March Madness: Michigan hopes to end Loyola-Chicago’s run in Final Four

These teams form the Cinderella stories and only come every so often. Proceeds from the sales of Sister Jean merchandise will support her order, The Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Loyola Athletic Fund.

“Sometimes when you’re expected to win, it does put extra pressure on your guys to perform and that can work to your disadvantage, as well as the advantage of the lower seed”, Self said. “It’s the pinnacle of her life right now”.

Loyola-Chicago hasn’t played any Big Ten team since visiting Michigan State early in the 2014-15 season and losing by 35. “You can’t give up”. That’s all I know about him. “You can find belief in that”. She’s not shy about reminding a player to stay out of foul trouble, but the messages are upbeat, reflecting her personality. “We don’t always make it to the Final Four, but that doesn’t take away from … the joy we see in seeing these student-athletes just simply do their best and discover gifts within themselves and how they help each other get stronger”.

And inside their cramped Alamodome locker room that overflowed with national media, unwavering belief oozed from the dreamy Loyola Chicago Ramblers, certain that they have so much more than a prayer Saturday night against MI. The city is draped in the school’s maroon and gold colors, local bars are holding viewing parties, and campus bookstores are packed with fans ready to jump on the Loyola bandwagon.

“I think to myself, who am I?” Chareda Ivey said, laughing. Michigan’s rest will pull them through and John Beilein will take his first National Championship back to Ann Arbor. Ingram was the Wolverines’ sixth man.

“I’m not thinking about anything in terms of that”, Loyola-Chicago coach Porter Moser said. There was a change coming in college basketball, but not as dramatic as Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball.

On June 9, 2016, Saaid Ivey was found dead from a gunshot wound in a Los Angeles suburb while celebrating his 20th birthday.

“To see her become an global celebrity, it’s just unbelievable to see and I’m just grateful to know her”.

Check out all of that and more in Episode 5 of “The Two Ricks: Unfiltered“, brought to you by Sun-Times Media Productions. This is what college basketball needs.

How did FINAO go from a Chicago prep basketball player’s social media to Nike?

Carson graduated high school in Apple Valley, Minn., and headed to Utah State University. Ivey and Adams adopted the phrase “FINAO” in a restaurant booth one day after school.

“It seems like Loyola is playing very loose”.

Luckily for Loyola-Chicago, fate was on their side in all aspects of the tournament through the first four rounds. All eyes will be fixed on the team on March 31 when they play MI, and you can bet underdogs from all over the nation are pulling for the Ramblers.

FINAO was part of the Ramblers’ mindset before March Madness.

“I’ve never seen a team work so hard and be so connected on both ends”, MI head coach John Beilein told the Detroit Free Press after a 58-54 win over Florida State in the West regional final.

For his career, Hughes averaged 24.3 points per game and was a two-time conference player of the year. They are a coach’s dream.

“The Final Four was something I was hoping for maybe my senior year to go out on a high note, but as a sophomore, the bar has been set pretty high”, Schultz said. “Those guys believe in him [Moser] and trust his system”. (Though, to be fair, MI is a bigger-name program than Loyola, so, their guys were inherently recruited by at least one bigger name than the Loyola guys.) Still, no one on the court was a 5-star recruit and no one is a sure-thing for the National Basketball Association. Now, “FINAO” has cemented its place in March Madness history – with Ivey’s memory along for the ride.

“It’s such an exciting thing for everybody involved to see what they’re going through and we’ll see what happens”. “He would’ve been right there if he could”.