Loyola – Belief and Hard Work

Ramblers Take Down Top Seeded Illinois

(St. Louis, MO) – Loyola Chicago has done it again. The Missouri Valley Conference champion has reached the Sweet Sixteen for the second time in four years and it’s all about belief and hard work. This is not about pixie dust, some Cinderella magic, the Ramblers believe, and they work hard.

Coach Porter Moser’s team knocked off Illinois 71-58. The victory followed a familiar pattern. Rambler defenders created 17 turnovers including 12 steals. Offensively efficient LUC handed out 16 assists and shot 61% from the field. Loyola out rebounded and scored more ‘points in the paint’ than an Illini squad led by all-American Kofi Cockburn.

Belief and Hard Work

Moser says his players have believed and put in the work.

“The guys believed,” said Moser. “It’s amazing what happens when you get a group of young men who believe, and these guys believed. From start to finish, but even — it wasn’t just the last 48 hours. A lot of the stuff we’ve done is hard work in the summer, hard work in the off-season. This wasn’t just the switch just flipped the last 48 hours. These guys have invested in what we do and they believe in it, and just great group of guys that believe.”

The nation’s best defensive team held their 20^th straight opponent to 65 or fewer points. During that twenty-game streak only Drake (during the Arch Madness Championship game) scored more than 60 points.

LUC’s ability to lock down Illinois didn’t come from a unique scouting report. All-American center Cameron Krutwig says the Ramblers work continuously on their defensive game-plans, techniques and effort.

“That’s our defense,” said Krutwig. “Coach said that today, it’s not just a 48-hour scout we’ve been working our whole season on our defense. I guess people kind of forgot or something but we were the No. 1 defense in the country this year. I guess people chalk it up to maybe being a mid-major or something, but we play hard, play the right way, and we follow the scout and follow the scheme.”

Are They That Good?

For weeks the Ramblers have been a top 25 team. Their NET and KenPom numbers have been top twenty most of the season. Now, they are in the Sweet Sixteen, but skeptics still think of them as a cute ‘little engine that could’ story.

Moser says his team has a ‘confident respect’ for the tournament’s other teams.

“The guys believed, I’m telling you,” said Moser. “They believed from start, we always talk about talk about having a confident respect. The utmost respect for all of them for what they did, but you’ve got to have a confidence you can beat them. I just saw that confident respect, because we’ve seen them so much do so well on TV, and the guys had that, confident respect to beat them.”

Krutwig believes the Ramblers are one of the best teams in the nation.

“We came into this tournament ranked like 17th in the country in the AP poll,” added Krutwig. “We got an 8 seed. That’s just the hand we were dealt. We feel like we’re one of the best teams in the country, and I think we showed that these last two games. That’s the great thing about us, we can adapt to any style of play really, and you can’t not think that you’re one of the best teams in the country. You’ve got to think that and you’ve got to play like that, and we’re excited to get to the next one.”

Moser’s teams are 6-and-1 in the NCAA Tournament.

Inside The Game

Krutwig recorded his 22^nd career double-double, scoring 19 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. The nation’s best passing big man added five assists. The Ramblers led throughout the all-Illinois contest, taking the lead 4-to-2 and never looking back.

Senior co-captain Lucas Williamson scored 14 points (12 in the second half) and so did Marquise Kennedy. Tate Hall contributed an ‘under the radar’ performance of three points, five rebounds and four assists.

LUC limited all-American guard Ayo Dosunmo to nine points. He came into the game averaging almost 21 points per game and hadn’t been held to a single digit scoring performance all season.

Loyola Chicago belongs in the national conversation. While they are a talented team, their belief and hard work are an immeasurable advantage.

Do Good

 

Editor: The feature photo is courtesy of 2021 NCAA Photos.