Final Four 2018: Updated Bracket and Player Stat Predictions for Semifinals

There will be heroes this weekend in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. 

Loyola-Chicago, Michigan, Kansas and Villanova have seen their best players come through in the first four rounds of the tournament, and they are all going to need consistency if they are going to have that shining moment Monday night in San Antonio.

Loyola has had a slew of heroes to this point, and that's appropriate for an 11th seed that has had three nailbiting wins to go along with one blowout win.

Donte Ingram, Clayton Custer and Marques Townes have all hit game-winning shots, and Ben Richardson had a brilliant 23-point game in the runaway victory over Kansas State.

If the Ramblers are going to get past Michigan, it will take a complete effort, and those four players will all have to contribute. It starts with Custer, who is the leading scorer at 13.2 points per game and is also handing out 4.2 assists per night.

Look for Custer to score 12 points in this game with five assists, and Ingram should lead the team with 15. Townes should be good for double figures with 10 points. After his starring role against Kansas State, Richardson will add eight points to Loyola's effort here.

Head coach Porter Moser is thrilled with the attention his team has received in Chicago. 

“I get chills thinking about how we’ve positively impacted the program, the city,” Moser said, per Nancy Armour of USA Today. “Pride’s a powerful feeling,” 

David Goldman/Associated Press

Loyola will be solid and will be good enough to stay close to Michigan, but the Wolverines have more firepower and better athletes. 

Powerful Moe Wagner leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 14.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Wagner has tremendous range, and he is not afraid to take the three-point shot at any point in the game. 

Charles Matthews is a streak shooter who is capable of carrying John Beilein's team for long stretches and he is contributing 13 points per game. The speed of Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman should also come into play in this game. He is scoring 12.8 points per night, and the Ramblers may have a tough time containing him.

Wagner may just be too big and strong at 6'11" and 245 pounds for the Ramblers. Wagner struggled in the 58-54 regional final victory over Flordia State as he connected on just three of 11 shots from the field.

Wagner is hitting 52.4 percent of his shots from the floor, and he is not likely to repeat his shooting effort against the Ramblers.

Look for Wagner to score 18 points with eight rebounds. Matthews should be good for 14 points, while Abdur-Rahkman will score 12 and hand out five assists.

Michigan wins this game with a couple of key made shots and defensive stops in the last minute.

Final Four Schedule

March 31

No. 11 Loyola of Chicago vs. No. 3 Michigan (-5), 6:09 p.m. ET; TBS

No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 1 Villanova (-5), 8:49 p.m. ET; TBS

Odds are according to OddsShark.

Orlin Wagner/Associated Press/Associated Press

Kansas vs. Villanova

The Jayhawks and the Wildcats are the two glamour teams in this year's Final Four, and Bill Self's team should be quite confident after beating Duke 85-81 in the Midwest regional final game that went to overtime. 

The Jayhawks were the Big 12 regular-season and conference tournament champions, and that league was the best in the nation this season.

Self needs to make sure his team is not intimidated by its opponent.

Devonte' Graham is the Jayhawks' leading scorer and their best setup man. He is scoring 17.2 points per game and handing out 7.3 assists per night. While his 39.6 shooting percentage is somewhat concerning, Graham's confidence is a key factor late in games.

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is averaging 14.7 points and four rebounds, while Malik Newman is averaging 14 points per game.

Newman's average may be a bit misleading, as he has shown significant improvement in the tournament. He scored 28 points in the second-round win over Seton Hall, and he had 17 against Clemson before exploding for 32 points against the Blue Devils. Newman scored all 13 points the Jayhawks put on the board in overtime.

Look for Newman to continue his powerful play against Villanova, He should score 22 points against the Wildcats, while Graham will add 14 points and five assists, and Mykhailiuk will be good for 10 points and five rebounds.

The Jayhawks will get a serious challenge from Jay Wright's Wildcats. Villanova was the No. 1 team for much of the season before surrendering that ranking to Virginia.

Once the Cavaliers suffered their historic first-round defeat, the Wildcats have seemingly been in charge of the tournament. They have reeled off wins over Radford, Alabama, West Virginia and Texas Tech.

While they did not play particularly well against the Mountaineers or the Red Raiders, they have won every game by at least 12 points in the tournament.

It begins with star Jalen Brunson, who is averaging 19.2 points and connecting on 52.7 percent of his shots. Mikal Bridges is second in scoring with 17.8 points and 51.2 percent shooting. Senior guard Donte DiVincenzo is contributing 12.9 points per night, and the Wildcats are also getting double-digit scoring from Omari Spellman, Eric Paschall and Phil Booth.

Brunson knows he will have to come up with a big game to match or exceed Newman, so look for him to have his second 30-point scoring effort of the tournament (he had 31 in the first round against Providence).

The 6'3" Brunson excels in the post despite his lack of height. 

“We put Jalen in there and everybody, coaches started looking at each other like, wow, his post moves are incredible,” Wright said, per Lindsay Schnell of USA Today. “After that we're like, we're going with this, we're using this. But then as he's continued to develop, he loves it … and his footwork is incredible.”

Bridges should be good for 18 points, while DiVincenzo will score 15 and hand out five assists.

Look for Villanova to take charge in the last five minutes and advance to the national championship game.