Anteaters almost a Loyola lookalike

COLUMBUS— Can anyone carry the Loyola-Chicago mantle deep into this NCAA Tournament? Is there a double-digit seed left that’s capable of grabbing the nation’s imagination? Maybe one with an unusual nickname? Check out the South Region. There sits a big underdog with a distinctive mascot — the only anteater in the bracket, let alone the entire country — and more double-digit seeds still standing than in any other region. And at least one of them is guaranteed to make the Sweet 16. Start with UC Irvine. The No. 13 Anteaters have the highest seed left in the tournament. They’re face No. 12 Oregon on Sunday in San Jose, so one of them is headed for the Sweet 16.

The other double-digit seed in the South — No. 10 Iowa — knocked off Cincinnati in its opener and will face Tennessee on Sunday in Columbus.

Which of them has the ingredients to go viral in March? The Anteaters — OK, make that the ’Eaters, as they call themselves — have some things in common with those Ramblers of last year.

Loyola-Chicago was a No. 11 seed in the same region. The Ramblers also beat Kansas State — another connection — to reach the Final Four. With the beloved nun Sister Jean rooting from courtside, the Ramblers became the nation’s basketball darlings and only the fourth No. 11 to reach a Final Four.

The Ramblers weren’t even second fiddle in the Windy City. The ’Eaters? Way down the pecking order in the Golden State.

“UC Irvine folks, I don’t know, live in the shadow, live like little brothers to UCLA and SC and maybe some others, Cal, Stanford, San Diego State,” ninthyear Anteaters coach Russell Turner said. “Well, little brother has been in the weight room getting better, getting ready for a chance like this.”

The South bracket feels more open than the others.

The winner of UC Irvine-Oregon will head to Louisville to face either No. 1 Virginia or Oklahoma in the Sweet 16.