SAN ANTONIO (AP) No. 3 seed Michigan (32-7) vs. No. 11 seed Loyola-Chicago (32-5)
National semifinal; San Antonio; Saturday, 6:09 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The Wolverines and Ramblers have both won 32 games, school records for both teams. Michigan was in the Final Four just five years ago. Loyola-Chicago’s only trip to the Final Four was 55 years ago, in its 1963 national championship season. With 98-year-old Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt along for every step, the Ramblers have the nation’s longest winning streak at 14 games, and have won 21 of 22. Michigan has won 13 in a row, and 15 of 16.
LONG TIME AGO: On the way to its first NCAA Final Four in 1964, Michigan defeated defending national champion Loyola-Chicago 84-80 in the second round of the tournament. The Wolverines lost to Duke in the national semifinal game.
BE LIKE LOYOLA: When asked if there were any similarities between his team and the Ramblers, Michigan coach John Beilein said he hoped so.
”I hope we play a lot like them. They’re good,” Beilien said. ”And I think that they – we have a lot of guys that are unselfish, a lot of guys that shoot the ball well, a lot of people that pass, and we both play very good defensive if you just look at the ratings.”
NOT ALL CLOSE: After winning their first three NCAA Tournament games by a total of four points, including last-second shots to win in the first two rounds in Dallas – about five hours from the Alamodome – the Ramblers beat Kansas State 78-62 in the South Region final.
WOLVERINES IN LONE STAR STATE: This will be Michigan’s first NCAA Tournament game in San Antonio. The last time they played a postseason game in Texas was in 2013, when they won Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games in Arlington, Texas, to advance to the Final Four.
CENTURY MARK: This is the 100th year of Loyola men’s basketball. The Ramblers, who this year became only the fourth No. 11 seed to reach the Final Four, are still the only team from the state of Illinois to win a NCAA Division I men’s national championship.
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