After two weeks of historical upsets, unprecedented matchups, buzzer-beaters, blown leads and just craziness in general, the 2018 Final Four is set. It includes the Big Ten Tournament champion, the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champion, the Big East Tournament champion and the Big 12 Tournament champion. It includes two programs that appeared headed this way most of the season, another that's seemed headed this direction for the past month and ... Sister Jean!

Is this the Final Four I expected?

Of course not.

It's not the Final Four anybody expected. But it's still terrific and filled with great storylines. Can Jay Wright or Bill Self win a second national title? Can John Beilein secure his first? Can Loyola-Chicago become the lowest-seeded team to ever advance to the title game -- or maybe even win it all?

Lots of questions.

The answers are right around the corner.

Consider this an initial look at the Final Four.

No. 11 Loyola-Chicago (32-5) vs. No. 3 Michigan (32-7)

When: Saturday,  6:09 pm. ET
Line: Michigan -5

Loyola-Chicago and Michigan are, according to their winning streaks, the two hottest teams in the country. The Ramblers are on a 14-game winning streak featuring victories over Miami, Tennessee, Nevada and Kansas State. The Wolverines are on a 13-game winning streak featuring victories over Ohio State, Michigan State, Purdue, Houston, Texas A&M and Florida State. So both of these teams are operating at a high level.

Michigan is the favorite, clearly.

But Loyola-Chicago is now 30th at KenPom while Michigan is No. 7. So the gap between these two teams isn't as wide as some probably think, which is why the Ramblers have a realistic chance to become the first double-digit seed in history to play in the final game of the NCAA Tournament. Remember, they've already beaten one No. 3 seed. So it's not crazy to think they could do it again.

Prediction: Michigan 67, Loyola-Chicago 65

Loyola-Chicago winning would be the better story, I think, considering it would place a true mid-major in the championship game for the first time since Butler, then of the Horizon League, went in 2010 and 2011. But Michigan is probably the better team and thus smart pick to advance.

No. 1 Villanova (34-4) vs. No. 1 Kansas (31-7)

When: Saturday, 8:49 pm. ET  
Line: Villanova -5.5

This is obviously the main event -- a game between two No. 1 seeds, between the schools ranked No. 4 and No. 6 in the preseason Associated Press poll, between the schools ranked No. 2 and No. 4 when this NCAA Tournament started. In other words, Loyola-Chicago is a big surprise. And Michigan is somewhat of a surprise. But there's nothing surprising about Villanova or Kansas.

Each is a No. 1 seed.

Each is ranked in the top five in offensive efficiency. Each shoots above 40 percent from 3-point range. Each has a point guard (Jalen Brunson, Devonte' Graham) who is a reigning conference player of the year and a legitimate national player of the year candidate. And each is guided by a man who has already won a national championship -- Bill Self in 2008, Jay Wright in 2016.

Total heavyweight matchup.

Can't wait for this one.

Brunson vs. Graham alone is worthy of our attention.

Prediction: Kansas 79, Villanova 78

The Jayhawks are the underdog and should be, according to all reputable metrics. But they're 12-1 in their past 13 games and clearly good enough to get this done. I'll definitely be taking the points. And I'd grab them on the money line too. Sunday's overtime win over Duke, in which the Jayhawks showed great resilience and resolve, pushed me in this direction.

Final Thought

It's fitting that, in this season of scandal, one national semifinal will feature Loyola-Chicago and Michigan -- if only because those two programs, while on opposite ends of the power structure, seem to represent hope for a sport that needs it.

"You can't win big without cheating!" some have yelled consistently since nine men connected in various ways to college basketball were arrested in September and charged with federal crimes.

Coaches have lost their jobs. Players have been ruled ineligible.

Reputations have been ruined.

But the scandal hasn't touched Loyola-Chicago or Michigan -- and for different reasons that are worth pointing out. Loyola-Chicago, of course, is a traditional mid-major that doesn't recruit the type of prospects to which agents, financial advisers and shoe companies typically attach. So the Ramblers' exclusion makes sense. But Michigan is a big brand from a power league that's dealt with scandal before -- evidence being its two vacated Final Fours. So, from a historical perspective, the Wolverines' exclusion might not make sense but for the perception that their coach, John Beilein, is the most by-the-book coach at the high-major level.

That's what his peers told us last summer, at least.

We asked more than 100 coaches for the name of the high-major coach they believe does everything within the NCAA's guidelines, and 26.6 percent of them answered Beilein. Nobody else got more than 10.5 percent of the vote. So Beilein won the poll by a significant margin. And now he's in the Final Four again.

To be clear, no, that doesn't mean college basketball is clean.

In fact, it doesn't even mean Michigan is 100 percent clean because, as I've said and written many times, I personally vouch for no program. As always, who knows? But what it does mean is that Beilein's colleagues believe Michigan is clean. And if Michigan is clean, it means Michigan is proof that it's possible to win big without breaking rules and compromising yourself.

It might not be the simplest thing to do.

But at least one side of this bracket suggests it is indeed possible.