Loyola Chicago stuns top-seeded Illinois
INDIANAPOLIS — If the pregame prayer sounded more like a scouting report, it was. And if Sister Jean didn’t have any plans for next weekend, well, she does now.
Loyola Chicago carried out its 101-yearold superfan’s plans to a T on Sunday, moving to the Sweet 16 with a 71-58 win over Illinois, the first No. 1 seed bounced from this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Cameron Krutwig delivered a 19-point, 12-rebound masterpiece and the quickhanded, eighth-seeded Ramblers (26-4) led wire to wire. They befuddled a powerful Illinois offense to return to the second weekend three years after their last magical run to the Final Four.
A hard habit to break for these Ramblers. And a classic case of nun-and-done for the Illini.
Loyola Chicago will next play either Oklahoma State or Oregon State, who were set to meet later Sunday.
“We just executed, played our game and controlled the game from the start,” Krutwig said. “Nobody was really doing anything out of body or out of mind. We just stuck to the game plan.”
Who wrote it?
Some of Loyola’s wisdom comes from Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the venerable team chaplain, who headlined the team’s 2018 run to the Final Four and received both COVID-19 vaccination shots so she could travel to Indianapolis to see what inspiration she could provide in 2021.
Before taking in this game from the luxury suite — sitting in her wheelchair and decked out in her trademark maroon and gold scarf — Jean delivered a pregame prayer that could’ve been stripped straight from a John Wooden handbook.
“As we play the Fighting Illini, we ask for special help to overcome this team and get a great win,” she said. “We hope to score early and make our opponents nervous. We have a great opportunity to convert rebounds as this team makes about 50% of layups and 30% of its 3 points. Our defense can take care of that.”
Illinois (24-7) earned top seeding for the first time since its own Final Four run in 2005, but fell behind by double digits in the first half and never got within striking range. The Illini committed 16 turnovers and scored 23 points fewer than their season average. A team that lives for easy buckets in transition got two fast-break points.
BAYLOR 76, WISCONSIN 63
INDIANAPOLIS — Davion Mitchell scored 16 points and spearheaded a dominant defensive first half, helping top-seeded Baylor avoid another NCAA Tournament upset with a win over Wisconsin.
The 2021 bracket has been filled with surprises, the latest by lovable Loyola Chicago over Illinois.
Not long after the Illini became the first No. 1 seed to bow out, the Bears (24-2) looked every bit a Final Four favorite in the first half, smothering Wisconsin with the type of defensive pressure they played before a late-season COVID-19 pause.
Led by Mitchell’s never-give-an-inch style, Baylor made Wisconsin’s seniorheavy lineup uncomfortable with its athleticism and all-out defensive effort.
The Badgers (18-13) showed a bit of fight after being backed into an 18-point corner, rallying to within seven midway through the second half behind D’Mitrik Trice (12 points).
SYRACUSE 75, WEST VIRGINIA 72
INDIANAPOLIS — Buddy Boeheim carried his father, Jim, to the Hall of Fame coach’s 20th Sweet 16 appearance, scoring 22 of his 25 points after halftime to lead 11th-seeded Syracuse past third-seeded West Virginia.
Jim Boeheim’s Orange got the better of another legend, Bob Huggins, in the second March Madness meeting between coaches with at least 900 Division I victories. Huggins won No. 900 when West Virginia beat Morehead State in the first round Friday. Boeheim got his 982nd at Huggins’ expense.
Syracuse (18-9) advanced to face secondseeded Houston or 10th-seeded Rutgers in a Midwest Regional semifinal.
Buddy Boeheim erupted in the second half, when he made all but one of his six 3-pointers.
Sean McNeil scored 23 points to lead the Mountaineers (19-10), who last made the Sweet 16 in 2018.