The Final Four — March Madness

In an NCAA tournament that was filled with chaos, chalk eventually won out on the right side of the bracket, as two No. 1 seeds will face off in the Final Four.

“This tournament’s a insane tournament”.

“The underdog mentally, they may have it”. CBS asked over 100 coaches which high-major coach they believed “does everything by the book and operates completely within the NCAA’s rulebook”. That’s why they’re in that position. “We said, what do we got to do to beat Miami, and then it was the next game, and then it was the next game”.

Villanova might have seem more worthy of a spot alongside the Blue Devils, Tar Heels, Jayhawks and Kentucky Wildcats to the causal fan had it not been for some upsets as a single-digit seed in the tournament.

Loyola of Chicago, Michigan, Villanova and Kansas will do battle next Saturday and Monday at the Alamodome in San Antonio to determine the 2018 NCAA champion.

The Ramblers have Sister Jean, too.

“I know”, she said. She was a principal, coach and teacher at several schools in California and IL. I have great respect for the Nuns. The ideal scenario is all four No. 1 seeds duking it out in the national semifinals and the survivors of those games going at it for the sport’s ultimate prize. An additional $1,000 is given if their team reaches the National Championship.

“He’s our rock”, said guard Donte DiVincenzo, who scored eight points. “We keep playing for each other”. “So to be able to share that moment with him was actually real fun”. Plus, the Jayhawk’s possess a backcourt full of elite talent, which will prove risky for other teams.

According to oddsmakers at YouWager, Michigan is the favorite in this game, as the Wolverines are getting odds of -5 points against Loyola (Chicago). All four teams will play that night, with the first matchup, between Villanova and the Midwest victor, tipping off at 6:09 p.m. ET. The lowest-seeded team to win the championship was 1985 Villanova, a No. 8 seed.

Loyola-Chicago has become the clear darlings of the NCAA tournament, an 11-seed making an enchanted run to the Final Four, winning their first three games by four points before blowing out Kansas State in the Elite Eight. Jay Wright’s team is always great during the regular season, but for some reason once the tournament starts, they have a habit of forgetting how to play basketball. They are excellent at squeezing teams to death once they have leads, especially if they can create a snowball effect if they are hitting from three – i.e., the Texas A&M blowout. Our guys take pride in that. “We just take everything one day at a time and we stay connected through it all”.

Most Cinderella stories die before the Elite Eight, so the Ramblers have already etched their names in history.

The Villanova Wildcats are going to the Final Four for the second time in three years.

MI will have to keep its confidence if it wants to beat Loyola-Chicago, a team that has proved it belongs to be in this final stage of the hunt for the national title. “Just really trying to stick together”. Their stats may not line up to Villanova’s, but Kansas is a team that knows how to get it done when it counts.

Villanova quickly fell behind 7-0 and trailed 9-1 – the largest deficit the Wildcats had faced in the tournament. The freshman transfer finished the game with 32 to lead all scorers. Derrick Walton Jr., who willed MI to the Sweet 16, was gone, and there were no proven options on the roster. Neither Graham nor Mykhailiuk are rated that highly, but they’ve combined to make 220 three-pointers, the second most of any duo in the country behind Marquette’s Markus Howard and Andrew Rowsey.

Texas Tech made only two baskets from there. If this one comes down to free throws, Loyola-Chicago has the edge. MI joined the Ramblers in completing the road to San Antonio. They can play, folks. “They’ve got (Michael) Cooper in one corner”, Beard said. “And I don’t think we’ve lost since then”.