Loyola-Chicago vs Michigan 3/31/18 - Final Four Picks & Predictions

The 11th seeded Loyola-Chicago Ramblers winners of the NCAA Tournament South Region will meet the 3rd seeded Michigan Wolverines, winners of the West Region, on Saturday March 31 in the Final Four with the winner moving on to the NCAA Tournament National Championship Game Monday April 2. Loyola reached the Final Four with a 78-62 win over the Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday in the Elite 8. The Ramblers led by 12 points at the half and held a lead of double digits the entire second half. Ben Richardson led the Ramblers with a career high 23 points and hit key 3-pointer after 3-pointer to stave off K-State rallies.

Michigan reached the Final Four thanks to a hard fought 58-54 win over the Florida State Seminoles. The Wolverines’ offense sputtered, hitting just 4 of 22 shots from 3-point territory, but it defense played with discipline and tenacity to hold the high-scoring Seminoles to just 54 points. Charles Matthews led Michigan with 17 points. The win was Michigan’s 13 straight. Clayton Custer is the scoring leader for the Ramblers and is the team leader in assists averaging 13.2 points and 4.2 assists per game. Four other Ramblers are averaging double figures in scoring. Donte Ingram leads the team in rebounding with an average of 6.3 per game. As a team, the Ramblers are shooting 50.9% from the field and 40% from 3-point territory. Loyola-Chicago scores an average of 72.0 points per game, while allowing an average of 62.4, which is 5th in the nation.

Moritz Wagner is the leader in scoring and rebounding for the Wolverines averaging 14.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Charles Matthews is second in scoring as well as rebounding averaging 13.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. As a team, the Wolverines are shooting 47% from the field and 36.6% from 3-point territory. During the regular season, Michigan scored an average of 74.1 points per game while allowing an average of 63.1, which is 8th in the nation.