Believe it! After a wild March Madness, Final Four teams look to conjure up more magic

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — There was the scene of lovable courtside TV analyst Bill Raftery genuinely shocked as he tried to comprehend what had just unfolded before him. Moments later, there was the scene of UConn coach Dan Hurley's mom — no professional lip readers needed — also not quite believing that shot went in.

The kid who took the shot — Braylon Mullins — not only earned UConn a trip to the Final Four, but bought himself a ticket home to play in it. He grew up right outside of Indianapolis, where it seems a new hoops star is born every minute if never quite like this.

Those who believe college sports is losing its heart — being overtaken by money and negotiations and boardrooms — are not all wrong; this is not the same game your father, or even your older sister, grew up watching.

But the shot that filled out the bracket for the Final Four — Michigan, Arizona, Illinois and, yes, UConn, all of whom were in town Thursday to start college basketball's biggest celebration — was one of many reminders over the past month that there's some magic left in those nets.

Quite a lot of it, in fact.

“I spent time back on the flight back, and on the drive from the airport to the house, I was saying to Andrea, ‘Pinch me,'” Hurley said, talking about his conversation with his wife, after bringing the Huskies two wins way from their third title in four years. “It is so hard to do what we have been able to do, historical level things. She said, ‘Can I slap you instead of pinch you?’”

Sure, Hurley seems slappable sometimes, but that's part of the fun of college basketball, too. Hurley. Mick Cronin. Tom Izzo. Was there ever a great Final Four that didn't have one guy in a suit (or pullover) lording over the media room, ranting in the locker room or pointing fingers on one of those sidelines?

For a more heartwarming story, check out 62-year-old coach Brad Underwood, a lifelong grinder with junior college roots who always dreamed of coaching Illinois — yes, Illinois — and now has that program, a Big Ten stalwart but never a consistent powerhouse, at the Final Four for the first time in 21 years.

“Every player, every coach, dreams of this,” said Underwood, whose stopping points on his coaching journey — Dodge City, Kansas, Macomb, Illinois, Daytona Beach, Florida — look more like a Greyhound bus schedule than the road to the Final Four. “It's taken me 39 years, and I'm going to enjoy the moment.”

There are no Cinderellas lacing it up at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indy this week, but that's not to say the 2026 version of March Madness hasn't produced its share of memories already:

— There was Dylan Darling's layup with no time left — a genuine buzzer beater — to help St. John's defeat Kansas in the second round.

— There was Iowa's second-round upset over top-seeded and defending national champion Florida thanks to a 3-pointer from Alvaro Folgueiras with 4.5 seconds left.

— There was Vanderbilt's Tyler Tanner hucking up a shot from behind halfcourt at the buzzer, only to watch it bound twice inside the hoop before rimming out, denying the Commodores a win over Nebraska and a moment for the ages.

— High Point, the No. 12 seed in the West, beat Wisconsin and then its coach, Flynn Clayman, punctuated that victory by saying the Panthers really were better than a 12, but nobody would know it because “nobody would play us.”

After UConn plays Illinois in the first semifnal Saturday night comes a battle of big schools with big talent and all the big expectations.

Up to nine future NBA players populate the rosters of Arizona and Michigan. Given the current state of the game, all are assuredly making big money right now, with the prospect of more to come. But there's only one March Madness.

And if the leadup to this year's Final Four has taught us anything, there is still a lot of heart in the big business that college sports has become.

Take, for instance, another viral clip from the past week — this one from the baby monitor perched above Aiden Maracigan's crib. It catches the 20-month-old toddler chanting “U of A. U of A." Turns out, there still are a few things money can't buy.

“It's awesome to see that people are so excited and care so much,” said Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd, who is leading the program back to the Final Four for the first time in 25 years. “What makes my job really cool is people care. People care both ways, and it brings people together and makes people emotional.”

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness