And Then There Were Four

Villanova, Kansas, Michigan and Loyola-Chicago. There’s your Final Four.

We might have expected the first two to get this far and perhaps Michigan as well. But the final of the four? Well, gotta love the Ramblers.

Loyola put away Kansas State 78-62 on Saturday, but the highlight had to be the interview with Sister Jean, the 98-year-old nun who is the team’s chaplain. Asked what she had given up for Lent, she replied: “Losing.”

Michigan beat Florida State, which inexplicably gave up in the final minute in the final minute of a game it lost 58-54. That led coach Leonard Hamilton to behave like a complete doofus in a postgame interview, for which he later apologized. And in Sunday’s games,

Villanova took out Texas Tech 71-59 and Kansas won an overtime thriller over Duke 85-81.

Your matchups for the Final Four: Loyola vs. Michigan on Saturday at 6:09 p.m. ET and Kansas-Villanova at 8:49 p.m. The early game matches a No. 9 seed against a No. 3; the late game pits two No. 1 seeds.

GOLF: Bubba Watson cruised to a 7 and 6 win over Kevin Kisner in the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship in Austin. He’s now the fifth player to win multiple World Golf Championships and multiple majors, along with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Rory McIlroy. Watson’s next stop: The Masters, which he has won twice.

NASCAR: A wintry mix in Martinsville postponed the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race and conclusion of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race to Monday. Bonus doubleheader for you! The truck race, which began Saturday night, resumes at 11 a.m. and the main event is at about 2 p.m., both on FS1.

ELSEWHERE: The Winnipeg Jets earned a spot in the NHL playoffs with their 5-4 shootout win over the Nashville Predators. … The Indiana Pacers clinched an NBA playoff berth by beating the Miami Heat 113-107 in overtime. … Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said there is “no way” guard Stephen Curry (sprained left knee) will play in the first round of the playoffs. The Warriors are staggering to the close of the season with Kevin Durant (fractured rib cartilage) still out but soon to return and Klay Thompson sidelined by a fractured thumb.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman