The Michigan Wolverines ended Loyola-Chicago’s dream Cinderella run in San Antonio with a 69-57 victory in the 2018 Final Four over the Rambles. If they won, Loyola-Chicago would have been the first double-digit seed to play for the National Title.
Loyola-Chicago held a 10-point lead in the second half of their 2018 Final Four matchup, but it still wasn’t enough. Michigan’s Mo Wagner led the comeback charge that would ultimately result in the win.
Wagner scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds- proving to be one of the best performances of his career. The German big man hit a three with just under 7 minutes left to tie the game, and the Wolverines never looked back. Michigan finished the game on a lopsided 38-16 run while shooting 57% in the second half. All the while, they forced the Ramblers to turn the ball over ten times in the second half alone.
Moe and @umichbball have COME ALIVE as they take a 54-47 lead with under 5 min to play! #FinalFour #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/EeOb5XwmEq
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) April 1, 2018
Loyola-Chicago had the game within single digits with just over a minute and a half left in the game. Though, sloppiness on offense resulted in Charles Matthews capping off the game with an emphatic fastbreak slam. This slam was the dagger that effectively ended the chances for the Ramblers.
Matthews THROWS ONE DOWN off the break! #FinalFour #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/GcL0qoDEx5
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) April 1, 2018
The Ramblers’ dream run comes to a heartbreaking ending on Saturday night in the Final Four. Despite that, this saga will always be remembered as one of the very few 11-seeds to make a Final Four. Loyola-Chicago and their team chaplain Sister Jean captured the hearts of basketball fans everywhere and became the national favorite due to their underdog status.
Michigan moves on to the National Championship game and will face either Villanova or Kansas. The Monday night fixture will be the second time this decade that we see Michigan in the title game. Michigan faced Louisville in the 2013 National Championship game- in which they lost.
