Sister Jean will surely take center stage this weekend, as the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers continue their Cinderella run into the 2018 Final Four. Loyola will take on the mighty Michigan Wolverines in the first Final Four matchup Saturday night from San Antonio.
Loyola-Chicago has become known for its stellar 3-point shooting and last-second wins. But on paper, Michigan looks like a difficult matchup for the Ramblers. Only one team has scored more than 70 points against Michigan in regulation in a month.
This will also be the first time an 11 seed and a 3 seed have facd off in a Final Four, and No. 3 seed Michigan is a 6-point favorite in this one. Tip off is 6:09 p.m. ET.
The second game, which will air in prime time, features perennial powers (and No. 1 regional seeds) Kansas and Villanova. Both teams have prolific offenses, so if you like up and down action with points aplenty, you should enjoy this game.
Villanova is a 5-point favorite. Tip off is 8:49 p.m. ET.
The Final Four and national championship games will all air on TBS this year.
In more important news, the 2018 TVNewser Bracket Challenge field is starting to come into focus.
Leading the 2018 Bracket Challenge heading into Final Four weekend is NBC News Sunday Today host and MSNBC Morning Joe co-host Willie Geist.
The NBC Newser, who has picked Villanova to cut down the nets on Monday night, is 2 points clear of HLN Morning Express host Robin Meade. The lead HLN personality has chosen Michigan to win it all.
NBC News svp of editorial Janelle Rodriguez, who has Kansas winning the title, presently sits in third place, followed by her colleague NBC News national correspondent Peter Alexander, who had Virginia winning. Yet, he’s still in the top 5! CNN Early Start co-host Dave Briggs presently sits in 5th place. Briggs, a former NBC Sports Newser, held first place going into Final Four Weekend in 2017 Bracket Challenge.
Bloomberg Daybreak anchor David Westin, PBS NewsHour correspondent Lisa Desjardins, Fox News Fox & Friends correspondent Todd Piro, HLN/CNN sports anchor & correspondent Coy Wire, and Weather Channel on-air Meteorologist Mike Bettes round out the top 10.
Here’s a look at the field:
STANDINGS | ||||||
RANK | TEAM NAME | SCORE | CORRECT | BEST SCORE | BEST CORRECT | CHAMPION |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Willie Geist | 73 | 38 | 121 | 40 | Villanova (148) |
2 | Robin Meade | 71 | 35 | 135 | 38 | Michigan (132) |
3 | Janelle Rodriguez | 68 | 36 | 116 | 38 | Kansas (103) |
3 | Peter Alexander | 68 | 37 | 68 | 37 | Virginia (145) |
5 | Dave Briggs | 67 | 37 | 115 | 39 | Villanova (136) |
6 | David Westin | 66 | 33 | 130 | 36 | Michigan (137) |
6 | Lisa Desjardins | 66 | 31 | 114 | 33 | Kansas (102) |
6 | Todd Piro | 66 | 35 | 82 | 36 | Virginia (157) |
9 | Coy Wire | 65 | 35 | 113 | 37 | Kansas (137) |
9 | Mike Bettes | 65 | 33 | 65 | 33 | Virginia (153) |
11 | A.J. Katz (TVNewser) | 64 | 35 | 112 | 37 | Villanova (158) |
12 | Kasie Hunt | 63 | 35 | 111 | 37 | Michigan (155) |
13 | Matt Quayle | 62 | 33 | 78 | 34 | Virginia (145) |
13 | Sara Eisen | 62 | 36 | 62 | 36 | Virginia (136) |
15 | Jeffrey McCracken | 61 | 33 | 61 | 33 | Michigan St. (152) |
15 | Tyler Mathisen | 61 | 36 | 61 | 36 | Virginia (128) |
17 | Blake Burman | 60 | 34 | 108 | 36 | Michigan (150) |
17 | Lynn Smith | 60 | 33 | 76 | 34 | Virginia (117) |
19 | Dominic Chu | 59 | 37 | 107 | 39 | Villanova (129) |
19 | Harris Faulkner | 59 | 33 | 107 | 35 | Kansas (150) |
19 | Jessica Golden | 59 | 31 | 107 | 33 | Villanova (136) |
22 | Ana Cabrera | 58 | 35 | 58 | 35 | Duke (144) |
22 | Andrew Sorkin | 58 | 35 | 106 | 37 | Villanova (133) |
22 | hari sreenivasan | 58 | 35 | 106 | 37 | Villanova (135) |
22 | Judy Woodruff | 58 | 33 | 58 | 33 | Duke (136) |
22 | Michael Rancilio | 58 | 35 | 106 | 37 | Villanova (158) |
22 | Peter Doocy | 58 | 30 | 106 | 32 | Villanova (151) |
22 | Todd Bonin | 58 | 34 | 106 | 36 | Villanova (135) |
29 | Becky Quick | 57 | 31 | 73 | 32 | Xavier (142) |
29 | Tom Keene | 57 | 34 | 57 | 34 | Purdue (136) |
31 | Hallie Jackson | 56 | 36 | 104 | 38 | Villanova (163) |
32 | Craig Melvin | 55 | 32 | 71 | 33 | Virginia (143) |
32 | Dylan Dreyer | 55 | 34 | 71 | 35 | Nevada (191) |
34 | bob van dillen | 54 | 33 | 70 | 34 | N. Carolina (132) |
34 | Joe Kernen | 54 | 32 | 54 | 32 | Xavier (137) |
34 | kevin corke | 54 | 34 | 102 | 36 | Villanova (147) |
37 | Brian Sullivan | 53 | 31 | 101 | 33 | Villanova (161) |
37 | J Kelly | 53 | 32 | 53 | 32 | Virginia (136) |
37 | sandy cannold | 53 | 32 | 53 | 32 | Michigan St. (152) |
40 | Brian Steel | 51 | 30 | 67 | 31 | N. Carolina (144) |
41 | Liz Claman | 50 | 33 | 98 | 35 | Villanova (120) |
42 | Anne Tironi | 49 | 30 | 49 | 30 | Michigan St. (156) |
42 | Scarlet Fu | 49 | 31 | 97 | 33 | Kansas (164) |
44 | Alex Wilson | 43 | 32 | 43 | 32 | Virginia (159) |
45 | Melody Taylor | 41 | 29 | 41 | 29 | N. Carolina (146) |
46 | Matt Rosoff | 40 | 26 | 88 | 28 | Villanova (165) |
47 | gerri willis | 27 | 23 | 27 | 23 | N. Carolina (160) |