Several college basketball players at the men’s Final Four in Indianapolis, Indiana, discussed their faith with the media.

Arizona Wildcats star Koa Peat said sharing the Gospel is his “purpose.”

“Without faith, I’m nothing. So I’ve been really faithful since a young child. My dad was a pastor,” Peat said.

“I don’t think basketball is really my purpose. I think being able to have this platform to spread the Gospel is really my purpose,” he continued.

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UConn Huskies star Tarris Reed Jr. was asked about the significance of playing on Resurrection Weekend.

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“The resurrection is literally everything. That’s like the staple of Christianity,” he said.

“Without the resurrection, there is no Christianity,” he continued.

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“I read the Bible every single day, and it’s just a part of who I am and who I’m becoming,” Michigan Wolverines guard Nimari Burnett said.

“It leads me to walk a Christ-led life and just to love everyone around me,” he added.

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Watch inspiring messages from other players for all four teams (Michigan Wolverines, UConn Huskies, Arizona Wildcats, Illinois Fighting Illini):

Michigan faces UConn for the national championship on Monday night, with the Huskies returning to the title game after winning championships in 2023 and 2024.

“Faith is taking center stage as the UConn Huskies take on the Michigan Wolverines in tonight’s NCAA men’s national championship game,” Fox News wrote.

“Both locker rooms are opening up about their relationship with Jesus — and how it’s shaped their lives to this point,” it added.

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More from the Associated Press:

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Michigan has been scoring over and swatting down opponents at a record rate during March Madness.

For the Wolverines to go down as one of college basketball’s best ever, they’ll have to do it one more time by taking down a UConn program seeking its third national title in four seasons.

The teams meet Monday night in the NCAA championship game, bringing down the curtain on a March Madness full of surprises and fun — and highlighted by two finalists that have been shooting for history in their own distinct ways.

At Michigan, a roster freshly constructed out of last year’s transfer portal, has become the first team to score 90-plus points in five straight tournament games in the same season. On the other end, 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara leads a defense that amassed eight or more blocks in the first four games of the tournament — the first time that’s happened since blocks became an official stat in the 1980s.

The Wolverines (36-3) had only three swats against Arizona, but that was a 91-73 win in a game that was supposed to be the best of the tournament but turned into something else. Michigan is trying to become the fifth team to win six tournament games by a dozen or more. The last two: the UConn title teams in 2023 and ’24.

 

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