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Is this the year that Arizona men's basketball's national championship drought comes to an end?

Based on how the Wildcats have looked, the chances are pretty high for Tommy Lloyd's squad.

REQUIRED READING: Arizona in Final Four: What to know about Wildcats' road to Indianapolis

The Wildcats, looking for their first March Madness title since 1997, have shown themselves to be a favorite in the Men's NCAA Tournament with a dominating presence inside the paint that makes it hard for opponents to score. They also have a three-headed scoring trio of Brayden Burries, Koa Peat and Jaden Bradley.

To end the national championship drought, Arizona must first get past No. 1 seed Michigan in the Final Four on Saturday, April 4, inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. If the Wildcats can get past the Wolverines, they will face the winner of No. 2 UConn vs. No. 3 Illinois in the title game on Monday, April 6.

Here's what to know on Arizona's history in the Final Four:

Dan Hurley finds himself in an all too familiar situation on Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis when Connecticut men's basketball takes on Illinois in the Final Four.

It is the third Final Four in the last four seasons that the 53-year-old coach has led the Huskies to during their six-year rise back to being one of the top college basketball programs in the country.

He holds a 17-3 record in March Madness with the Huskies, and is looking to become the seventh Division I men's basketball coach to win at least three national championship titles. Remove the first two seasons that Hurley led the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament, both of which were first-round exits, UConn is 17-1 in its last 18 March Madness games.

MORE: Dan Hurley clears air on interaction with ref in UConn's win vs Duke

The Huskies' success under Hurley has not only established him as one of the top coaches in the country and garnered interest from the NBA (hello, Los Angeles Lakers), but it has also bumped their resume up on the blue blood rankings list, which can see them move past Duke with their seventh title in program history.

But Hurley's success and rise in his profession also put a spotlight on his roots and how he got started in coaching, which, if you know anything about the Hurley family, all started in a gymnasium in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Here's what to know about Hurley's family tree:

Dan Hurley family tree

Who is Dan Hurley's dad?

Dan Hurley is the son of legendary New Jersey high school basketball coach Bobby Hurley Sr., who is also enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Bobby Hurley Sr. spent nearly four decades as a high school basketball coach at St. Anthony's in Jersey City. In his 39 seasons at St. Anthony's, Bobby Hurley Sr. won over 1,000 games and 28 state championships while turning the program into a national powerhouse. He also led St. Anthony's to 18 undefeated seasons.

FINAL FOUR TICKETS: Where to buy tickets, prices for March Madness semifinals

As noted by CT Insider, Dan Hurley went head-to-head against his dad for nine seasons from 2001 to 2010 at the high school circuit, as the UConn head coach started his career at St. Benedict's Prep in Newark. Bobby Hurley Sr. retired from coaching after the 2016-17 basketball season, when St. Anthony was forced to shut down due to declining enrollment and finances.

The two-time NCAA national championship coach fielded multiple questions about being a byproduct of a high school basketball coach, and whether his intensity on the sidelines comes from that, ahead of UConn's second-round game vs. UCLA, where Dan Hurley went up against Mick Cronin, whose dad was also a high school coach.

"If you don't like me, you'd hate my dad. I bet Mick would say the same thing. We're coach's kids. For me, growing up in Jersey, North Jersey, Jersey City, I coach the way my dad would be coaching this college. Whether you would like that or not," Dan Hurley said. "You just have a special relationship to your team, to your players, to the outcome, to the lifestyle of being a coach when you're a coach's kid.

"It's so personal for coaches like me and Mick, which is where you see, at times, emotional reactions to things that happen on the court because it truly feels like, personally, it's your world, your team. The outcome of the game, it manifests itself sometimes in how we behave."

KING OF THE BLUE BLOODS? How UConn can pass Duke this weekend

Following UConn's win over Duke in the Elite Eight, Bobby Hurley Sr. told college basketball reporter Adam Zagoria that the Huskies' come-from-behind win against the Blue Devils, which featured a buzzer-beater from Braylon Mullins, "the singularly most incredible moment" he's seen in person following a college basketball game.

"In the times I’ve been around it, this is the singularly most incredible moment (I've seen) following college basketball. I don’t think I’ve ever been around the game where we were on the right end of a last-second shot," Hurley told Zagoria.

Bob Hurley Sr said this was the ‘singularly most exciting’ college basketball moment he’s been around

And that’s saying something pic.twitter.com/iOjRbjtVzj

— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) March 30, 2026

Who is Dan Hurley's brother?

Dan Hurley's brother is Bobby Hurley Jr., the former Duke All-American guard under Mike Krzyzewski and recently fired Arizona State basketball head coach.

Bobby Hurley Jr. helped guide the Blue Devils to a pair of national championship titles in 1991 and 1992, while recording career totals of 1,731 points, 1,076 assists, 306 rebounds, and 202 steals in 140 career games. His 1,076 career assists used to be the NCAA all-time career record, but he was recently surpassed by Purdue guard Braden Smith.

Who are Dan Hurley's sons?

Dan Hurley has two sons, Danny and Andrew, with his wife, Andrea.

His son Danny attended Seton Hall University, his father's alma mater, while Andrew was a walk-on for his dad at UConn and a member of the Huskies' back-to-back national championship teams in 2023 and 2024. Andrew Hurley is currently a graduate assistant on UConn's coaching staff and will earn his MBA this spring.

Embiid ‘pissed off' he wasn't allowed to play against Wizards originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Joel Embiid shared his perspective Friday night on the odd series of events that led to him missing the Sixers’ win Wednesday against the Wizards.

He was displeased, to put it mildly.

A recap, for those who didn’t follow the mini-saga: 

Embiid played through an illness in the Sixers’ loss Monday to the Heat. On Wednesday morning, the Sixers wound up holding a film session at their hotel instead of their initially scheduled shootaround. Embiid was not present. In the late morning, the Sixers formally ruled him out for that night’s game. Embiid tweeted that the news “must be an April Fools” joke and said he was “planning to play tonight.” He later tweeted, “I guess they won’t let me play basketball!!” 

“We had activities this morning, film and stuff,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said pregame at Capital One Arena. “He didn’t make the film after reporting some sickness from Miami the other day. Medical obviously went to see him and wanted him to get checked out by a doctor … decided to rule him out at that point.

“He obviously played the other night through some of that, but they just decided, a couple days (of being sick) here in a row, that he needed to get checked out.”

So … time for Embiid’s side of the story following the Sixers’ home win Friday over the Timberwolves.

“I was pissed off,” Embiid said. “I wanted to play basketball. I wasn’t allowed to play basketball. So I think this is more of a question for (Sixers president of basketball operations) Daryl Morey and whoever makes the decisions. I think, going into Miami, I was pretty sick, but I understood how important the game was. I still wanted to give us a chance to go out there and try to do something. … I felt a little bit better going into Washington. Definitely much better than I felt against Miami. 

“I woke up … didn’t sleep until probably 5 in the morning or 6. With that, couldn’t make it to shootaround. And then after that, I found out online that I wasn’t playing that night. That kind of caught me off guard. That pissed me off. But then again, I guess they make the decisions. It doesn’t matter what I think or not, I’ve just got to follow it. But that’s more of a question for Daryl and them. I don’t know what’s going on. I just want to play basketball.”

It’s notable that the Sixers appeared very likely to beat the Wizards, who sit at 17-59, regardless of whether Embiid played. On paper, having their star center grit it out against such an opponent wouldn’t have been prudent.

The Sixers had a rough first half defensively in D.C., but Paul George dropped 39 points and the team ultimately checked off a convincing win.

Listed as doubtful Thursday night, Embiid was upgraded to probable during the day Friday and then officially deemed available about 30 minutes before tip-off. While he had a slow start vs. Minnesota and finished 6 for 17 from the field, he was very good defensively and on the glass. The seven-time All-Star posted 19 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks. It was a high-quality win for the Sixers, who needed it to stay sixth in the Eastern Conference standings with five regular-season games left. 

Embiid acknowledged postgame that the right oblique strain he suffered in late February has continued to affect him. 

“A little bit,” he said. “I got hit again today, so that doesn’t help. Just got to keep playing and try to not think about it.”

Embiid was asked whether he might play in the second leg of the Sixers’ back-to-back, a meeting Saturday night with the top-seeded Pistons. 

“There’s a chance,” he said. “I don’t know. I guess these guys decide to let me play or not. Whatever they tell me, I guess I’ve got to follow.”

