Loyola-Chicago’s Cinderella run ends in the Final Four in a loss to Michigan

Loyola-Chicago showed that they were capable of competing with the best. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough tonight against Michigan.

When Loyola-Chicago entered the 2017-19 college basketball season, the program was in foreign territory. They were basically a .500 team the last several seasons, having to watch the University of Wichita State become one of the top teams in the sport, including making the Final Four.

The Ramblers could only hope to accomplish something like that, having not made the NCAA Tournament in over 30 years. But with the Shockers leaving, the Missouri Valley Conference became wide-open.

With Loyola-Chicago returning the vast majority of their offense, they were one of the favorites to win the league. And that’s what they did, winning both the regular season and conference tournament to get the automatic bid.

The Ramblers were given an 11 seed and pulled off a miracle run, beating Miami, Tennessee, and Nevada with last-second shots. The Elite Eight game with Kansas State went a bit easier, to give the program their first Final Four appearance in over 50 years.

But Michigan represented their toughest test of the season, having a double-digit win streak of their own to get to this point. The Wolverines defense was just as good as the Ramblers, making the offenses what mattered in this game.

Loyola-Chicago got the better of Michigan for 30 minutes of the game. But the opening and ending minutes were all Michigan, as the clock struck midnight for the Cinderellas of March Madness.