Two Streaks Collide: Wolverines to Face Ramblers in NCAA Semifinal

» U-M will face No. 11 seed Loyola Chicago in the opening semifinal of the 2018 Final Four for the chance to play for the national title against either No. 1 seed Villanova or No. 1 seed Kansas.
» Michigan is making its eighth (*sixth after NCAA sanctions) trip to the Final Four and returns for the first time since 2013.
» The Wolverines advanced to the Final Four after a 58-54 victory over No. 9 seed Florida State in the West Regional championship. Prior to that, U-M had a 99-72 win over Texas A&M, a last-second 64-63 thriller over Houston, and a 61-47 win over Montana.
» Michigan is one of the hottest teams in the country, having won 13 straight games -- 10 of which have come away from home. Loyola Chicago owns the nation's longest winning streak at 14 games.

NEXT GAME: NCAA SEMIFINAL
Saturday, March 31 -- vs. #11 seed Loyola Chicago (San Antonio, Texas), 5:09 p.m. CDT

The No. 3-seeded University of Michigan men's basketball team (32-7, 13-5 B1G) will square off with No. 11 seed Loyola Chicago (32-5, 15-3 Missouri Valley) in the NCAA Tournament's Final Four on Saturday (March 31) at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:09 p.m. CDT (6:09 p.m. EDT) with the game broadcast on TBS. The Wolverines (13 straight wins) and Ramblers (14 wins in a row) own the nation's two longest active winning streaks.

No. 1 seeds Villanova and Kansas will play in Saturday's second game, and semifinal winners will meet in the championship game Monday (April 2) at 8:18 p.m. CDT on TBS.

MICHIGAN IN THE 2018 NCAA TOURNAMENT
• The No. 3 seed in the West Region, Michigan opened the tournament in Wichita, Kansas, where the Wolverines defeated No. 14 seed Montana (61-47) and No. 6 seed Houston (64-63). U-M then traveled to Los Angeles where it defeated No. 7 seed Texas A&M (99-72) and No. 9 seed Florida State (58-54) to advance to the Final Four in San Antonio.
• Michigan's Final Four appearance is its eighth (*sixth after NCAA sanctions) in school history and the second under head coach John Beilein, who led U-M to the national championship game in 2013.
• Charles Matthews is leading Michigan in the NCAA Tournament in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 16.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Matthews is shooting 52 percent (26-of-50) from the field in the tournament.
• Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and Moritz Wagner are also scoring in double figures in the NCAA Tournament. Abdur-Rahkman is averaging 14.0 points per game, along with 4.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per contest. Wagner is adding 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Duncan Robinson is contributing 8.8 points per game, while Zavier Simpson is averaging 7.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.8 steals per game.
• Michigan is holding opponents to just 59.0 points per game in the NCAA Tournament, allowing them to shoot just 37.7 percent from the field, including 26.2 percent from three-point range.

A LOOK AT SOUTH REGION CHAMPION LOYOLA CHICAGO
• Loyola Chicago travels to San Antonio with a 32-5 overall record, including a 15-3 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Ramblers won both the regular-season and tournament titles in the MVC.
• Loyola Chicago has the nation's longest winning streak at 14 games. The last loss for the Ramblers came on Jan. 31, a 69-67 setback at Bradley.
• The Ramblers are ranked third in the country in field goal percentage, shooting 50.9 percent as a team, and fifth in scoring defense, allowing just 62.4 points per contest.
• Five players score in double figures for Loyola, led by 13.2 points per game from Clayton Custer. Donte Ingram (11.3 ppg), Marques Townes (11.2 ppg), Aundre Jackson (11.0 ppg) and Cameron Krutwig (10.3 ppg) also average in double figures.
• Porter Moser is in his seventh season as head coach at Loyola Chicago. Moser joined the Ramblers following four seasons as an assistant at Saint Louis (2007-11). Moser was previously the head coach at Arkansas-Little Rock (2000-03) and Illinois State (2003-07).