Miami or Milwaukee, South Beach or north at the border, Boston’s blueprint might have been drafted on this 3-1 road trip. After splitting days off in a back-to-back in Charlotte and Atlanta, we’ve seen an impressive two games from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. With Brown leading the scoring charge, Tatum has flexed his all-around game with nearly two triple-doubles against the Heat and Bucks.

A 133-101 throttling started with the Celtics hitting 8-for-12 from behind the arc to take a 43-26 lead in the first and they never looked back. All five starters and sixth man Payton Pritchard scored in double figures with the team committing just eight turnovers in a fairly lackadaisical game.

The Celtics now have four of their final five games at TD Garden and a magic number of three to finish #2 in the East. Their only road game is of course Thursday at Madison Square Garden. Their odds have improved all week with our friends at FanDuel and now are +550 to raise Banner 19 and the favorite to rep the Eastern Conference in the 2026 NBA Finals.

Jaylen Brown

30 minutes, 26 points (2-4 from 3, 10-11 from the free throw line, 7-17 from the field), 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 steals, +27

After a bout with Achilles tendonitis, Brown seems rejuvenated. After scoring 43 against the Heat, he dropped 26 points in 30 minutes in Milwaukee that included 11 trips to the free throw line. He had the full repertoire on display: the pitter patter drives, the strong finishes at the rim, and his fall away in the mid-range.

Grade: A

Jayson Tatum

31 minutes, 23 points (4-8 from 3, 3-4 from the free throw line, 8-16 from the field), 11 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 turnovers, 3 steals, +30

Early in his comeback, Tatum was a little prone to holding the ball a little too long and going in to his isolation game like it was 2024 all over again.

Now, he’s making decisions so much quicker. That’s really opened up Queta’s game whenever he slips out of picks or short rolls to the free throw line.

Grade: A+

Neemias Queta

29 minutes, 19 points (3-4 from the free throw line, 8-11 from the field), 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 blocks, +33

Queta has quickly become the closest approximation of Robert Williams III the Celtics have seen since Timelord was traded three years ago. As soon as he catches the ball, he’s so quick off the bounce and has developed an array of Olajuwon-esque moves in the paint. Add four blocks and four offensive rebounds and it was a near perfect game for the Most Improved Player candidate.

Grade: A

Sam Hauser

27 minutes, 13 points (3-4 from 3, 5-6 from the field), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, +25

Attention all playoff opponents, Sam Hauser is getting hot. Maybe it was Tatum’s return. Maybe it was just water finding its level. Maybe it’s just destiny.

After spending scuffling under 40% from 3, Hauser sits at 39% with five games to go. He’s hit eight of his last eleven triples and become an important cog in the starting lineup.

Grade: A

Derrick White

31 minutes, 17 points (5-9 from 3, 6-11 from the field), 3 rebounds, 5 assists, one turnover, +34

I don’t want to jinx it, but DWhite looked great last night and had the highest +/- on the evening. I’ll stop there and hope that the juju has permanently changed.

Grade: A-

Payton Pritchard

26 minutes, 16 points (2-6 from 3, 7-12 from the field), 3 rebounds, 6 assists, one turnover, +2

Pritchard own the second quarter with the second unit. He led the team with twelve points and scored at all three levels.

Grade: A

Luka Garza

12 minutes, 2 points (1-2 from the field), 4 rebounds, one assist, +0

The starters plus Pritchard were absolutely unconscious that players #8-#10 in the rotation didn’t have to do too much.

Grade: B

Baylor Scheierman

23 minutes, 2 points (0-2 from 3, 1-3 from the field), 2 rebounds, 3 assists, one turnover, one steal, +4

Like Garza, Scheierman didn’t light up the box score, but filled in with quality minutes off the bench. Two of his dimes came in the alley-oop variety.

Grade: B

Jordan Walsh

12 minutes, 7 points (1-3 from 3, 3-5 from the field), 2 rebounds, +1

Walsh has seemingly leapfrogged Gonzalez on the wing rotation. His defense remains his calling card, but if he can hit more than 35% from 3 and generate stocks (steals and blocks), those 20+ possessions per game he’s on the floor for should have a positive impact.

Grade: B

Charles Bassey / Hugo Gonzalez / Ron Harper Jr.

5-6 minutes, 8 points (0-1 from 3, 4-6 from the field), 4 rebounds, one assist, one turnover, one steal +4

With how well Gonzalez and Harper Jr. have looked in spurts this season, it’s unfortunate that we don’t get to see them play here at the end of the season. Mazzulla seems to be trimming the rotation down to nine players and they’re just simply the odd man out…until Mazzulla throws another curve ball and one of those guys are starting a game in April.

Grade: INC

DNP-CDs: Max Shulga, John Tonje, Amari Williams

Inactives: Nikola Vucevic

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the Spurs are on their second 11-game win streak right now.

After leaving a Kawhi Leonard-shaped crater behind them in Los Angeles, without the aid of the Monstar that is Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs should enter this one with peak confidence.

It almost feels like a lack of exaggeration to say the silver-and-black have been so in lockstep over the last several games that it’s hard to point out who (if anyone) can end this streak.

The Nuggets are on that *very* short list, though, with most of their top contributors back on the court for this match-up.

When healthy, Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon pose particular problems for the Spurs, with Gordon exploiting the Spurs’ weakness at Power Forward, and Jokic’s passing negating some of Wemby’s otherwise smothering presence in the paint.

I’d also be remiss to leave out the ever-levitating Jamal Murray, who serves as one of the best challenges to the usually stellar defense of San Antonio’s guards.

Difficult enough to guard on an average day, you never know when Murray is going to summon the golden touch and completely wreck a lead, or San Antonio’s entire game plan. Almost every player, given enough time, will go on a hot streak that surpasses even the loftiest expectations, but Murray is in his own category in that respect, to the extent that it would have turned even Kobe Bryant’s head.

If I’m being honest, it reminds me of the way that Manu Ginobili would get hot back in his prime. And that’s as high a compliment as I can give.

That being said, the Spurs are in an interesting state of mind (and health), with the team seemingly getting stronger the longer that the streak goes on.

Wemby’s been tossing out 40-point games with the ease of a longtime paper boy running his route for the 1000th time. Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper are burning up the rims from long-distance, each easily shooting 40%+ outside of the arc (with Harper shooting 50%) over the last 10 games. All of the important players are off the injury report.

The Spurs are #1 in Offensive and Net Rating since February. Their defensive rating over that same stretch? That would be 2nd in the NBA. And according to this nifty, newly updated chart, these Spurs have officially passed the ‘Beautiful Game’ Spurs of 2014 in Net Rating for the season.

Even with a perfectly healthy Jokic, Gordon, and Murray, that might be too much to overcome, and I’m not confident that Jokic and Gordon are that kind of healthy.

Still, between the infamous Mile High Air and the cohesiveness of the Nuggets when they are all present, there’s a chance this could go down to the wire. It should certainly be entertaining.

I wouldn’t place any bets on the Nuggets, though. Especially with Victor likely to be hungry coming off of rest. This San Antonio team is something else.

And not only do they know it — they’ve been playing like it.

San Antonio Spurs (59-18) vs Denver Nuggets (49-28)

April 4th, 2026 | 2:00 PM CT

Watch: NBA on Amazon Prime/KENS| Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)

Spurs Injuries: None

Nuggets Injuries: Tim Hardaway Jr: Probable (Knee), Peyton Watson: Out (Hamstring), Spencer Jones: Out (Hamstring), Zeke Nnaji: Out (Hip)

Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic will miss the remainder of the regular NBA season with a hamstring injury.

The Slovenian, 27, had played himself into contention for the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award during an outstanding March in which he became only the 10th player in history to score 600 points in a single month.

But he will miss the final five regular season games after suffering a grade two strain of his left hamstring during Thursday's heavy loss to Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Lakers have not provided a timetable for Doncic's return after he had a scan on Friday - just two weeks before the start of the NBA play-offs on 18 April.

Doncic is the NBA's leading scorer this season with 2143 points for an unequalled average of 33.5 points per game.

However, having been sidelined for four games with a left hamstring strain earlier in the season, and missing two games to return to Slovenia for the birth of his daughter in December, Doncic is set to fall short of the minimum games threshold required to qualify for the NBA's major end-of-season awards.

Doncic, who is one appearance short of the 65 required, will apply for an "Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge", according to his agent Bill Duffy.

"This season, Luka Doncic has performed at a historic level, leading the league in scoring, carrying the Lakers to third place in the Western Conference and placing himself in the middle of one of the most tightly contested MVP races in memory," Duffy told ESPN.

"To ensure Luka's incredible accomplishments this season are rightly honoured and he can be considered for the league's end-of-season awards, we intend to apply for an 'Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge' to the 65-game rule."

