Loyola-Chicago Basketball: How the Ramblers reached the Final Four

Who Loyola-Chicago had to go through to get here

Miami

The Hurricanes are a spitting image of the Ramblers, with a balanced offense of players who play great defense. The difference, of course, was the Bruce Brown, Miami’s top player was out for the tournament, leaving them at a disadvantage.

As expected, it was a rough game for both teams, but Donte Ingram‘s game-winning 30-footer as time expired allowed the Ramblers to move on 64-62.

Tennessee

The Volunteers had their best season in a while and had a great chance at a Final Four run themselves. As a neutral observer, this was a fun game to watch, with both teams playing well on each end. The good news for the Ramblers is that they had effectively the last shot, and Custer made Tennessee pay for it with a mid-jumper to seal their fate.

Nevada

The last two mid-majors left were vying for the Elite Eight and the Wolf Pack looked like the favorite after racing out to a double-digit lead early on. But Loyola-Chicago closed the gap to end the half, and somehow kept up with Nevada on offense in the final 20 minutes. Another last-second made shot allowed them to advance 69-68.

Kansas State

The stars were aligned for Loyola-Chicago, facing a nine seed who was playing without their leading scorer. The Wildcats survived on playing outstanding defense, but couldn’t stop the Ramblers on the other hand. A late push by the Big 12 school wasn’t enough as the Cinderella story continues, with the final score 78-62.