Dakota Johnson says she once failed an audition by being polite: 'I was like: What?’

IsDakota Johnsontoo friendly to be an actress? She thinks that's true in at least one case.

"I had an audition once, and it was a callback, and I went into the room, and I shook everyone's hand and introduced myself. Then I did the scene, and I left," Johnson toldHits Radio. "The feedback I got was that because I had gone and introduced myself and shook everyone's hand is that I was pompous. That I was schmoozing, and I was full of myself."

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TheFifty Shades of Greyactress was perplexed.

"I was like: 'What?' I didn't get the job because they said that I was being cocky," she recalled. "But I just had manners… It was pretty crazy."

The actress has since enjoyed much more positive developments in her career, including not just playing Anastasia Steele toJamie Dornan'sChristian Grey inFifty Shades of Grey, but movies such asMaterialists,Splitsville, andHow to Be Single.

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Johnson has noted that she'd like toportray a psychopathand do an action movie in the future.

"I'm open to anything," she told reporters in July at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic, perVariety. "Certain things [just have] to align."

And that goes beyond acting. Johnson, the daughter of Oscar-nominated actressMelanie Griffithand Emmy-nominated actorDon Johnson, is also a producer through her TeaTime Pictures. Her producing credits also includeAm I Okay?andDaddio.

"So much of why I wanted to start a production company and make my own movies is because I want more from this industry," Johnson told Variety. "I want more from my experience as an artist. I felt so thirsty for more conversation and more creativity and more collaboration. I found myself as an actor, a few times, showing up to the premiere of a movie to see it the first time and saying, 'Woah. That is not what I thought we were making.'"

She described that as "such a weird thing to do."

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March 30, 2026

Dakota Johnson says she once failed an audition by being polite: 'I was like: What?’

IsDakota Johnsontoo friendly to be an actress? She thinks that's true in at least one case. "I had an...

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Below Deck Down Under Season 4 Episode 9 Recap: Ben Loses Control of His Galley

Welcome back,Below Deck Down Underfans!Last week, Ellie angrily flew out of the galley, hellbent on throwing Ben under the bus with Captain Jason. Elsewhere, Mike also grew annoyed, but his problems were with Alesia. But now, things are falling further apart for both of these pairings on BDDU Season 4 Episode 9.

What happened in Below Deck Down Under Season 4 Episode 9?

Ben and Ellie clashover a dinner service. Even though Ellie loves hierarchy, she refuses to respect Ben, so Daisy and Captain Jason have no choice but to intervene. Meanwhile, Daisy also has to scold certain members of her team. Unfortunately, their mistakes in the interior are starting to add up.

Ellie runs to Captain Jason

Ellie sees only red, not her guests. One of these guests, Sofia, tells Ellie, "Hey." But, Ellie remains on hermission to reach Captain Jason, so she quickly snaps back, "Sorry, can't do it right now." Ameerah, another guest, sarcastically responds, "Okay?"

Finally, Ellie reaches the sundeck. She calls out Ben's communication skills and pet-naming patterns. Captain Jason thought they were doing well, so he's confused, as is Ben.

"With no inkling of prior unhappiness, this is all coming as a big, big shock to me," Ben admits. Back on the sundeck, Captain Jason tells Ellie, "You've got boundaries, and you need to communicate with him."

In his talking head, Captain Jason also blames Ellie for losing her cool "ten minutes before dinner." He will "monitor this" situation. Ellie returns to the galley, where Ben notes his weariness "working around" her energy. "I've worked around your energy every single day, Ben," Ellie angrily refutes, adding, "Get over it."

"Never in my entire life have I seen somebody go at their boss in the galley like this," Daisy admits. This is fair but has Daisy had a boss who refuses to address people by their names?

Mike drops the ball

"Let's be extra vigilant on toilet paper, and also the side cabinets,"Alesia tells Mike. Several beats later, Daisy reminds Alesia to place flowers, champagne, and red wine in the primary suite.

Back in the galley, Ben asks João for help, but Ellie argues, "No, that's my job, and I'll do my job. We're not doing that. You're not going to do this sh*t to me. I don't accept that, ever again."

Jenna remains frustrated with Alesia, but Ellie is the second female to feel uncomfortable around Ben, she notes. Speaking of Alesia, she reminds Mike to "do the day head." So, Mike pops off in his confessional.

