These Ramblers just refuse to be extinct
They continue to roll along, this time with a blowout upset victory to earn Final Four trip.
ATLANTA — Sister Jean and the Loyola Ramblers are headed to the Final Four.
Ben Richardson scored 23 points and 11th-seeded Loyola romped to a 78-62 victory over ninth-seeded Kansas State on Saturday night, capping off a remarkable run through the South Regional.
“Are you kidding me! Are you kidding me!” coach Porter Moser screamed in front of the scarf-clad faithful who made the trip from Chicago.
The Ramblers (32-5) matched the lowest-seeded team to reach the Final Four, joining Louisiana State (1986), George Mason (2006) and Virginia Commonwealth (2011). All three lost in the national semifinals.
“We believed that we could do something like this, do something really special, beLoyola cause we knew we had such good chemistry and we’ve got such a good group,” Richardson said. “Everyone would say we were crazy. If we said this was going to happen, people would call us crazy, but you’ve just got to believe.”
continued to be inspired by its 98-year-old team chaplain, Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt, who led a prayer in the locker room before the game, then was pushed onto the court in her wheelchair to join the celebration.
Also celebrating in the arena were several members of the Ramblers’ 1963 national championship team, which had mostly black players and which defeated an all-white Mississippi State team for the title.
Les Hunter, a member of that championship team, said these Ramblers are capable of bringing home another title.
“I think they’re the best right now,” Hunter said. “They work so well together. They can play with anybody — anybody — right now.”
Loyola came out in attack mode from the start against a Wildcats team that rode a stifling defense to the regional final. Moving the ball efficiently with two seniors and two fourth-year juniors in the starting lineup, the Ramblers kept getting open looks and shot 56% in the first half and took a 36-24 lead.
The Ramblers really turned it on in the second half.
Richardson made a threepoint basket as he was fouled by Kamau Stokes, winding up flat on his back, smiling from ear to ear with his arms raised above his head. He made the free throw to complete the four-point play, stretching Loyola’s lead to 44-29.
Things went so well for the Ramblers that they actually increased their lead during the first television timeout of the second half. The officials reviewed a replay of Donte Ingram’s jumper in the opening minute of the period, ruling he was behind the three-point line when he released the shot to change the score from 46-33 to 47-33.
Loyola had not participated in the tournament since 1985 but broke through this season by winning the Missouri Valley Conference.
Now the Ramblers, who won their first three tournament games by a total of four points. are headed to San Antonio for the Final Four and an opportunity to become national champions.