Final Four 2018: Loyola is staying at same hotel as the Thunder and got a pep talk from Russell Westbrook

Westbrook gave the Cinderella of the field words of advice ahead of Saturday's Final Four

By Kyle Boone

Mar 29, 2018 at 6:47 pm ET • 1 min read

SAN ANTONIO -- There has never been a team seeded lower than No. 8 to win the national championship, but Cinderella darling Loyola-Chicago -- the No. 11 seed that will play for a shot at the title game Saturday in the Final Four -- is two wins away from achieving exactly that.

The Ramblers and their famous icon, Sister Jean, will have plenty of fans when they take the court on Saturday to take on No. 3 seed Michigan from both near and far -- including Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook, who offered up some advice on Wednesday in a chance encounter because the Ramblers were staying in the same hotel as the Thunder, who were in town to play the Spurs.

"When we saw Russell Westbrook, a few of us took pictures with him," Loyola-Chicago senior forward Aundre Jackson told ESPN. "He just said, 'What's up?' He was like, 'Good luck, go ahead and win it.'"

Loyola is an underdog going into the Final Four on Saturday against the Wolverines -- a place it has found itself in just about every NCAA Tournament game over the last few weeks. It's not new territory for a confident crew playing with a ton of poise.

Perhaps Westbrook's words of wisdom will help propel them into accomplishing what no No. 11 seed has ever achieved: advancing to the national title game.