Loyola’s Cinderella run came to an end Saturday night as the 11th-seeded Ramblers fell to the third-seeded Michigan Wolverines in the National Semifinals at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Down by double-digits early in the second half, the Wolverines used a big run down the stretch to avoid being upset and advance to Monday’s National Championship game.
A shot at glory.
Michigan is heading to the #NationalChampionship! #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/YN9VcQ1XqE
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) April 1, 2018
Loyola’s loss, ended one of the most memorable NCAA Tournament runs ever as the Ramblers came in having won a program record 32 games this season.
Michigan was led by forward Moritz Wagner who scored a game-high scored 24 points to go with 15 rebounds and three steals. Wagner became the third player in the last 40 years with a 20 and 15 game in a Final Four game, joining Hakeem Olajuwon (1983) and Larry Bird (1979).Charles Matthews chipped in with 17 points as the Wolverines rallied to beat the Ramblers, 69-57.
See you Monday, @NovaMBB. #GoBlue | #NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/RkVUYfjjhl
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) April 1, 2018
The third-seeded Wolverines (33-7) will put their 14-game winning streak on the line against No. 1 Villanova. Michigan is back in the title game after making its last appearance in 2013. The program is looking for its first NCAA title since 1989.
Loyola’s end marks the fourth time an 11-seed has made it to the national semifinals, and like the previous three, the semifinals were the end of the road.
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