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SALT LAKE CITY — This year's March Madness proved to be one of the most unpredictable years in college basketball. Brackets were busted within the first few days. We witnessed a number 16 seed take down a top seed for the first time, heartbreaking buzzer beaters, unexpected upsets, and lots of emotion from players and coaches this tournament. March is coming to an end which means the final week of college basketball.
This years Final Four features a faceoff with two No. 1 seeds, Villanova and Kansas. Then Michigan, a number three seed Michigan facing off the this year's tournament Cinderella story an 11th seed Loyola Chicago.
All four of these teams were all tournament champs in their conferences. Villanova, Kansas, and Michigan are well-known basketball powerhouses with a history in the NCAA tournament, but for the Loyola their semifinal appearance was a surprise to many. Out of 17.3 million brackets 550 entries correctly picked the Final Four matchups.
Here’s an analysis of each Final Four team and a look at what got them to this point.
Loyola-Chicago
An 11th seed from the South bracket escaped with some basketball powerhouses on their side. Some big upsets helped out the Ramblers but they came up with some upsets of their own to get them to San Antonio. The Ramblers defeated Miami by draining a buzz beater three for the first upset of the tournament. As the tournament went on they survived some close calls against Tennessee and Nevada, with both games decided by less that three points. It wasn’t until the Elite Eight where the Ramblers picked up their first double-digit win of the tournament against Kansas State.
The key to Loyola’s success is being well-rounded on both sides of the court. Offensively all five starters are averaging in double digits. Defensively on average the Ramblers are holding their opponents 62.4 points per game.
It’s been 55 years since Loyola has made a Final Four appearance. While the Ramblers conference is empty of top 25 teams Loyola proved they were a team to be reckoned with by defeating fifth ranked Florida back on December sixth.
Loyola is currently on a 14 game win streak, which is the longest active streak out of the Final Four teams. Their last loss came back on January 31st. The Ramblers are peaking at just the right time. Loyola has some help off the court that none of the other teams do, they have Sister Jean. The team’s 98 year old chaplain could be the Ramblers good luck charm.
Michigan
The route for the third seed from the West region tournament resume includes wins against Montana, Texas A&M, Florida State, and a buzzer beating 3-pointer against Houston.
Defense has been the key factor in the Wolverines path to the Final Four. Through the tournament Michigan has held their opponents to just 59 points a game and 38% shooting from the field.
Mortiz Wager is leads Michigan offensively, averaging 14.3 points a game. The 6 foot 11 junior is a threat offensively because of his size and shooting ability.
Michigan has a win streak of their own of 13, just one short of their opponent. This matchup will end one of the two teams hot streaks the only question is will Michigan end the Ramblers or continue their streak into the National Championship.
Villanova
Villanova making it to the Final Four wasn’t much of a surprise, the number one seed from the East has always been one of the favorites to take home the title. This basketball super team is the team to beat, all odds are in their favor.
This tournament Villanova has brushed through the competition by defeating Radford, Alabama, West Virginia, and Texas Tech to reach the Final Four. They have won these games by a margin of 18.3 points per game. Even with an “off day” against Texas Tech the Wildcats still pulled off a double-digit win.
What got Villanova to this point? Their shooting. The Wildcats lead the nation in scoring, they are averaging 87 points a game and shooting 50% from the floor. Through four rounds of the tournament they have made 48 three pointer, which is the among the most a team has made up to the Final Four.
It also helps to have the national player of the year Jalen Brunson and a potential lottery pick Mikal Bridges on your team. These two are leading the nation's top offensive team with Brunson averaging 19.3 points a game and Bridges with 17.8. Once these two get hot it’s almost impossible for teams to stop.
The Wildcats will be going for their second championship in three seasons. They previously won the National Championship back in 2016 with Brunson, Bridges, Eric Paschall, Phil Booth, Donte DiVincenzo, and Tim Delaneyall members of that team. The Wildcats are following their 2016 championship pattern by winning every postseason game by double digits. Will history repeat itself? Only time will tell.
Kansas
The Number one seed from the Midwest advanced past Duke in an overtime thriller to reach the Final Four. Kansas route to San Antonio also included wins against Penn, Seaton Hall, and Clemson.
The Big 12 team 3 point attacks are a key contributor to their success. They JayHawks have a triple threat of Devonte Graham, Svi Mykkhailiuk, and Malik Newman. All three of these players are shooting 40.3% from beyond the arc. If the Jayhawks three pointers are on point they are pretty tough to beat.
Newman has become the Jayhawks secret weapon this postseason. In the overtime thriller against Duke he erupted for a career high 32 points, he also scored all 13 points of Kansas’ points in overtime to secure a spot in the Final Four. This tournament he is averaging 25.7 points per game.
It’s been 10 years since the JayHawks cut down the nets, but this powerhouse school is hungry for a title. Kansas is out for revenge this year, during the 2016 season the Wildcats knocked off the Jayhawks in the Elite 8. This will be the first time the two teams have met up since that matchup.
Which team will advance to the National Championship? Tune into TBS on Saturday, March 31 to catch-all the Semi Final action. The first game tip-off is schedule for 6:09 pm ET and the second semi final tipping off at 8:49 ET. Lexi Lewis is studying public relations at Utah Valley University. You can follow her on twitter @lex_lew1018.