"Alesia's younger than me, she's a lot less mature than everybody on this boat, and she's already failed in the galley. So, it gets under my skin when Alesia tries to delegate," Mike reasons. "I don't need the extra management," he states, right as Alesia explains in her talking head, "Mike needs management."

Alesia asks Mike to take the wine, flowers, and champagne to the primary cabin. Mike says okay, but then he heads downstairs and loudly chugs water instead. Clay enters his cabin, confused. Clay finds Jenna, kindly reminding her about his preferences.

Jenna scolds Mike. Daisy is also upset. This was a major f*ck up for her team.

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Ben gets "frazzled" by Ellie

Ben owns his behaviors. But Ellie sternly asserts that her "reaction was justified because you were belittling me. And I stood up for myself, which I will continue doing." Ben asks Ellie to go to bed, but Ellie remains heated.

"Daisy, she's going crazy on Ben," Mike whispers. Daisy heads downstairs, just in time to hear Ellie threatening Ben with a "Don't try me" statement. She sends Ellie to bed, but even as Ellie exits, she warns Ben that she will react like this again if needed.

Ben sends Captain Jason a Mayday text. In the morning, Captain Jason calls Daisy to the wheelhouse. Ellie is more to blame, Daisy admits. Ben heads in after, and he and Captain Jason agree to reassess things in 48 hours.

Ben's guests (understandably) hate their "watery," "gross," eggs. He is messing up, since he feels "frazzled" by Ellie. However this is no excuse for a "professional" chef. Captain Jason pulls Ellie in for a chat.

In the wheelhouse, Ellie explains that Ben "kept jabbing" at her, so she snapped. She "went a little too far," though,Captain Jason clocks. He calls out her "swearing, yelling," and "storming past the guests" antics. Ellie will do better, but Ben needs to as well, she answers.

Captain Jason lays down the law

The primary charter guests, Clay and Marc, are renewing their vows tonight on the sundeck. As Eddy and Jenna set the scene, their flirtations resume. Jenna "might be over" their issues now.

But she's not over Mike. He's moving slowly, which makes Jenna mad. Mike likes ribbing Jenna, so he starts winding her up even more. Daisy inserts herself, yelling, "Jenna and Mike, let's go!"

Captain Jason practices his officiating role using Daisy and João as his stand-ins. They giggle, and it's perhaps the only fun part of this episode, minus Marc and Clay's extra-precious wedding ceremony.

In the morning, Daisy finds a cleaning cloth in one of the rooms. Alesia blames Mike, but the cameras show it was actually her. The guests depart.

Captain Jason calls Ellie and Ben to the wheelhouse. "Where this has got tois not acceptable. We're trying to get a job done, so I think you guys need to have a chat now and understand that, emotionally, [Ellie] wants respect there. I want to see a result, and if you have a problem with that, we make changes," he demands, as the words TO BE CONTINUED appear on the screen.

Below Deck Down Underis streaming on Peacock. BDDU airs on Mondays at 8/7c on Bravo.

TELL US – DID YOU WATCH BELOW DECK DOWN UNDER SEASON 4 EPISODE 9? WILL BEN AND ELLIE'S CHAT BE PRODUCTIVE? WHO IS IN THE WRONG, ALESIA OR MIKE?

The postBelow Deck Down Under Season 4 Episode 9 Recap: Ben Loses Control of His Galleyappeared first onReality Tea.

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March 30, 2026

Below Deck Down Under Season 4 Episode 9 Recap: Ben Loses Control of His Galley

Welcome back,Below Deck Down Underfans!Last week, Ellie angrily flew out of the galley, hellbent on throwing Ben under the bus with Captain...

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“Days of Our Lives ”adds “General Hospital ”star Sofia Mattsson

Like sands through the hourglass, another major player in daytime TV is passing fromsoapto soap.

Sofia Mattsson, who originated the character Sasha Gilmore onGeneral Hospitalin 2018before departing in 2025, is officially making the leap toDays of Our Lives, a representative for the show confirmed toEntertainment Weeklyon Monday.

Mattsson and the officialDaysInstagram account jointlyshared the newson the platform on Monday. "Sofia Mattsson is making her way to Salem early next year!" the caption read, over a picture of Mattsson pointing to a dressing room door with her name on it, above the iconicDayshourglass logo.

