Michigan 69, Loyola-Chicago 57
Mo Wagner (24 points, 15 rebounds), Charles Matthews (17 points) and Michigan erased a 10-point second-half deficit and the Wolverines beat Loyola-Chicago in Saturday night’s national semifinal game, ending one of the most memorable NCAA Tournament runs ever. The third-seeded Wolverines (33-7) will take a 14-game winning streak into their first national championship
game appearance since 2013 after defeating the 11th-seeded Ramblers (32-6).
MICHIGAN 69, LOYOLA-CHICAGO 57
SAN ANTONIO — Staring down a 10-point deficit against an underdog that seemed nothing short of blessed during the madness of March, Mo Wagner and Michigan clamped down on Loyola-Chicago and ended one of the most memorable NCAA Tournament runs ever.
Wagner, Charles Matthews and the Wolverines erased a 10-point second-half deficit and Michigan beat the Ramblers 69-57 on Saturday night in the Final Four.
The third-seeded Wolverines (33-7) will take a 14-game winning streak into their first national championship game appearance since 2013, and second under Coach Jon Beilein.
Lovable Loyola-Chicago (32-6), with superfan Sister Jean courtside, could not conjure another upset. The Ramblers were the fourth 11th-seeded team to make it this far, but like the previous three, the semifinals were the end of the road.
Coach Porter Moser said he was proud of players Ben Richardson, Aundre Jackson and Donte Ingram for holding it together during a postgame news conference, answering questions with red eyes and long faces.
“It was as tough a locker room as I’ve seen,” said Moser, a former men’s coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. “They believed that they belong. They believed, they wanted to advance.”
Loyola-Chicago had no answers for the 6-11 Wagner. Its offense, so smooth and efficient on the way to San Antonio, broke down in the second half and finished with 17 turnovers.
Wagner, playing in front of his parents who made the trip from Germany, scored 24 points, had 15 rebounds and was 10 for 16 from the field. Matthews, a Kentucky transfer, added 17 points, including a run-out dunk with 1:33 left that made it 63-53.
And that was that.
“I just tried to go in the game, take what the opponent is giving me, what the game is giving me, stay emotionally solid and don’t get emotionally drunk, and it worked out today,” said Wagner, who became the third player in the past 40 years with a 20and-15 game in the Final Four, joining Hakeem Olajuwon of Houston in 1983 (then known as Akeem) and Larry Bird of Indiana State in 1979.
Cameron Krutwig, Loyola-Chicago’s big man, scored 17 points and Clayton Custer had 13 of his 15 after halftime. But facing one of the best defensive teams in the country, the Ramblers scored just 16 points in the final 14 minutes.
Custer scored seven consecutive points for Loyola-Chicago at one point to put the Ramblers up 41-31 with 14:08 remaining. Michigan refused to fade, even with point guard Zavier Simpson — whose solid play has been critical to the Wolverines’ late-season surge — playing terribly. Simpson had no points and four turnovers.
Jaaron Simmons, Simpson’s backup, made a three and Duncan Robinson hit another a few minutes later, and the deficit was down to 45-42 with 10 minutes left.
Wagner hit a three with 6:50 left to tie it, and moments later the Wolverines were back on top, 49-47, when Jordan Poole made two free throws.
Loyola-Chicago turned it over on three consecutive possessions and Wagner tipped in a miss by Poole, was fouled and converted the three-point play to put Michigan up 54-47 with just under five minutes left.