NCAA Basketball: Breakdown of all 32 autobids for 2022 NCAA Tournament
By Bryan Mauro
Loyola-Chicago Ramblers – MVC
Record: 25-7 and 13-5 in Conference
Colors: Maroon and Gold
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Last Appearance: 2020-2021
Another year and another year of stifling defense for the Ramblers. Loyola is extremely experienced, and all their players were on the tournament team from last year that upset top-seeded Illinois in the second round. The difference in this team is the coach as Drew Valentine goes to his first tournament as the head coach instead of the top assistant.
The Ramblers are going to do a lot of things the same every year. They play at one of the slowest paces in the country and they take great shots. Their shot selection leads to a very high percentage from the floor. The Ramblers are defense-first and are going to make it hard for their opponents to do anything in the half-court. Lucas Williamson is a great player and has a ton of experience in the NCAA tournament. Loyola got hot and won the league as a 4 seed.
Chattanooga Mocs – SoCon
Record: 27-7 and 14-4 in Conference
Colors: Navy Blue and Gold
Location: Chattanooga, Tennessee
Last Appearance: 2015-2016
The Mocs had the most exciting championship game this year. It was a back-and-forth game that saw Chattanooga make a half-court three as time expired in Overtime to win it. The Mocs are also one of the oldest teams in the nation. Chattanooga, like many other teams in the tournament, has exceptional guard play and their point guard David Jean-Baptiste is one of the oldest guards in the tournament.
Jean-Baptiste hit the half-court shot to send the Mocs to the tournament and is a huge part of the Mocs on both offense and defense. Chattanooga is a good shooting team, but they hang their hat on defense and they are extremely well-coached. They have a lot of topflight talent and the Southern Conference is always one that comes close to an upset in the tournament. Chattanooga will be in the road darks, but they are going to be one to watch given the matchup as they are a dangerous team.