NCAA Final Four features three regular contenders, Loyola-Chicago

Loyola makes it to the Final Four
(Image credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

One of these teams is not like the other. After the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks inched past No. 2 Duke on Sunday, a thrilling 85-81 overtime win that hinged on a barely missed shot by Duke's Grayson Allen, the NCAA Final Four is set: Kansas vs. fellow top seed Villanova, and No. 3 seed Michigan Wolverines vs. the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers, a No. 11 seed that hasn't won a national title since 1963.

The winner of the Kansas-Villanova match next Saturday is favored to win the NCAA men's basketball tournament — Villanova won the title two years ago and the Jayhawks last won in 2008 — but in an upset-filled, bracket-busting March Madness, anything could happen. And Loyola, only the fourth 11th seeded team to make the Final Four, also has one thing on its side, along with its underdog story: Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, a 98-year-old nun and super fan.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.