Loyola of Chicago rambles along to the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four

Eleventh-seeded Loyola of Chicago rambles along to the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four by rolling over 9th seed Kansas State, 78-62, in Saturday’s South Region in Atlanta Ramblers meet 3rd seeded Michigan in the San Antonio Alamo dome Saturday, while today’s Duke-Kansas Villanova-Texas Tech winners clash in the other semis

By Arnie Leshin 

They just keep rambling along. Maybe that’s why they are called the Ramblers.

Not only has 11th seeded Loyola of Chicago made a mess of the worldwide brackets, but it no longer is a surprise. Yes, the 32-5 Missouri Valley Conference champion had no problem disposing of 9th seeded Kansas State, 78-62, in Saturday’s South Regional final played in Atlanta.

In the March Madness field for the first time since 1985, they now head for the Final Four in San Antonio, Tex., and Saturday they take on 3rd seeded Michigan (32-7), which became the West Regional winner via a tough 58-54 outcome in Los Angeles over 9th seeded Florida State Saturday night.

The other semifinal will have today’s winners heading to San Antonio.
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That will be top-seeded Villanova (33-4) meeting up with 3rd seeded Texas Tech (27-9) in the East Regional in Boston, and top-seeded Kansas (30-7) versus 2nd seeded Duke (29-7) in the Midwest Regional in Omaha, Neb.

As for the Ramblers, the first round, Sweet 16 and Elite Eight brought tight tussles and they won all three times by a total of five points. But somewhere along the way, the doubting Thomas’ figured their luck would run out and they could slip up in a close contest.

Not yet, and who knows when?

This match-up was not close after midway through the first half. Not a tall team, Loyola is extra quick, it pecks away on defense, boxes out to grab rebounds, and hustles for every loose ball. Plus they present a balanced attack that has brought problems for the opposition defense.

This time, no divine intervention was necessary. Oh, there was the usual pre-game locker room prayer led by the team’s 98-year-old chaplain, Sister Jean Delores Schmidt, who then steers her wheelchair to the area behind the Ramblers bench, and cheers along.

And after each victory, Loyola players first celebrate and then head over to Sister Jean’s wheelchair to exchange hugs.

“Oh my,” she said after this latest exciting moment, “they are playing so well, and they do remind me of our 1963 national champion, Even Jerry Harkness was here today to root for his alma mater.”

Harkness, from the Bronx, was the No. 1 Rambler for that team. He ran the show. With this team, it appears as if everybody runs the show.

“This sure brings back memories,” he said, “happy to be here and I really like this team.”

Kansas State, which finished at 25-12, had also been playing well, and so this one-sided setback was a surprise after Loyola had won so many close games,

it was assumed it was again on the agenda. But after the Ramblers moved ahead 33-22 with 2:19 to play before halftime, it never lost its momentum, holding leads of 20 or more points in the second half.

“They’re good, very good,” said Wildcats’ head coach Bruce Weber, “we had a tough time setting up plays because of their aggressive defense, and on offense, they all handle and shoot the ball well.”

Kansas State of the Big 12 had just come off eliminating 5th seeded Kentucky, and 7th seeded Nevada of the Western Athletic Conference ousted 10th seed Texas and then 2nd seeded Cincinnati, both with final-second baskets. Then Loyola sent both home.

Said Ramblers’ head coach Porter Moser: “This hasn’t been easy, but this team came into this tournament after a super regular season in our first season in the MVC. Now we get Michigan, so it never lets up against a field like this.”

Sister Jean, who not only serves as a spiritual good-luck charm, but also as an honorary assistant. Moser confirmed that he does compare notes with the longtime basketball aficionado who played high school ball in San Francisco from 1933-37.

Michigan and FSU exchanged leads many time in the first half, with the Seminoles up by 5 at halftime. Down by 8 with three minutes left in regulation, they went on a 9-0 run to grab the lead. But the Wolverines, despite losing two starters who fouled out, made the big shots in the final minute to secure this triumph.

And there’s no way they are going to take the Windy City gang lightly.
While Michigan had a red-hot stretch run that carried into the tournament, Loyola was not expected to get this far, was not expected to spend the Final Four in San Antonio.

NOTE: There was another addition to the Ramblers’ mission even before they got to their hotel. An escort who was supposed to accompany them on the bus ride from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport never showed and, according to Moser, it took roughly 40 minutes and any number of wrong turns before the team finally its intended destination.