders — Cadeau, Trey McKinney, Nimari Burnett and Roddy Gayle Jr. — should make it tough on Silas Demary Jr. to get to the basket, where the Wolverines’ defensive length will be waiting. While Demary has shot the 3 at a decent percentage this season, he’s made less than one per game, and was 1-for-6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Saturday’s semifinal.

The rebound column might affect Demary’s numbers even more. While he’s excellent on the glass from a guard position, Michigan’s one of the best rebounding teams in the country. Though the Huskies guard averages 14.9 points plus rebounds and has 16 in each of the last two games, the Wolverines are a different matchup, and should gobble up most of the boards before the ball gets to the support level.

Bet: Silas Demary Jr. under 14.5 points + rebounds

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April 06, 2026

2026 Final Four: Best bets, odds for UConn-Michigan national championship game

The final game of March Madness is finally upon us, as No. 1 Michigan — fresh off a resounding91-73 win over No. 1 Arizona— will take o...

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Death toll from extreme weather in Afghanistan increases to 110

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The death toll from extreme weather that has triggeredwidespread flooding and landslidesin many parts of Afghanistan has increased to at least 110, authorities said Monday, with another seven people missing and more heavy rain forecast.

Afghanistan Floods

Storms and heavy rainfallbegan across Afghanistan about 12 days ago, affecting most of the country’s 34 provinces. Over the past 24 hours alone, 11 people have died and six have been injured, the Disaster Management Authority said. Seven people were reported missing in separate incidents, all believed to have been carried away by floodwater.

Overall, the flooding, landslides and lighting strikes have killed 110 people and injured 160 in the past 12 days, the authority said, while 958 homes have been completely destroyed and another 4,155 have suffered partial damage.

The Defense Ministry said Monday that it had used a helicopter to airlift two people to safety after they became stranded by floodwater in the western province of Herat.

More than 325 kilometers (200 miles) of roads have been destroyed, while businesses, agricultural land, irrigation canals and fresh-water wells have also been damaged, affecting 6,122 families, the authority said. It said the figures are preliminary.

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Authorities issued weather warnings for Tuesday for nearly the entire country, warning people to stay away from rivers and areas prone to flooding.

Earlier this year, heavy snowfall and flash floodsleft dozens of people deadacross the country.

Two major highways have been closed for days due to landslides and floods, forcing travelers to take long, circuitous routes to reach their destinations. The Kabul to Jalalabad highway — the main route linking the capital to the Pakistani border and eastern Afghan provinces — has been shut since last Thursday, while the road from Jalalabad, the main city in eastern Afghanistan, heading northeast to Kunar and Nuristan provinces has been closed since Sunday by falling rocks.

Snow and heavy rain often trigger flash floods that kill scores, or even hundreds, of people at a time in Afghanistan. In 2024,more than 300 people diedin springtime flash floods.

Associated Press writer Elena Becatoros in Kabul, Afghanistan contributed to this report.

byNeo

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April 06, 2026

Death toll from extreme weather in Afghanistan increases to 110

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The death toll from extreme weather that has triggeredwidespread flooding and landslidesin many parts of Afgh...

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Russian attacks kill 4 as Ukraine drones target oil infrastructure

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s southern port city of Odesa killed two women and a toddler, authorities said Monday, while Ukrainian long-range drones targeted Russia’s key Black Sea port for oil exports.

Russia Ukraine War

The nighttime attack on Odesa heavily damaged an apartment block, killing the women and a 2-year-old child, officials said. Rescuers working under floodlights pulled four people from the rubble.

Eleven people were hospitalized, including a pregnant woman and two children — the youngest less than a year old, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X.

Russia has pounded civilian areas of Ukraine since itinvaded its neighborjust over four years ago, killing more than 15,000 people, according to the United Nations.

Over the past week, Russia has launched at Ukraine more than 2,800 attack drones, nearly 1,350powerful glide bombsand more than 40 missiles of various types, according to Zelenskyy.

In the southern city of Kherson, Russian shelling killed an elderly woman and three other women, 86, 79 and 44, were hospitalized, according to Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the regional military administration. The injured women sustained shrapnel wounds, concussion, blast injuries and head trauma, he said.

Russia has also taken aim atUkraine’s power grid, and overnight barrages hit energy infrastructure in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Dnipro regions, Zelenskyy said.

More than 300,000 households were without electricity in northern Chernihiv after distribution facilities were damaged in the attacks, according to the regional power utility.

Zelenskyyexpressed concernin a weekend interview with The Associated Press that the war in the Middle East is draining stockpiles of weapons that Ukraine needs to defend itself, especially American-made Patriot air defense systems that can stop missiles.

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Zelenskyy said Monday that the country’s partners “need to strengthen air defense together so that the interception rate of drones and missiles continues to increase.”

With U.S.-led peace efforts stalled, Zelenskyy added: “Russia has no intention of stopping” its invasion.

Ukraine has fought back by developing its own long-range drones, which now reach targets some 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) inside Russia.

Ukraine has used them recently to hammer Russian oil facilities as Moscow looks to boost its exports after the Trump administration gave it a temporary waiver from sanctions to ease supply constraints. Kyiv officials complain that Russia will use the additional revenue on new weapons to hit Ukraine harder.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 50 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Krasnodar Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev said that eight people, including two children, were injured in a series of Ukrainian drone attacks on Novorossiysk, one of Russia’s largest Black Sea ports. The attack damaged six apartment buildings and two private houses, he said.

