Final Four Preview: Loyola-Chicago vs Michigan

The Loyola-Chicago Ramblers’ magic run continues on to San Antonio, as they will face the three-seed Michigan Wolverines in the Final Four.

Don’t believe in magic? You better start believing.

The 11-seed Loyola-Chicago Ramblers are headed to the Final Four after demolishing Kansas State, 78-62.

The Ramblers are just the fourth 11-seed to ever reach the Final Four, joining LSU (1986), George Mason (2006) and VCU (2011) as the only other eleven seeds to reach the National semifinals.

After winning their first three games of the tournament by a combined-four points, the Ramblers came out firing on Saturday, leading from start-to-finish. Senior guard Ben Richardson led the way with 23 points, going 6-7 from three.

The Ramblers defense was key in the win, as Kansas State star guard Barry Brown was held to just 14 points. The Wildcats were held to a 34.8 field goal percentage, while the Ramblers shot an eye-popping 57.4%.

More from Da Windy City

• Juan Soto appears headed to the Yankees which is not a big blow Chicago Cubs offseason
• 3 takeaways from Chicago Blackhawks shootout loss to Nashville
• Chicago Cubs in the middle of chaos that is Shohei Ohtani’s free agency
• The Chicago Cubs are on a roller coaster of emotions chasing Shohei Ohtani
• Chicago Bears quietly compiling list of head coaching candidates

Meanwhile on the West region of the bracket, the 3-seed Michigan Wolverines are headed to San Antonio as well.

The Wolverines knocked off 9-seed Florida State on Saturday night by the score of 58-54. Junior guard Charles Matthews registered 17 points and 8 rebounds in the win.

Michigan is arguably one of the hottest teams in the country, fresh off winning the Big 10 tournament prior to the Big Dance. Since losing to Northwestern in early February, the Wolverines have won 13 games in a row.

Michigan had to survive upset bids from Montana in the first round and Houston in the second round before demolishing Texas A&M in the Sweet Sixteen. With a well-balanced roster featuring productive upperclassmen and underclassmen, the Michigan Wolverines are a team built for March.

How Michigan can win:

Plain and simple. Michigan will win this game if the offense can come out firing. The Wolverines destroyed Texas A&M mostly due to a three-point barrage in the first half that netted them a 52-28 halftime lead.

Michigan shot 14-24 from beyond the arc- a clip that’ll win you the game 99% of the time. Star forward Moritz Wagner shot 3-3 from three, while senior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman shot 4-7 from deep.

While the three point numbers are impressive, don’t let the fabulous shooting numbers take away from the fact that Michigan is one of the best defensive teams in the country. The Wolverines rank 14th in the country in defensive efficiency, just one spot behind Loyola-Chicago (13).

Michigan has held opponents to an average of 63 points per game, good for sixth in the country (Loyola is fourth with 62). German big man Moritz Wagner is the leader on defense, averaging seven rebounds per game.

Michigans game plan against the Ramblers should be to let to fly from beyond the arc early and often. The Ramblers lack of a scoring big man will make post defense less important, therefore the Wolverines must put an emphasis on perimeter defense to stifle Loyola’s three point shooters.

Finally, senior sharp shooters Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and Duncan Robinson will need to be efficient throughout the game. There’s always a little extra adrenaline in games of this magnitude, but the senior leaders will need to level the storm in order to advance to the championship.

How Loyola-Chicago can win:

Same way as Michigan. Put an emphasis on perimeter defense, shoot efficient from the field, put the ball in the hands of your upperclassmen.

The biggest thing that the Ramblers can do to increase their chance to win is keep it close. Loyola has an edge in the last two minutes for two reasons, but they just need to get it to that point first.

The first reason is the Ramblers history of clutch shot-making. Game-winning shots in the closing seconds of Loyola’s first and second round games, as well as Marques Townes clutch three against Nevada have been the story of the tournament for Loyola. If a team has the edge in the final seconds of a close game, it’s Loyola.

The second reason is free-throw shooting. The Ramblers are league-average from the line (72%), but Michigan is absolutely atrocious. The Wolverines rank 326th in the country with a 66% clip from the line. Even worse is the free-throw shooting of their ball-handlers, as starting guards Charles Matthews (57%) and Zavier Simpson (51%) are terrible at the line.

The bottom line is, Loyola should feel pretty good about fouling late in the game. Especially when the two players who will likely have the ball the most shoot the worst from the line. Obviously trailing late in the game isn’t ideal, but it isn’t as hard to come back from as usual.

Next: Loyola-Chicago among 5 great NCAA Tournament runs in Illinois history

This game should be entertaining throughout. A matchup of two red-hot teams with a lot of momentum going into the game always makes for a great contest.

The Final Four is on Saturday, March 31st at the Alamo Dome in San Antonio. The start time has yet to be determined.

The Loyola-Chicago Ramblers are two wins away from becoming National Champions. Fantasy might come reality as soon as Monday.