Mattsson is expected to make her first appearance onDaysin 2027.

Across eight years onGeneral Hospital, Mattsson turned the shy Sasha Gilmore into a major force in the show's fictional Port Charles, N.Y. The daughter of a spy turned district attorney and a con woman, Sasha turned up in 2018 reeling from her volatile upbringing by the conniving Holly Sutton-Scorpio, portrayed on-and-off by Emma Samms for 40 years.

But the tragedy train didn't stop once it reached Port Charles, though it did veer in a more off-kilter direction. Sasha battled drug addiction, lost her one-month-old child, was targeted by a serial killer, was robbed via secret gambling by her mother-in-law Gladys (Bonnie Burroughs), and was involuntarily committed to a mental institution — where her therapist tried to kill her.

It is not yet clear who Mattsson will play onDays of Our Lives, or whether it will lead to a calmer or even more hectic screen life for the actress.

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But fans have a few educated guesses on which character Mattsson might be up for — if she isn't originating another new character.

Some believe that Mattsson's entrée to the show's fictional setting of Salem, Ill. may mark a return of a beloved character killed off in 2022. That would be Abigail Devereaux, most recently portrayed by Marci Miller to three Emmy nominations.

Still others can't help but notice the timing of Mattsson's hiring being announced just days after Marissa Reyes' last turn as Arianna Horton.

Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with ourEW Dispatch newsletter.

Whoever she plays, Mattsson is joining one of the starriest casts in the soap business, led by the legendaryDeidre Hall, who has portrayed Marlena Evans with a few brief breaks since 1976.

Hall was recentlysingled out for praiseby none other then Ryan Gosling, star of the highest grossing movie of 2026 thus far,Project Hail Mary. Reynolds called Hall his "OG acting inspiration," leading her toinvite him to playonDays, to which Gosling responded with "a very enthusiastic yes."

Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly

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“Days of Our Lives ”adds “General Hospital ”star Sofia Mattsson

Like sands through the hourglass, another major player in daytime TV is passing fromsoapto soap. Sofia Mattsso...

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Mexican immigrant died in US immigration custody, ICE says, marking 14 deaths in 2026

By Ted Hesson

WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - A Mexican immigrant died in U.S. immigration custody in Los Angeles on March 25, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said on Monday, marking at least 14 deaths in ‌ICE custody in 2026 and prompting criticism from the Mexican government.

Jose Guadalupe Ramos was found unconscious and unresponsive ‌in his bunk by security staff at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, ICE said in a press release. The staff called on-site medical personnel ​and he was transferred to an area hospital where he was declared dead, ICE said.

U.S. President Donald Trump launched a mass deportation effort after taking office in 2025, pledging to detain and deport millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. The number of immigrants in ICE detention has reached record levels, with 68,000 locked up as of early February.

Opponents have criticized the detentions ‌as overly punitive and potentially deadly. At ⁠least 31 people died in ICE detention in 2025, a two-decade high, and the current pace could eclipse that.

ICE said it arrested Ramos in Torrance, California, on February 23. He was convicted ⁠of possession of a controlled substance and theft of personal property in 2025, ICE said. ICE said an initial health screening when he was taken into custody showed diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension.

Ramos' death was the fourth of a detainee held at Adelanto since ​Trump ​took office. The other three were also Mexican men.

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Mexico's foreign ministry ​said it would file a legal brief in ‌support of a lawsuit brought by detainees alleging poor conditions at the detention center, including inadequate medical care, unsanitary conditions and punitive use of isolation. The ministry will also raise the issue of immigration detainee deaths to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

During a press conference at the Mexican consulate in Los Angeles, Mexican diplomat Vanessa Calva Ruiz said the latest death was part of "an alarming, unacceptable trend" since Trump took office in 2025.

"These deaths reveal systemic failures, operational deficiencies and ‌possible negligence," she said.

A U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson defended conditions ​in ICE detention and said that only a small number of detainees ​had died relative to the total population.

Bed space ​had rapidly expanded in detention centres and there was now a higher standard of care than ‌most prisons that hold U.S. citizens, including access to ​proper medical care, the spokesperson ​said in a statement.

