Loyola-Chicago Beats Kansas State to Continue Cinderella Run to 2018 Final Four

The No. 11 seed Loyola of Chicago Ramblers' Cinderella run in the 2018 NCAA men's tournament continued Saturday, as they defeated the No. 9 seed Kansas State Wildcats 78-62 in the Elite Eight to advance to the Final Four.

By virtue of the Ramblers' victory at Philips Arena in Atlanta, they won the South Regional and became just the fourth No. 11 seed to reach the Final Four—joining 1985-86 LSU, 2005-06 George Mason and 2010-11 Virginia Commonwealth.

Loyola-Chicago shot a blistering 57.4 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from three-point range and limited Kansas State to 34.8 percent from the floor and 24.0 percent from deep.

Senior guard Ben Richardson led the Ramblers with a career-high 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 6-of-7 from long range. The Wildcats were paced by sophomore forward Xavier Sneed, who registered 16 points.

Saturday marked only the sixth time this season that Richardson has reached double figures in scoring.

Loyola-Chicago will play for a chance to be the first No. 11 seed to take part in a national championship game when it faces the winner of No. 3 seed Michigan and No. 9 seed Florida State in the Final Four next Saturday.

Loyola-Chicago entered Saturday's contest as a slight underdog, per OddsShark, but it set the tone by knocking down shot after shot.

SB Nation's Ricky O'Donnell alluded to the Ramblers' ridiculous start:

They made eight of their first 10 shots and roared to a 19-7 lead in the first eight minutes.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Loyola-Chicago's early three-point shooting display dwarfed what Kentucky mustered against Kansas State in the Sweet 16:

The Ramblers have far exceeded expectations throughout the tournament, and Brian Hamilton of The Fieldhouse made mention of that during their hot start Saturday:

Kansas State gradually closed the gap in the first half, and it cut Loyola-Chicago's lead to five with 5:55 remaining before the break.

The Ramblers rebounded after that lull, though, and Richardson's trifecta 13 seconds before halftime gave them a 36-24 advantage with just 20 minutes to play, as seen in the following video courtesy of NCAA March Madness:

That make was the product of ball movement, and Eli Boettger of Mountain West Wire commented on Loyola-Chicago's efficiency in that regard:

The Wildcats had their work cut out for them to start the second half, and they didn't do themselves any favors.

Arguably the play of the game took place three minutes into the second half, when Richardson was fouled by Kamau Stokes while making a three:

Ben Richardson scores and draws the foul

Richardson converted the free throw for a four-point play, and the Ramblers never looked back.

Their lead ballooned to 19 on Richardson's trifecta with 11:14 left:

Ben Richardson nails it from behind the arc

Loyola-Chicago led by as much as 23 in the second half before Kansas State went on a 10-0 run that closed the gap to 61-48.

But Richardson hit his sixth three, Marques Townes scored five unanswered points with under three minutes remaining, and the Ramblers put the game away by making their free throws late.

In a region that included powerhouses such as Virginia, Cincinnati, Tennessee, Arizona and Kentucky, Loyola-Chicago was the last team standing.

The Ramblers are lacking in terms of superstar players, but with their fundamentally sound brand of basketball and big-time performances by unheralded players such as Richardson, they are a threat to win the national title.