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College basketball legend Jimmer Fredette reveals pick to win it all in NCAA Tournament
By Scott Thompson
Published April 04, 2026
The Final Four is set for Saturday night in Indianapolis with Michigan, Arizona, Illinois and UConn all fighting to reach Monday's national championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Only one of those four teams will emerge as NCAA Tournament champions, and one college basketball legend already has his pick for who will be cutting down the nets Monday night.
Jimmer Fredette, the BYU great who had his "One Shining Moment" in March Madness in 2011, has been following the intense games throughout the tournament to get to this point.
He knows exactly who he’s riding with the rest of the way.
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Former BYU basketball player Jimmer Fredette waves during a ceremony to retire his number at halftime of a game between the Cougars and the Colorado Buffaloes at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, on Feb. 14, 2026. (Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
"I honestly have Michigan right now. I have Michigan winning it all," he told Fox News Digital in a recent interview, highlighting his partnership with Coca-Cola and its "Fan Work Is Thirsty Work" campaign for the tournament.
It’s hard not to love everything the No. 1 seed out of the Midwest Region has been putting together in this tournament. The Wolverines, led by head coach Dusty May in his second season, have dominated the competition they’ve faced.
Michigan has won by double digits in each of their four tournament games, including a rout of No. 6 Tennessee, 95-62, in the Elite Eight to secure a spot in the Final Four. The Wolverines are led by forward Yaxel Lendeborg, who averaged 15.2 points this season but is scoring 25 per contest in the tournament.
"I just think their length and their size is so unique," Fredette explained. "They can play multiple different ways, but that just poses a real problem for people, especially in the tournament.
"It’s hard to game plan on a single-game basis. Obviously, they haven’t lost many games this year, and if they did lose a game, they were very close. You know that when you’re playing against them, it’s going to be a fight. It’s going to be a battle."
Fredette added that May previously coaching in the Final Four with Florida Atlantic University in 2023 will be a key factor for the Wolverines.
Yaxel Lendeborg of the Michigan Wolverines reacts after being fouled and scoring during the second half of an NCAA Tournament Elite Eight game against the Tennessee Volunteers at the United Center in Chicago March 29, 2026. Michigan won 95-62. (Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
But Arizona, the No. 1 seed out of the West Region, could match up well against Michigan Saturday night. While Michigan has lost just three games this season, the Wildcats have only lost two in a tough Big 12 Conference schedule.
The way Fredette sees it, this Final Four matchup is basically a national championship matchup before the actual game.
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"Arizona’s playing great right now," he said. "In my opinion, that’s kind of a national championship matchup with those two teams. They’re big, they’re long, they’re athletic. They’re playing great basketball. But you never know."
As for the other matchup — No. 2 UConn, coming off a thrilling end to upset No. 1 Duke, and No. 3 Illinois — Fredette also has a winner there.
"Obviously, UConn and Illinois are both playing well. I think Illinois, in my opinion, is going to beat UConn, and I think it’s going to be Illinois and Michigan in the final, and Michigan winning it all. So, we’ll see. I’ll probably be completely wrong. That’s how it works in this tournament. But that’s what I see right now, and Michigan’s playing some of the best basketball you can play."
3x3 basketball athlete Jimmer Fredette speaks during the Team USA Media Summit at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on April 17, 2024. (Dustin Satloff/Getty Images for the USOPC)
As Fredette said, the tournament finds a way to make the craziest things happen on a basketball court, living up to the March Madness moniker.
It will be UConn-Illinois to begin the festivities in Indianapolis Saturday night at 6:09 p.m. ET, followed by Michigan-Arizona.
THE PERFECT CUP FOR MARCH
From buzzer-beaters to overtime thrillers, this year’s men’s tournament has had it all in terms of intense, edge-of-your-seat basketball. But that can be thirsty work for fans across the country, which is why Coca-Cola launched its "Fan Work is Thirsty Work" campaign, which celebrates the fans behind the tournament’s Cinderella stories.
Who doesn’t love the feel-good, Cinderella story of the tournament? While there may be top seeds still left in the bracket, moments like High Point upsetting Wisconsin in the first round, VCU shocking UNC in overtime and others have truly powered this year’s fun in March.
The Coca-Cola Glass Sipper is a real size 11 basketball sneaker-shaped cup meant to embrace March Madness in this year's tournament. (Coca-Cola)
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Coca-Cola introduced the Coca-Cola Glass Sipper, an ode to the famous children’s story that is a custom size 11 basketball sneaker-shaped cup to celebrate the team and fan base whose tournament journey most defies expectations.
"That’s what March Madness is all about. It’s about the energy, and that’s what Coca-Cola wants to have in their campaign," Fredette said. "They want to capture how much fans put into every game, and, for me, I love the fans.
"I love playing in front of packed crowd. They were rowdy, they had such loyalty to their schools, and that obviously transitions into the March Madness tournament. Everyone is a part of it because everyone fills out a bracket. They want to see the Cinderella stories. They want to see their brackets go well, [and] they want to pick the right Cinderella. Coke wants to capture that."
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