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By Cole Sullivan
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The UConn Huskies secured a hard-fought 71-62 victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday in the Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium, setting up a national championship showdown on Monday night against the Michigan Wolverines.
This marks the Huskies’ third national title game appearance in four years, a run led by head coach Dan Hurley, who has rejuvenated a historically rich program and returned it to blue-blood status in college basketball.
That said, UConn enters the championship as 7½-point underdogs and faces some uncertainty following the Illinois win. Hurley revealed that starting guard Solo Ball — one of the team’s leaders — is dealing with “some kind of foot sprain” and is currently in a boot. Ball is not expected to practice on Sunday, which will likely be a very light session given there’s only one day between games.
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Ball injured his foot early in the game against Illinois, but he was able to continue playing throughout the rest of the contest, including 16 minutes in the second half.
He finished with 13 points and played a crucial role down the stretch, including securing an offensive rebound with a four-point lead and just over a minute remaining — a play that quickly led to a Braylon Mullins three-pointer.
Ball has scored in double figures in each of the last three NCAA Tournament games and is averaging 12.9 points per game this season.
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Ball revealed that he’s leaving his status up to the training staff and will be preparing to play against Michigan — a role that will be critical if UConn hopes to pull off the upset.
“I’m leaving it up to the medical staff and doing everything I can to prepare for tomorrow,” Ball said.
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