Moser leaves Loyola for Oklahoma

Oklahoma reportedly hired Loyola Chicago’s Porter Moser as its men’s basketball coach.

Moser will replace Lon Kruger, who recently retired after 10 years coaching the Sooners.

Moser led Loyola to two deep runs in the NCAA tournament — the Ramblers reached the Final Four in 2018 and the Sweet 16 this year. He went 188-141 in 10 years at Loyola and has a 293-242 record in 17 seasons as a college head coach, with stops at Arkansas Little Rock (2000-03) and Illinois State (2003-07).

In 2017-18, the Ramblers went 32-6 that season and charmed the nation in an unexpected run buoyed by one last-second shot after another. Along the way, their 98-yearold nun and team chaplain, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, became a celebrity, with bobbleheads and athletic apparel and national TV interviews. The Ramblers beat Miami, Tennessee, Nevada and Kansas State to reach the national semifinal, where they lost to Michigan.

Loyola made another run this year, led by the nation’s stingiest defense. The Ramblers went 26-5 in their fourth straight year with 20 or more wins. They earned their first AP Top 25 ranking since March 1985 and won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament for the second time in four years.

Elsewhere

The NCAA has not tested players for performance-enhancing drugs at March Madness and other recent college championships, The Associated Press has learned. Three people with direct knowledge of NCAA testing protocols said full-scale testing has not resumed since the coronavirus pandemic shut down college sports a year ago.

Although athletes might have been tested on campus, either through the NCAA program or those run by schools, the NCAA has not ramped up its usual testing program at national championships such as the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. The tournaments wrap up with Final Four games starting with the women’s semifinals Friday.

The NCAA has tested for drugs since 1986, and has changed and enhanced its policy over the years.