Unconfirmed media reports said the drones targeted the Sheskharis oil terminal at the Black Sea port.

Last week, Ukraine’s drones struck oil facilities in the Gulf of Finland, in northwest Russia.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine athttps://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

byNeo

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April 06, 2026

Russian attacks kill 4 as Ukraine drones target oil infrastructure

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s southern port city of Odesa killed two women and a toddler, authorities said M...

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Iran state media say Tehran rejects latest ceasefire proposal

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency says Tehran has rejected the latest ceasefire proposal and wants a permanent end to the war.

The report comes shortly before U.S. President Donald Trump’s deadline for Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz or see its power plants and bridges attacked.

The news agency said Iran had conveyed its response to the U.S. through Pakistan.

RELATED STORY |With hours to go, Trump warns Iran: Open Hormuz or face ‘all hell’

“We won’t merely accept a ceasefire,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press on Monday. “We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again.”

On the Strait of Hormuz, Ferdousi Pour said Iranian and Omani officials were working on a mechanism for administering the shipping chokepoint.

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Iran’s attacks on regional energy infrastructure and its hold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped in peacetime, have sent global energy prices soaring.

RELATED STORY |Here's how the war in Iran is set to make summer travel more expensive

Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose to $109 in early Monday spot trading, about 50% higher than when the war started, then wavered. U.S. stocks were mostly holding steady.

Under pressure at home as consumers worry, Trump has warned Iran that if no deal is reached to reopen the strait, the U.S. would hit power plants and other infrastructure and set the country “back to the stone ages.”

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one,” he threatened Sunday.

Trump has given multiple deadlines to Iran and they could expire Monday night Washington time — though he also posted: “Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!” without elaborating.

byNeo

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April 06, 2026

Iran state media say Tehran rejects latest ceasefire proposal

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency says Tehran has rejected the latest ceasefire proposal and wants a permanent end to the war. Th...

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Sha’Carri Richardson storms from scratch to a stunning Stawell Gift win

STAWELL, Australia (AP) — American sprint star Sha'Carri Richardson surged through the field Monday to win the Stawell Gift, an annual race contested on handicap over 120 meters on grass in a small Australian town near Melbourne.

Stawell Gift US Sprinters

In the 144th edition of the event, Richardson provided one of its most breathtaking finales as she started at scratch and caught the field at the 90-meter mark before pulling away for an astonishing win in 13.15 seconds.

"Just make sure I'm patient that first 10-meters like my coach today told me, and just executing the rest," Richardson told Seven Network television post race. "I think I realized I was gonna win right past 90."

The 26-year-old American, one of the fastest women of all time, is just the third woman to win the race from scratch and claimed a prize of 40,000 Australian dollars ($27,500).

Richardson won a silver medal in the 100 meters in the 2024 Paris Olympics, and gold in the 4x100 relay that same year. She also claimed the 100-meter title at the 2023 World Championships.

After a near calamity in the semifinals earlier Monday, where Richardson rose too soon and was almost pipped on the line, the American made no errors in the final, chasing down the field early and running through the line powerfully.

She celebrated with fans before embracing boyfriend and former world champion Christian Coleman, who was the marquee name of the men's draw. She and Coleman remain in a relationship despite adomestic violence chargeagainst Richardson last July.

"This is one of the most exciting, fun, and entertaining track meets I've ever ran in, not even just that, but the love, the true love and support for track and field, unbeatable," she said.

Coleman misses men's final

Former 100-meter World Champion, Coleman failed to qualify for the men's final after finishing sixth in his semifinal earlier Monday with 12.48 seconds. Only the winners of the six semifinals for both the men's and women's division qualified for the respective finals.

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Both Richardson and Coleman raced from "scratch" meaning they were required to run the entire distance and chase down opponents, which proved too much of a gulf to bridge for Coleman, despite him closing the gap appreciably in the latter stages of his heat.

"Yeah, it is what it is, but I mean, I gave it everything I got, like you said, they're great athletes, so when you're giving up that much of a margin, I mean, it's pretty tough," Coleman said to Seven Network television.

Australian Olufemi Komolafe won the men's Stawell Gift ahead of Jake Ireland and Dutchman Liam van der Schaaf.

Semifinal scare for Sha'Carri

Earlier Monday, Richardson powered through the field to win her semifinal by just 0.007 seconds after she leaned back at the finish allowing local Halle Martin to almost steal the race in a photo finish.

"I feel like I am having a great time, but also working on race pattern, me and my coach Dennis Mitchell staying calm, executing, and running through the line," Richardson said after the semifinal.

In Saturday's heats, Richardson, who gave away 10 meters to her closest competitor at the start, won her heat in 13.815 seconds Saturday and Coleman his in 12.681.

There are more than 700 competitors in the Stawell race, including many of Australia's top runners, in the event held about 235 kilometers (145 miles) west of Melbourne.

It has not been disclosed whether Richardson or Coleman have been paid appearance money to take part in the race. Last year Australian media reported that top Australian sprinterGout Goutwas paid 50,000 Australian dollars (35,000) to run at Stawell, where he was eliminated in the semifinals.

AP sports:https://apnews.com/hub/sports

byNeo

in

April 05, 2026

Sha’Carri Richardson storms from scratch to a stunning Stawell Gift win

STAWELL, Australia (AP) — American sprint star Sha'Carri Richardson surged through the field Monday to win the Stawel...

Read More