NCAA Tournament 2018: Ranking remaining teams in Final Four

BOSTON, MA - MARCH 25: Jalen Brunson #1 of the Villanova Wildcats celebrates defeating the Texas Tech Red Raiders 71-59 in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional to advance to the 2018 Final Four at TD Garden on March 25, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

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ATLANTA, GA – MARCH 24: Marques Townes #5 of the Loyola Ramblers celebrates his teams lead over the Kansas State Wildcats in the second half during the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament South Regional at Philips Arena on March 24, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. The Loyola Ramblers defeated the Kansas State Wildcats 78-62. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

It almost pains me to rank the Ramblers as the fourth-best of four teams, but Loyola wasn’t even supposed to make it this far, being the fourth-best remaining team in the tournament can’t be that bad, right?

Everyone’s favorite Cinderella just keeps on winning and Loyola had an interesting road to the Final Four. It started with a buzzer-beater in the first round to beat Miami then a slim one-point win over No. 3 Tennessee in the round of 32. The Ramblers then beat Nevada in the Sweet 16 by a single point, making it three wins by a total of four points.

The Elite Eight wasn’t as close of a contest as the previous games, though. Kansas State didn’t stand much of a chance against the confident Ramblers as they came out on top with a 78-62 win, moving on to their first Final Four since 1963 — the same year they won their only national title.

Could history repeat itself this year? The Ramblers will have their work cut out for them in the Final Four against the red-hot Wolverines of Michigan.

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