MICHIGAN VS. LOYOLA ... 1964
• Michigan met Loyola in the second round of the 1964 NCAA Tournament in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and topped the defending national champion, 84-80.
• U-M was led by Bill Buntin's 26 points and 13 rebounds along with 21 points from Cazzie Russell. The Wolverines shot 43.8 percent from the field (32-for-73) while holding the Ramblers to just 37.5 percent (33-for-88).
• U-M went on to defeat Ohio, 69-57, in the regional final in Minneapolis on March 14 to punch a ticket to the Final Four.
• Appearing in the Final Four for the first time in program history, Michigan fell to Duke, 91-80, on March 20, 1964 in a national semifinal in Kansas City, Missouri.

MICHIGAN FINAL FOUR TIDBITS
• Michigan will be playing an NCAA Tournament game in San Antonio for the first time in program history. The last time U-M played a tournament game in Texas was in 2013 when the Wolverines defeated Kansas (87-85) and Florida (79-59) in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight in Arlington, Texas, to advance to the Final Four.
• Michigan is 2-1 all-time against Loyola Chicago, including 1-0 in the NCAA Tournament. U-M defeated the defending national champion Ramblers, 84-80, on March 13, 1964 in the regional semifinals at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Michigan went on to make its first Final Four appearance in program history.
• The other two meetings with Loyola were an 89-58 victory on Dec. 28, 1953 in Ann Arbor and a 112-100 overtime setback on Feb. 1, 1969 at Chicago Stadium.
• Michigan has faced Villanova three times in program history, with the Wildcats leading the all-time series, 2-1. The two schools have met once in the NCAA Tournament, a 59-55 Villanova victory on March 17, 1985 in the second round in Dayton, Ohio; Villanova went on to win the national championship.
• The only other two meetings against Villanova were a 103-87 U-M win on Dec. 30, 1970 in the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii, and a 60-55 Villanova victory on Nov. 25, 2014 in the Legends Classic in Brooklyn, New York.
• Michigan and Kansas have met eight times, with U-M holding a 6-2 advantage in the series. The most recent meeting is also the only NCAA Tournament meetings between the Wolverines and Jayhawks, an 87-85 U-M overtime win on March 28, 2013 in the regional semifinals in Arlington, Texas. Michigan went on the play in the national championship game.
• John Beilein has faced Loyola Chicago once in his coaching career, an 84-66 home victory on Jan. 2, 1993 during his first season at Canisius College. The win was just the second Division I victory in Beilein's coaching career.
• John Beilein has a 5-4 all-time record against Villanova, including a 0-1 mark while at Michigan. Beilein's only meeting with the Wildcats while at U-M was a 60-55 Villanova victory on Nov. 25, 2014 in the Legends Classic in Brooklyn, New York.
• Beilein is 5-3 against Villanova. He went 0-1 against Villanova while at Canisius, with the lone meeting coming on March 17, 1994, a 103-79 Villanova win in the Postseason NIT at Villanova. Beilein went 5-2 against the Wildcats while at West Virginia as the two schools were both in the Big East.
• Beilein is 1-2 in his career against Kansas, with all three meetings coming during his tenure at Michigan. U-M fell in both games of a home-and-home series during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. The Wolverines defeated the Jayhawks, 87-85 in overtime, on March 28, 2013 in the NCAA regional semifinals in Arlington, Texas

WITH A VICTORY
• A Final Four win over Loyola Chicago would advance Michigan to the national championship game for the seventh (fifth*) time in program history and the first time since 2013.
• A victory would extend Michigan's school record for wins in a season to 33.
• A win would give John Beilein 799 career victories, just one shy of reaching 800 in his career.
• A victory would extend Michigan's win streak to 14 games, which would become the longest current win streak in the nation.
• A win would improve U-M to 7-1 (5-1*) all-time in national semifinal games. Michigan enters the Final Four with the best winning percentage (.857) of any school to play in at least five national semifinal games.