March Madness 2018: Updated Bracket and Bold Predictions for Final Four

There's a blue-blood matchup on one side and a Cinderella hoping to keep the dance going on the other. The 2018 Final Four may not be the quartet that most expected, but after one of the wildest NCAA tournaments ever it's fitting that Kansas, Loyola-Chicago, Michigan and Villanova are the teams left standing.

All four won their conference tournament titles earlier this month, with Kansas and Loyola-Chicago also claiming regular-season crowns. Loyola has gotten here by pulling off four upsets, just the fourth No. 11 seed to reach the Final Four, while No. 3 Michigan has yet to play a team seeded higher than sixth.

No. 1 seeds Kansas and Villanova went the more traditional route, facing a tougher (in terms of seed) foe as each round progressed.

Now that we've gotten this far, what will happen next? Will Villanova claim a second national title in three seasons? Could Kansas' first Final Four appearance since 2012 result in its first championship since 2008? Or will either Michigan (1989) or Loyola-Chicago (1963) win it all for the second time?

We've made a few bold predictions on what might occur on Saturday and Monday in San Antonio Texas. 

A Fifth Different Player Leads Loyola in Scoring Against Michigan

Loyola-Chicago's magical run to its first Final Four in 55 years has so many great storylines, not just that it appears to be receiving some divine intervention thanks to Sister Jean. One that hasn't gotten as much attention is how the 11th-seeded Ramblers have pulled off four straight upsets despite not having a dominant scorer.

Junior guard Clayton Custer is the team's top scorer, averaging 13.2 points per game, but in the NCAA tourney that rate has dipped to 11.5 per game. Senior forward Aundre Jackson has been Loyola's top point producer, at 12.3 points per game, despite not starting once, and he's one of four different players to lead it in scoring so far.

Custer led the Ramblers with 14 points in the first-round upset of No. 6 Miami (Florida) and Jackson's 16 was tops in the second-round upset of No. 3 Tennessee. Against No. 7 Nevada it was junior guard Marques Townes, who had 18, and senior guard Ben Richardson's 23 led the way in the Elite Eight victory over No. 9 Kansas State.

Any of that quartet is capable of being the top scorer in the semifinals against No. 3 Michigan but why not keep the trend going?

The streak of different leading scorers actually dates back to the Missouri Valley Conference final on March 4 against Illinois State, when senior guard Donte Ingram had a team-high 18 in the 65-49 win. And during the regular season two other players—freshman center Cameron Krutwig and sophomore guard Bruno Skokna—have also been Loyola's leading scorer in matchups.

Michigan will win the game, but Loyola will see Krutwig match his career high of 21 points in the loss.

Villanova Attempts a Season Low in Three-Pointers Against Kansas

Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

More than 47 percent of Villanova's shots this season have come from three-point range, which was second-most among NCAA tournament teams. The Wildcats have succeeded in 40 percent of those threes, with their top five scorers all shooting at least 38.5 percent from deep.

Yet in beating Texas Tech in the Elite Eight the Wildcats were ice cold from the perimeter, making only 4-of-24 threes. That was their second-lowest rate of the season, behind a 3-of-20 performance in a Feb. 14 loss at Providence.

Texas Tech didn't do anything particularly notable to cause Villanova to shoot so poorly, but Kansas could. The Jayhawks hold opponents to 32.7 percent from three, with Duke going 7-of-29 from outside in the Elite Eight.

Villanova is 12-1 this season when taking more threes than twos, most recently doing so in the second-round blowout of Alabama when 41 of its 63 shots were of the three-point variety, but 13 of the 22 times it has shot 50 percent overall have come when being more active closer to the rim.

The Wildcats will never completely abandon the three but in beating Kansas they'll attempt fewer long balls than any other game en route to reaching a second national final in three seasons. Their season low is 16, making eight, from a 90-62 win over Pennsylvania on Nov. 29 when they were 25-of-42 on two-pointers.

Michigan Ends Big Ten's Lengthy NCAA Title Drought

Alex Gallardo/Associated Press

Five conferences have national titles since the last time the Big Ten had a team cut down the nets in 2000. Michigan State's championship that year has been followed by 17 seasons of disappointment, particularly with Big Ten schools finishing second in 2002 (Indiana), 2005 (Illinois), 2007 (Ohio State), 2009 (Michigan State), 2013 (Michigan) and 2015 (Wisconsin).

The only league to have more title game appearances since 2001 than the Big Ten is the ACC, which is 8-2 in finals in that span. And five of those championships have come against Big Ten schools.

It could be worse, though. The Pac-12 hasn't won a national title since Arizona in 1997 and since then has made just three championship game appearances, none since UCLA fell to Florida in 2006.

Michigan will bring a 14-game win streak into the final against Villanova and take a 15-game run into next season as defending champions after winning their first national title since 1989.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.