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

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

ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 24: Head coach Porter Moser of the Loyola Ramblers celebrates after defeating the Kansas State Wildcats during the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at Philips Arena on March 24, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. Loyola defeated Kansas State 78-62 to advance to the Final Four. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

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ATLANTA, GA – MARCH 24: Marques Townes /

First half recap and highlights

The opening minutes defensively for Loyola-Chicago went well. They forced a couple of turnovers and never gave Michigan any space to operate. The Wolverines decided to shoot all of their shots from the three-point line, making two of their first five attempts.

Moritz Wagner made his presence known early, hitting a three-pointer while grabbing two offensive rebounds. When Cameron Krutwig isn’t on the court for Loyola-Chicago, he has a major advantage size-wise. He helped give Michigan an early lead and finished with a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

But the Ramblers couldn’t be held down for long, with a combination of free throws and penetrating inside to get back the lead. For the Wolverines, they couldn’t get any offense going outside of Wagner, shooting 2/12 from deep while committing eight turnovers. Zavier Simpson struggled badly, going 0/3 for zero points while turning it over three times himself.

Despite going nearly eight minutes without making a field goal, Loyola-Chicago was able to stretch the lead in the final minutes, thanks to a great bounce of a miss for Donte Ingram for the outback as time expired. The score was 29-22 Ramblers lead at the half.

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