Final Four-cast

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My second stab at predicting the last four teams salvaged some teams I had left by the wayside in my first bracket.

In the Semi-Finals:  Loyola - Chicago (11) v Michigan (3) and Villanova (1) v Kansas (1).

Loyola may claim the glass slipper, but this Cinderella packs a punch and solid basketball skills.  They play good defense and have been extraordinary shooting the ball in the four games leading to this one.

Michigan is a strong, athletic team with an ability to fill the basket and they play defense too.  They won the B1G tournament.  They are used to the big stage.

Judging between these two is difficult.  Both are on double digit winning streaks.  Loyola got to this game by taking down teams thought to be better than they.  I don't expect Sister Jean to be on the court, but this team isn't a mirage.  I think it will be tight. 

If it is, I'm rooting for the Ramblers - the first car I drove was a Rambler and choices are made on worse.

You weren't alone if you had Kansas and Villanova in the Final Four of your first bracket.  These teams live in the Top 10 all season, year after year.

The pundits will call this the "actual" championship game because of their pedigree.  I can't see a clear favorite, but Kansas seems to have something extra in their travel bag this year, so it's Rock-Chalk-Jayhawk to the championship game.

Monday night the game will end before the clock strikes midnight, which is great news for Cinderella.  Loyola wins its second title, 55 years after the first one in 1963.  I was born in '63, so why not follow the coincidences?  My Rambler was a 68, but that's close enough in this guessing game.