Sister Jean picks Kentucky to make the Final Four

The best part about March Madness are the Cinderella teams that come out of nowhere and make a run in the NCAA Tournament.

In 2018, the Ramblers of Loyola-Chicago stole the show and danced themselves all the way to the Final Four with wins over Miami, Tennessee, Nevada and Kansas State before losing to Michigan in the national semifinals.

It’s usually just the team that wins over the nation, but the Ramblers were different as their team chaplain Jean Schmidt, a.k.a Sister Jean, became a celebrity on college basketball’s biggest stage.

Even though Loyola Chicago didn’t make it into the field of 68 again this year, Sister Jean is still actively participating in the madness, as she gave her thoughts on this year’s tournament in an interview with Sports Illustrated.

Beyond sharing that she knocked out some teams like UNC “early” and that she doesn’t believe there will be another Cinderella this year, she shared her prediction for who will make it to Minneapolis. She has the Duke Blue Devils, Gonzaga Bulldogs, Virginia Cavaliers and Kentucky Wildcats as her picks to make the Final Four.

Multiple college basketball analysts and experts have Kentucky finishing anywhere between the Elite Eight or winning the National Championship, but this opinion is one that matters. Not because she knows any more than they do, but because any team in the tournament would love to experience some of the magic Sister Jean and the Ramblers had up their sleeve to win the country over last season.

With PJ Washington out again and the way Fletcher MaGee and Wofford shot the ball in their first game, the Wildcats certainly wouldn’t say no to either some extra luck on their side.

No matter if Loyola-Chicago is in the tournament or not, the 99-year old Sister continues to be nothing short of a gem and national treasure in the eyes of college basketball fans across the country.