At the start of a season in which nonconfidence competition was extremely limited in both availability and volume, the Loyola Rumblers faced Wisconsin and Richmond in a mid-December game. They lost one each.
Even together, these were not going to crush the Ramblers. They were defining, however. The NCAA tournament selection committee had the only gauge by which to measure Loyola’s performance were those results; His games against main Missouri Valley Conference rival Drake; His success in ranking 11th in the league of 31 Division I; And advanced metrics such as NCAA assessment tools, also known as NETs.
This had no effect on Loyola’s selection in the tournament. The Ramblers took care of him by winning Wally’s automatic bid in the championship game two weeks ago. They then waited a week to see where they would come from, and were placed as the No. 8 seed in the Midwest region.
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In a country that could quickly generate anger, given the ease of posting on social media, around a sports event that annually produces unusual obsession, Rambel’s seed on the Richter scale about 1.1. . It was not a big deal. It wasn’t even really a deal.
It is now, as Loyola’s station top seed at No. 8 in the Midwest bracket was a second-round game against Illinois. And that led to the Flying Illini departing from the tournament after two matches, with many believing they could win. Loyola controlled their second-round game tip-to-finish and never seriously challenged in a 71–58 victory.
“We came 17th in the nation in the AP poll in this tournament,” star center Cameron Krutwig told reporters in the post game zoom call. “We got 8 seeds; That is just the hand we were dealing with. We are one of the best teams in the country. I think we showed that these are the last two games. “
To reach their second Sweet 16 in the last three NCAA tournaments, the Rambellers had to defeat reigning ACC tournament champions and Big Ten tournament champions. Both fell by double digits.
Loyola gained a 9–4 lead before the first television timeout against the Illini, and the early bounce defined the game in earnest. In Illinois’ game plan, star center Kofi Cockburn was paid some of the dividends available to remove Cutter from attacking the rim, with Cockburn at a high position to take away from Kruvig, and Krutwig faced the pressure of the ball. And independently decided how and where to pass the ball. .
Although it was clear that already the Illini could not get the necessary halfcourt stop to make a comeback – the Rambellars shot 51 percent from the field – they did not establish a fullcourt press until the final minutes of the game. Cockburn won with 21 points, but All-American Ayo Dosmumu could not find an answer for the excessive amount of defensive attention paid to him and wound up with nine points in 4-of-10 shooting.
“That’s the great thing about us,” Krutwig said. “We can really adopt any style of game. You do not think you are one of the best teams in the country. You have got to think like this. You’ve got to play it. And we are excited to get the next one. “
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Krutig was not arrogant when he reminded everyone: “I’ve been here before.” He was just explaining that this was an event that would advance to the Final Four in 2018, when he was a freshman surrounded by lofty veterans such as Clayton Custer, Marks Towns and Ben Richardson.
She is now a senior, and has built a legendary career in Missouri Valley Conference history, with the state combo line – at least 1,500 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists – achieved by just three other players. Those players are, ahem: Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird and Hersey Hawkins.
With Sunday’s 19 points, 12 rebellions and five assists, Krutwig now stands at 1,8219, 936 and 369 respectively for his career. More importantly, the Rambellars are the first of 16 teams to continue competing for the National Championship next weekend.
“People believe, I’m telling you,” Loyola coach Porter Moser told reporters. “We always talk about being a trusted honor. I have the utmost respect for them all, but you believe you can beat them. We have seen him doing very well on TV. And people had. “
As the Illini were declining, online harenas began circulating about the status of Loyola seeds. However, more than 200 brackets were collected online in The Bracket Matrix – including Bill Bender for Sporting News – with 70 percent placing the Rambellars at 8 seeds or less.
The Ramblers were ranked No. 9 by KenPom.com, the most widely followed metric in the game, and may be ranked No. 10 in the NET. But three of the top 20 teams in KenPom and six of the top 20 in the net fell in the first round games. Average rank of teams winning the elite of the net: No. 67.
The Ramblers were difficult to judge based on a record, including two defeats for teams that did not make the NCAAS, teams that won just three and none against opponents who were highly seeded by the committee. Drake, who fell twice to Loyola, was a No. 11 seed; North Texas was number 14.
The Rumblers earned their place in the Sweet 16 with two comfortable wins because they are an outstanding team, but also because their style makes them an outstanding team that is difficult to play. All of them are one of the slowest teams in Division I. Illinois, never got an answer on how to deal with them. Loyola is a complex problem in many ways.
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