Doncic was named March's player of the month following 13 consecutive 30-point performances which helped the Lakers to 13 wins in 14 games prior to the defeat by Thunder.

Rookie Flagg makes history in defeat

Cooper Flagg became the first teenager in NBA history to reach 50 points in a game - but that was not enough to earn the Dallas Mavericks victory against the Orlando Magic.

Flagg, 19, scored 51 points - including 24 in the fourth quarter - to surpass his previous career high of 49 in January.

But the 138-127 loss brought Dallas' 14th consecutive home defeat.

"It's always fun getting into that type of mode," Flagg said.

"The basket feels big. But I like to win. That was my main focus. It's hard for me to fully enjoy myself out there when we're down 20, down 10, down 15, for the majority of the game."

Dating back as far as the Players Era Festival in November, Michigan men's basketball has been one of the top programs in the country for a majority of the season.

The Wolverines strengthened that claim by rolling past their four opponents in the first two weekends of the Men's NCAA Tournament, highlighted by a colossal 33-point win over No. 6 Tennessee in the Elite Eight that came off from a 27-point performance from Yaxel Lendeborg.

So, is this the year that the Wolverines get over the hump and the season-long mission of being national champions with two wins at the Final Four?

Final Four odds: Expert picks to win March Madness

On part, because of its depth, experience and physicality inside the paint, Michigan has as good a chance as any of the four teams in Indianapolis to do that. Oddsmakers agree.

To get to their first national championship celebration since 1989, though, Dusty May's squad must get through a challenging No. 1 Arizona team with just as high a ceiling as Michigan and which brings as much physicality and presence around the rim as the Wolverines do.

Here's what to know on Michigan's history in the Final Four:

When was the last time Michigan went to Final Four?

It has been eight years since the Wolverines last reached the Final Four in 2018.

Dan Hurley has built quite the powerhouse at Connecticut in his eight seasons in the so-called "Basketball Capital of the World."

He's won a lot because of that, too.

The Jersey City, New Jersey native, who started out coaching high school basketball at St. Benedict's Prep, is widely considered as one of the top coaches in the country ... And perhaps of all-time. So, what are the numbers?

REQUIRED READING: Braylon Mullins is more than a big shot. He's been UConn's missing piece

Since taking over the Huskies program in 2018, Hurley has led the Huskies to a 198-74 overall record, back-to-back national championships in 2023 and 2024, a Big East tournament title and six straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

In the NCAA Tournament alone, the Huskies are an impressive 17-3 overall under him, and are the first team in over a decade to make the Final Four three times in a four-year span. His overall 19-5 NCAA Tournament record, which includes a few trips with Rhode Island, has him with the best winning percentage in March Madness among active coaches and third-best all-time with a minimum of 15 games.

The Huskies now look for their 18th NCAA Tournament win under Hurley on Saturday at 6:09 p.m. ET when they face No. 3 Illinois in the Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

For his success at UConn, Hurley is well compensated by the Huskies. Here's a look at Hurley's contract at UConn:

REQUIRED READING: Dan Hurley isn’t actually a jerk entering Final Four. He just plays one on TV | Opinion

Dan Hurley contract

Hurley signed a new six-year contract with UConn in July 2024, less than a month after he turned down a job offer in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers. His deal currently has another four years left on it, according to his contract obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

His contract extension in 2024 was his second in a span of a year, as he had signed an original six-year, $32.1 million contract extension following the Huskies' first of two back-to-back national championship titles.

"It's an honor to coach basketball at UConn and to represent this world-class institution and the great state of Connecticut," Hurley said in a statement at the time of his July 2024 contract extension. 

He is making a total of $8.025 million this season, making him one of the highest-paid coaches among public universities and colleges.

Dan Hurley bonuses

Hurley has already earned $475,000 in postseason bonuses for leading the Huskies back to the Final Four, according to his contract. He could also an addition $300,000 if UConn beats Illinois on Saturday, and then an addition $500,000 if the Huskies win it all.

All told, Hurley could earn up to a total of $1.275 million in postseason bonuses this season.

Dan Hurley buyout

Hurley's buyout is currently set at $3 million if he were to leave UConn, which was set for April 1. Should Hurley be fired by the Huskies with cause, his buyout is currently at just under $34.8 millon as of April 1.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dan Hurley contract: UConn coach's bonuses, buyout before Final Four