Loyola-Chicago
BY JACK SIMZYK
It’s not a powerhouse big name pick, but it’s certainly a trendy pick if you’re into Cinderella teams and feel-good stories.
My pick to win the NCAA men’s basketball championship is the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers. This year’s March Madness has already been one to remember with plenty of buzzer beaters and upsets, so it wouldn’t be all that shocking or unreasonable if the “madness” trend continued and the biggest Cinderella team left won it all.
The Ramblers won the Missouri Valley Conference this year to get into the tournament. The team boasts the MVC coach of the year, Porter Moser, and the MVC player of the year, Clayton Custer. They dominated the conference throughout the season and came come into the Sweet 16 on a 12 game winning streak with their last loss coming to Bradley.
As the eleventh seed in what was a stacked South region at the start, the Ramblers have beat the sixth seed Miami and third seed Tennessee in two exciting games, which were both decided in the final seconds.
The South region seemed to be the toughest at the start of the tournament, but all top-four seeds have been eliminated, making the possibility of the Ramblers winning the region even more realistic. After taking down Miami and Tennessee, they should have no problem defeating the seventh seed Nevada. Their toughest test will probably be against Kentucky in an Elite Eight matchup, but Kentucky has been streaky all year, and in a one-and-done tournament, anything is possible.
The Ramblers have all the momentum in the world behind them, and as an eleventh seed, they are considered to be the biggest underdog left in the tournament. Also, with the support of 98-year old superfan, spiritual advisor and life coach for the team, Sister Jean, the Ramblers have captured the hearts and attention of the country.
With plenty of support, momentum, and a very skilled and capable team, there’s no reason why this underdog can’t go all the way and give us one of the best stories in NCAA tournament history.
Villanova
BY BEAU WOODCOCK
This year’s NCAA Basketball tournament has been a tournament of upsets. UMBC became the first 16 seed to knock off the top seed Virginia. 11 seed Loyola is in the Sweet 16, and many high seeds have struggled. The Villanova Wildcats have had few struggles, however, and look poised and confident in the two first round wins over Radford and Alabama. For this reason, Villanova will be the 2018 National Champions in College Basketball.
Cinderella stories like Loyola and UMBC have made for exciting storylines in the tournament, but those teams do not have the pedigree or the talent to go the distance. Meanwhile, other favorites have struggled throughout the tournament. Kansas looked sluggish in their first round win over 16 seed Penn, and had to desperately hold off a late challenge from eight seed Seton Hall. Duke is at serious risk this weekend against Syracuse, a team that beat them by 16 at home just a month ago.
Meanwhile, Villanova has had the best mindset and the most consistent performance, throttling both of their opponents by more than 20 points. They’ve scored 80 points in both of their contests and have been unstoppable. They have not overlooked their first two opponents, and their play is peaking at the right time. The Wildcats also boast a leader in junior point guard Jalen Brunson, Big East Player of the Year and a potential John R. Wooden Award winner.
With the large number of upsets this year, only Villanova has a clean path to the championship and the mindset to get the job done.