While ICE has not published official detention statistics in March, the number of people in custody dropped to about 60,000 as of last week, a source familiar with the matter said, requesting anonymity to ​share internal figures.

A Republican-backed spending bill passed ‌in 2025 gave ICE a massive funding increase that allows the agency to detain more than 100,000 ​people at any given time.

(Reporting by Ted Hesson; Additional reporting by Kristina Cooke in San Francisco; Editing ​by Chizu Nomiyama, Rod Nickel, David Gregorio and Michael Perry)

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Mexican immigrant died in US immigration custody, ICE says, marking 14 deaths in 2026

By Ted Hesson WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - A Mexican immigrant died in U.S. immigration custody in Los Ang...

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'You know the drill': Iran takes on Trump on social media

America's poster-in-chief has a new challenger.

While most Iranians are barred from the internet, one of the country's rising hard-line figures is using social mediato take on President Donald Trump.

Parliament SpeakerMohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, 64, is adopting an increasingly Trumpian approach to wartime communication, posting English-language snark and memes in an apparent attempt to counter Trump's influence on news coverage and financial markets.

Ghalibaf, who is a decade and a half younger than Trump, favors a snappier, less all-caps style than Trump, who has posteda staggering 6,800 Truth Social messagesin the past year.

Iran and its supporters are making a wider push in a growing information war, flooding the internet with memes and AI-generated content faking attacks on American bases. State media has even got in on the act, taunting Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Heads-up," Ghalibaf told his almost half-million followers Sunday on X. The "pre-market so-called 'news' or 'Truth' is often just a setup for profit-taking," he said, his latest accusation thatTrump's posts on Truth Social are a concerted effort to move markets, eitherfor profitor to stem the war's impact on surging energy prices.

The U.S. government has strongly denied allegations ofinsider trading.

Ghalibaf urged followers to "do the opposite" of what Trump's messages indicate if they, too, want to turn a profit.

"If they pump it, short it. If they dump it, go long," he said. "You know the drill."

In a more succinct caption, Ghalibaf posted a picture earlier Sunday, was geolocated by NBC News, that shows an American airborne warning and control system (or AWACS) aircraft with its rear blown off at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

Alongside the picture of the ruined plane, Ghalibaf wrote: "sustained only minor damage," with three emojis conveying the "just a little bit" pinching hand gesture. Initial reports had indicated the plane sustained minor damage in an Iranian attack.

Ghalibaf has risen to greater prominence afterthe assassinations of a phalanx of his fellow top officialsin Israeli-U.S. airstrikes. Among them was the late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, creating a power vacuum largely filled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a powerful paramilitary, political and economic group.

Ghalibaf came through the ranks of the guard himself and is believed to be among the inner circle ofMojtaba Khamenei, the ayatollah's son and successor. The younger Khamenei has not appeared in person after Iran said he too was injured in strikes.

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According to Trump, it was Ghalibaf who allowed 20 oil tankers to pass through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz. "He's the one who authorized the ships to me," Trump told the Financial Times newspaper.

But in public, Ghalibaf has been far more hostile to Trump and his forces.

In a message Sunday marking 30 days since the start of the war, he said Iran was "waiting for American soldiers to enter on the ground so they can set them ablaze."

Meanwhile, he has accused Trump of trying to "jawbone" the oil market, using public statements and social media to reassure investors and prevent further price rises.

Other posts included his likening the "No Kings" marches across American cities this weekend to the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

"Welcome to the party we started 47 years ago," he wrote. "This is the people of Iran, and we approve this message."

And he has ridiculed Trump's apparently shifting war aims, suggesting that his goals have now narrowed to reopening the Strait of Hormuz — which was the case before the U.S. and Israel started bombing.

"They're playing 6D chess again!" Ghalibaf wrote alongside three clapping emojis.

Trump has been more active than ever on social media in his second term, including posting lengthy all-caps screeds offering vacillating updates on the war.

Not long before markets were due to open Monday, Trump hailed what he said was "great progress" in talks, though he also threatened to obliterate Iran's civilian water and energy infrastructure if a deal isn't reached soon. Ghalibaf and other Iranian officials have frequently denied such progress.

Though Ghalibaf is seen as a relative hard-liner, he has never been afraid to adapt his message to his audience.

