{"id":15418,"date":"2018-03-26T06:42:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-26T06:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/2018\/03\/26\/final-4-mens-ncaa-basketball-tourney-whittled-down-from-68-teams\/"},"modified":"2018-03-26T06:42:00","modified_gmt":"2018-03-26T06:42:00","slug":"final-4-mens-ncaa-basketball-tourney-whittled-down-from-68-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/final-4-mens-ncaa-basketball-tourney-whittled-down-from-68-teams\/","title":{"rendered":"Final 4: Men's NCAA Basketball Tourney Whittled Down From 68 Teams"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Doreen McCallister<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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\n Kansas’ Malik Newman holds the trophy after defeating Duke in a regional final game in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament Sunday in Omaha, Neb. Kansas won 85-81 in overtime.<\/p>\n

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Charlie Neibergall\/AP<\/p>\n

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Charlie Neibergall\/AP<\/p>\n

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After weeks of play, four teams are left standing: Villanova, Kansas, Michigan and Loyola-Chicago.<\/p>\n

The Villanova Wildcats and Kansas Jayhawks aren’t really a surprise \u2014 they were both top seeds heading<\/a> into the tournament.<\/p>\n

They will play each other on Saturday in San Antonio, Texas, and then only one top seeded team will remain. The other semifinal game features No. 3 Michigan Wolverines and No. 11 Loyola-Chicago Ramblers.<\/p>\n

The Ramblers may have a bit of an edge. After all, they have Sister Jean Delores Schmidt. If you’ve seen any of their games on TV, the 98-year-old nun is hard to miss.<\/p>\n

Sister Jean serves as the chaplain of the basketball team and apparently is a mighty good luck charm and a marketer’s dream.<\/p>\n

ESPN reports<\/a> that Loyola-Chicago officials have asked Sister Jean for permission to license her name and image as demand from licensees came in to the school’s athletic department.<\/p>\n

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“We weren’t going to do anything until she gave her blessing,” said Tom Sorboro, a senior associate athletic director at the school.<\/p>\n

“She didn’t ask for anything for herself,” including compensation, Sorboro said.<\/p>\n

“So far, Loyola has approved more than 25 Sister Jean T-shirts from a variety of companies including Fanatics, which made a Final Four shirt with her phrase, “Worship. Work And Win.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n