Kansas State vs. Loyola Chicago: NCAA Tournament game preview, schedule and prediction

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ATLANTA, GA – MARCH 22: Head coach Bruce Weber of the Kansas State Wildcats celebrates his teams win over the Kentucky Wildcats during the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament South Regional at Philips Arena on March 22, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. The Kansas State Wildcats defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 61-58. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Impact of the game for both coaches

What a win means for Porter Moser

Any time a coach makes the Final Four, there’s a certain level of cache that comes with it, meaning that you’ll never be considered a bad coach in some eyes. It also means that a power conference gig is coming along soon, just like it did for former VCU coach Shaka Smart and former George Mason Coach Jim Larranaga.

This is the seventh year for Porter at Loyola-Chicago, with the results being somewhat mixed. Before the Ramblers, he coached Illinois State and Arkansas Little-Rock. He’s 50 years old and has a lot of coaching left in him. Porter will probably stay with no great jobs available but expect him to be next year’s version of Dan Hurley with a Final Four attached to his resume.

What a win means for Bruce Weber

Whether it’s fair or not, the Final Four has been the ultimate barometer of how good coaches are. Weber was able to get one at his former team with Illinois, but things soured between both sides after feeling that they weren’t going in the right direction.

He’s come to Manhattan and made the Wildcats a contender in the Big 12, not an easy feat by any means. Another Final Four appearance (no one remembers a team’s path there by the way), quiets all the doubters and could make Weber close to a lifer at Kansas State. And if the Jayhawks fail to make it out of their region that makes it all the more better.

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