"Ghalibaf exhibits a dual posture — pragmatic when engaging pragmatic counterparts and hard-line when confronting hard-line adversaries," Ali Alfoneh, a senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute, a Washington-based think tank, told NBC News last week.

He is among 1% of Iranians currently able to use the internet, according to the monitoring group NetBlocks.

Only "regime apparatchiks are allowed online," NetBlocks said.

byCosmopolite

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March 30, 2026

'You know the drill': Iran takes on Trump on social media

America's poster-in-chief has a new challenger. While most Iranians are barred from the internet, one of th...

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Attack on Michigan synagogue was Hezbollah-inspired 'act of terrorism,' FBI says

By Jasper Ward

WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - The FBI said on Monday that an attack on the largest Jewish temple in Michigan earlier this month ‌was an "act of terrorism" inspired by Hezbollah.

Ayman Ghazali, a 41-year-old man ‌who was born in Lebanon and became a U.S. citizen in 2016, killed himself during the March ​12 attack, when he crashed his truck into the Temple of Israel synagogue before opening fire on security guards and causing an explosion using fireworks, said Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Detroit field office.

No one else ‌died during the attack on ⁠the synagogue where children were attending preschool.

Ghazali consumed pro-Hezbollah ideology prior to the attack, said Runyan, but the FBI has not been ⁠able to verify if he was a member of Hezbollah. There is no evidence that he had co-conspirators, Runyan said.

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Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was founded by Iran's elite Islamic ​Revolutionary Guard ​Corps in 1982. Both Hezbollah and the ​IRGC are designated as foreign ‌terrorist organizations by the U.S. The U.S. and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28.

"Had this man lived, I am convinced that my office would prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed the federal crime of providing material support to Hezbollah," said Jerome Borgen, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of ‌Michigan.

Runyan said the day before the synagogue attack ​Ghazali started sharing photos on social media of Iranian ​Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ​who was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes last month. Then, on the day ‌of the attack, while sitting in ​the parking lot of ​the Temple of Israel, Ghazali told his sister in a message that he planned "to commit a mass terrorist attack."

Antisemitic incidents have spiked in recent years ​in the U.S., with anti-Jewish ‌incidents accounting for nearly two-thirds of 5,300-plus religiously motivated hate crimes ​since February 2024, according to FBI data.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; ​Editing by Michelle Nichols and Bill Berkrot)

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March 30, 2026

Attack on Michigan synagogue was Hezbollah-inspired 'act of terrorism,' FBI says

By Jasper Ward WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - The FBI said on Monday that an attack on the largest Jewish te...

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Illinois' defense, net efficiency of top seeds Michigan and Arizona stand out entering Final Four

Offense had stood out all season for Illinois, only for the defense to step up inMarch Madness.

APTOPIX NCAA Purdue Arizona Basketball

Arizona and Michigan have been part of college basketball's top tier all year with elite play at both ends of the court, and they've been even sharper at the offensive end in the NCAA Tournament.

Now that trio joins UConnfor this week's Final Fourin Indianapolis. The Huskies and Illini meet in Saturday's first semifinal, followed by the Wolverines and Wildcats.

All four teams rank in the overall top 10 of data-driven college basketball rankings forKenPom,Evan MiyakawaandBart Torvikgoing into the Final Four. That includes the Wolverines and Wildcats ranking 1-2 for all three currently, as well as posting some of KenPom's best net-efficiency rankings ever recorded.

Illini's defense

Illinois (28-8) entered the NCAA tourney ranked second in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency by averaging 131.2 points per 100 possessions while ranking just 28th in defense (99.1). Yet the South Region champion's defense has allowed .976 points per possession in the NCAA Tournament to lead the remaining four teams.

"We've been very good throughout the season at times," coach Brad Underwood said before theregional final win against Iowa. "We just haven't been that consistent."

Illinois allowedPenn,VCU,Houstonand Iowa to score on just 41.2% of their possessions.The Illini also dominated the glass(plus-16.3 per game) to grab the rebounds that completed those defensive stops.

They've done it all with the nation's tallest roster, with seven players from Saturday's eight-man rotation standing 6-foot-6 or taller. That has includedan influx of European talent, including Croatian twins Tomislav (7-1) and Zvonimir Ivisic (7-2), as well as 6-9 forward David Mirkovic from Montenegro. The outlier among that big lineup, 6-2 senior guard Kylan Boswell, is a strong backcourt defender.

