Loyola (IL) Basketball

Loyola of Chicago became the latest university to shift its conference allegiances Tuesday, announcing it plans to leave the Missouri Valley Conference for the Atlantic 10 beginning in 2022-23. 

Loyola President Jo Ann Rooney issued a statement about the decision:

I am excited to announce that Loyola University Chicago will be joining the Atlantic 10 Conference beginning in the 2022-23 academic year. The A-10 is widely regarded as one of the top leagues in the country for its success in competition and in the classroom. This move will continue to grow our visibility at a national level, while at the same time placing us in a league with three other Jesuit institutions. We are confident this is a move that positions Loyola for even greater success, both athletically and academically, in the future.

Loyola has emerged as one of the best mid-major men's basketball programs in the country in recent seasons. The Ramblers reached the Final Four in 2018 and the Sweet 16 last season under Porter Moser, who left the program for Oklahoma in April. 

New head coach Drew Valentine has Loyola off to a 2-0 start this season.

Oklahoma and Texas kicked off the recent trend of realignment, announcing plans to leave the Big 12 for the SEC in 2025. The Big 12 then added BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston, which led to the American Athletic Conference landing Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA, all of which came from Conference USA.

C-USA rebounded by picking up Liberty, New Mexico State, Sam Houston and Jacksonville State. It also lost Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss to the Sun Belt.

Nearly all of these moves were centered around football; Loyola's move is basketball-centric. The Atlantic 10 has not sponsored football since 2006. 

Loyola's departure was the latest blow for to the Missouri Valley Conference, long a mid-major staple that has been weakening over the last decade. Creighton departed for the Big East in 2013, and Wichita State departed for the AAC in 2017.

The MVC has seemingly become a stepping stone for programs to turn themselves into mid-major powers before finding greener pastures elsewhere.

The players won't be the only ones jumping if Loyola-Chicago advances to the Final Four in the 2021 NCAA men's tournament.

"I'll be jumping around, literally, not figuratively, I'll be jumping around as much as they are," Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt said, per Adam Rittenberg of ESPN. "It will just be a great thrill if they get to the Final Four again, or even go up a couple steps more. I will hardly believe that it happened. Last time, I thought to myself, 'I will never see anything like this again.'"

The 101-year-old team chaplain was in attendance for the Ramblers' first-round victory over Georgia Tech and second-round stunner over top-seeded Illinois.

She certainly knows what championship basketball looks like considering she saw the Ramblers take home the 1963 national championship.

"I waited since 1963, because I saw that game too," she said. "If we got this, it would be perfect. They're working toward it, and I believe they still can do it. One never knows what's going to happen in a basketball game on the floor that night."

If Sister Jean really is jumping around after a Final Four run this year, the basketball won't be the only appointment viewing.

The 2020-21 Loyola of Chicago Ramblers had no business being a No. 8 seed.

Within moments of the final buzzer sounding on a dominant 71-58 victory over No. 1 seed Illinois, the word "Cinderella" had already been uttered multiple times by announcers and studio analysts alike.

But this time around, the glass slipper simply doesn't fit.

The Ramblers went 21-4 during the regular season, steamrolling their way through the Missouri Valley Conference and winning their three conference tournament games by a combined 50 points to secure an automatic bid.

The most recent AP poll, released on March 15, shows Loyola-Chicago at No. 17 ahead of the likes of Villanova, Creighton, Purdue, Texas Tech, Colorado, BYU, USC and Virginia Tech.

All of those teams were seeded higher than the Ramblers—some by as many as four seed lines.

Simple math says the No. 17 team in the nation should be a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament, and while the selection committee does not adhere to the AP poll by any means, a disparity of three seed lines is still a bit of a head-scratcher.

The KenPom rankings paint an even clearer picture of just how good this Ramblers team has been.

They rank No. 7 overall, behind only Gonzaga, Michigan, Houston, Baylor, Illinois and Iowa, and lay claim to the No. 1 ranking in adjusted defensive efficiency.

That pesky defense was on full display Sunday.

The Illini turned the ball over 17 times, six of which came from All-American guard Ayo Dosunmu, and they never found any sort of rhythm aside from a solid two-minute stretch to close out the first half. The 58 points scored by Illinois were its lowest point total of the season.

Meanwhile, with a patient half-court attack and the versatility of big man Cameron Krutwig, the Ramblers put on a clinic on the offensive end.

They shot 51 percent from the floor, a mark exceeded by only three teams against the Illini defense this season, and they found easy basket after easy basket late in the shot clock.

It all starts with Krutwig.

The Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and a holdover from the 2018 Final Four team when he started as a true freshman, he filled up the box score with 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Beyond the counting stats, his ability to play on the perimeter and run the offense pulled Kofi Cockburn out of the paint, opening things up underneath offensively.

And while the 6'9" senior center was the focal point Sunday, this is far from a one-dimensional attack.

Senior guard Lucas Williamson averages a modest 8.6 points per game, but he dropped a season-high 21 on 8-of-13 shooting against Georgia Tech in their opening-round win. The MVC Defensive Player of the Year is another holdover from the 2018 squad.

Guards Braden Norris (8.4 PPG, 52 3PT, 40.9 3PT%) and Keith Clemons (38 3PT, 45.8 3PT%) are both knockdown shooters from the outside, and Norris leads the team with 3.1 assists per game as the starting point guard.

Even when Krutwig needs a breather, the team can turn to 6'10" freshman Jacob Hutson, who has played his way into the rotation as the season has progressed. He tallied five points, two rebounds and one block in seven minutes of action Sunday.

There is no future lottery pick or 5-star recruit on this roster.

It's just a deep, talented, fundamentally sound team that has fully bought into the philosophy of head coach Porter Moser. They executed a well-crafted game plan to a T on Sunday to send a really good Illinois team packing in lopsided fashion.

So save the Cinderella talk for teams like North Texas and Oral Roberts.

This Loyola-Chicago squad is a bona fide Final Four threat, and it has been since before the NCAA tournament ever began.

     

All stats courtesy of Sports Reference.

When Loyola-Chicago opens the 2021 NCAA men's tournament on Friday, Sister Jean will be in the stands offering support for her team.   

Per Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune, the school confirmed on Tuesday that Sister Jean will travel to Indianapolis for the tournament:

Loyola confirms Sister Jean is ready to cut down some nets. The 101-year-old team chaplain and sports icon is headed to Indy for the NCAA Tournament. pic.twitter.com/T7IYmh38Y0

— Shannon Ryan (@SRyanAthletic) March 16, 2021

Sister Jean became a breakout star three years ago when the Ramblers advanced to the Final Four. The 101-year-old has worked as the chaplain for the school's basketball team since 1994.

She gave the school permission to use her name and likeness on merchandise in the wake of that tournament run. Her bobbleheads were being sold on eBay for as much as $650. 

The Ramblers earned a No. 8 seed in the Midwest Region, their best tournament seeding since the 1984-85 season (No. 4). They will play ACC champion Georgia Tech in the Round of 64 on Friday at 4 p.m. ET.