Sister Jean picks Kentucky to win NCAA Tournament

Rattling off four straight wins — most recently a 32-point blowout vs. Auburn — Kentucky is playing its best basketball of the season. The offense is firing on all cylinders and the defense is finally finding its groove. Out of the projected NCAA Tournament field completely two weeks ago, the Wildcats are now seen as a team no one wants to face in March.

And if you ask Sister Jean — yes, that Sister Jean — Kentucky just may win it all.

Sitting down with Good Morning America to discuss her new memoir Wake Up with Purpose, 103-year-old Jean Dolores Schmidt, a viral sensation during Loyola-Chicago’s Cinderella run to the Final Four in 2018, picked the Wildcats to win this year’s title.

“Who’s going to win the men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament this year?” GMA’s Will Reeve asked Sister Jean.

“Right now, it looks to me as if Kentucky will,” she responded.

The team chaplain for the Ramblers famously said she gave up losing for Lent during Loyola’s historic run to the Final Four. Her history of good luck — or having God on her side? — speaks for itself.

“Everything she says, it’s right on point,” Loyola head coach Drew Valentine said.

Will she be right again this March? Big Blue Nation certainly hopes so.

"You can have a purpose. It's what you do every day."

Sister Jean, the 103-year-old nun who became a #MarchMadness icon as the chaplain for the Loyola Chicago Ramblers men's basketball team, talks to @reevewill about her new memoir, "Wake Up with Purpose." pic.twitter.com/eKOmkUYfHt

— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 27, 2023

Kentucky peaking at the right time

It’s been a heck of a two-week turnaround for the Wildcats, winning four straight games, three coming against Quad 1 competition. Now 20-9 on the year and 11-5 in the SEC, Kentucky is ranked again for the first time since December, coming in at No. 23 in the latest AP Poll.

Elsewhere, UK was The Field of 68’s Team of the Week, while ESPN’s Joe Lunardi picked the ‘Cats to win the SEC Tournament.

But make no mistake about it, no one has called their shot with Kentucky the way Sister Jean has.