UConn (33-5), meanwhile, has scored on 52.2% of its possessions going back to the second-round win against UCLA, with a high of 54%in Sunday's comeback from 19 down to shock top overall tournament seed Duke.

Terrence Oglesby, an analyst with ESPN and Field of 68, pointed to the Illini's ability to play in the gaps to disrupt offenses trying to move the ball and space the floor to create mismatches or lanes.

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"Positionally, they're just elite on top of being massive," said Oglesby, a former Clemson player. "You go to the Balkans to grab all these guys, and they're huge and they've also been well coached coming all the way up. ... The good part about being pretty gap-heavy is the fact that if you're huge, you can still get out to shooters."

Offensive flow

Michigan (35-3) has the most efficient offense of the Final Four teams, averaging 1.361 points per possession in tournament wins overHoward,Saint Louis,AlabamaandTennesseeto edge Arizona's similar average (1.341).

The Midwest Region champion became the first team to score 90 points in every game through to the Elite Eight since UConn did it in 1995 before falling 102-96 to eventual champion UCLA. Dusty May's Wolverines are shooting 55.9% through four games, including 44.6% (45 of 101) from 3-point range, and have scored on 60.4% of their tournament possessions.

Before the Sweet 16 win against Alabama, guard Roddy Gayle Jr. said May's system allows the Wolverines to play "super free."

"He does a lot of free-flow offense," star Yaxel Lendeborg said. "He has certain sets, but the sets aren't necessarily for shots. It's just for movement, just to get the defense out of their shell, and then attack off those mistakes."

Net efficiency

The Wolverines' semifinal against fellow 1-seed Arizona (36-2) will pair teams with all-time great KenPom efficiency metrics.

KenPom bases efficiency on points scored or allowed over a standardized 100-possession pace to eliminate tempo as a factor. Overall rankings are determined by net efficiency in terms of how much a team's offensive data outpaces its defensive numbers.

Michigan currently leads the country at plus-39.02 after the regionals, followed by Arizona at plus-38.76. By comparison, only two teams have finished a season with higher KenPom numbers going back to the 1996-97 season: Duke in 1998-99 (plus-43.01) and Duke last year (plus-39.29).

"These are these massive teams that also have enough shooting. but they've leaned into the everything else," Oglesby said. "They've leaned into the controllable aspects: rebounding, being big, being physical. ... I wouldn't say that the championship game is Michigan and Arizona, but those two teams have just been a freight train going through."

Neither of those high-efficiency Duke teams managed to cut down the nets. The firstlost to UConn in the title gameand the secondfell a year ago to Houstonin a late collapse in the national semifinals.

What's ahead

The season's final three games will pair strength-on-strength in the halfcourt.The four teams have played man defense on 97.3% of their combined halfcourt possessions, according to Synergy. Arizona, Michigan and UConn all rated as "excellent" in the 91st percentile or better, while Illinois is rated "very good" in the 81st percentile.Yet Synergy rates all of those teams as "excellent" in running halfcourt offense against man defense, with Illinois (97th percentile) and Michigan (96th) as the best.The key for Saturday could be which teams can get out in transition to avoid tussling with set halfcourt defenses. That could favor Illinois (97th percentile) and Arizona (94th) as the top teams in transition offense with "excellent" ratings from Synergy.___AP March Madness bracket:https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracketand coverage:https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

The season's final three games will pair strength-on-strength in the halfcourt.

The four teams have played man defense on 97.3% of their combined halfcourt possessions, according to Synergy. Arizona, Michigan and UConn all rated as "excellent" in the 91st percentile or better, while Illinois is rated "very good" in the 81st percentile.

Yet Synergy rates all of those teams as "excellent" in running halfcourt offense against man defense, with Illinois (97th percentile) and Michigan (96th) as the best.

The key for Saturday could be which teams can get out in transition to avoid tussling with set halfcourt defenses. That could favor Illinois (97th percentile) and Arizona (94th) as the top teams in transition offense with "excellent" ratings from Synergy.

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

byCosmopolite

in

March 30, 2026

Illinois' defense, net efficiency of top seeds Michigan and Arizona stand out entering Final Four

Offense had stood out all season for Illinois, only for the defense to step up inMarch Madness. APTOPIX NCA...

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