Ohio State puts clamps on Loyola Chicago in 54-41 NCAA win

Associated PressMar 18, 2022, 6:41 PM EDT

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH — No extended March stay for Loyola Chicago and Sister Jean this time.

Not with Ohio State taking away every inch of open space. Not with E.J. Liddell creating a bit of his own with each pull-up jumper. Not with the seventh-seeded Buckeyes showing that when healthy, they can make every trip down the floor for their opponent a frustrating mess.

E.J. Liddell scored 16 points, Big Ten Freshman of the Year Malaki Branham added 14 and Ohio State shut down the 10th-seeded Ramblers from start to finish, winning 54-41 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.

The Buckeyes (20-11) advanced to play Villanova on Sunday in the South Region while preventing another March run by the Ramblers (25-8), who shot 27% (15 of 56) from the floor.

“We knew we were in for a rock fight, and that’s very much what it was,” Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said, calling it “the best defensive performance we’ve really had in a couple years.”

Certainly, it’s the best the Ramblers have faced in a while. Loyola’s 41 points were a season low and the program’s fewest since scoring 39 against Indiana State in 2020. After hearing repeatedly about the Ramblers’ smothering defense, the Buckeyes provided some of their own.

“We love that type of challenge, and we just have to respond,” said forward Kyle Young, who had nine points and seven rebounds in 34 minutes in his return from a concussion that cost him several games. “So it was just about who is going to play more physical and tougher with 50/50 balls and things like that.”

Braden Norris gave the Ramblers 14 points but star Lucas Williamson endured perhaps his worst game of the season. The winningest player in program history finished with four points on 1-of-10 shooting and committed three turnovers as Loyola fell in the first round after reaching the Sweet 16 last season and the Final Four in 2018.

“I mean, I’m disappointed in myself,” Williamson said. “I don’t feel like I played to the standard that I put myself at. But, yeah, I mean, like (coach) Drew (Valentine) said, kind of just at a loss for words. Kind of just stunned right now.”

Sister Jean, Loyola’s 102-year-old chaplain, led the Ramblers in a pregame prayer and took in the school’s third NCAA appearance in five years from the mezzanine but could only watch as Loyola – listed as a slight favorite by FanDuel Sportsbook, a nod to the program’s rise – fumbled away an opportunity to further cement its status as an emerging mid-major power.

Ohio State came in having lost four of five games, including a baffling setback to lowly Penn State in the Big Ten tournament last week. A year ago, Ohio State came in as a two seed only to get ambushed by 15th-seeded Oral Roberts in the opening round. Not this time.

Liddell endured a rocky first half while getting hounded by Williamson but collected himself after the break, hitting a series of mid-range jumpers. The 6-foot-7 bruiser’s go-to move was using one of his shoulders to nudge a Rambler out of the way before rising up into the void.

“We played with an edge tonight, played like the underdogs,” Liddell said. “We’ve got to keep playing like that because people have been counting us out big time. We’ve got to have that same mindset next game.”

The Ramblers were in fact a popular pick to knock off the Buckeyes, but Ohio State’s size and relentlessness were too much.

At one point, Valentine grew so animated his gum flew out of his mouth as he implored his team for more effort.

The Ramblers’ effort wasn’t the issue. Execution, however, was another matter as Loyola ended its stint in the Missouri Valley Conference – the Jesuit school located along Lake Michigan is heading to the Atlantic 10 next fall – with a thud. It shows how far the Ramblers have come that a first-round exit is considered a disappointment.

“I think the main thing that I want to focus on is the program’s in a lot better spot than it was when a lot of these guys got here five years ago,” Valentine said. “So I’m proud of our group, but obviously today we really struggled offensively, making shots, free throws. Thought we had too many turnovers. I thought defensively we were solid at times, but probably fought a little too much.”

UP NEXT

Ohio State seeks its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2013.

Loyola Chicago beats Drake, returns to NCAA Tournament

Associated PressMar 6, 2022, 5:56 PM EST

Getty Images

ST. LOUIS – Lucas Williamson had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Aher Uguak added 16 points and 10 boards and Loyola Chicago defeated Drake 64-58 on Sunday to win the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.

Ryan Schwieger added 13 points for the fourth-seeded Ramblers (25-7) who came through against the Bulldogs in a rugged championship game after losing twice in the regular season to Drake (24-10).

Loyola, headed to the Atlantic 10 next season, beat Drake in last year’s title game 75-65 but this season’s victory came under first-head head coach Drew Valentine.

Roman Penn scored 18 points and MVC freshman of the year Tucker DeVries had 15 points and a career-high five blocks for Drake. ShanQuan Hamphill had 10 boards to go with six points.

Neither team reach 40% shooting and both were 25% or less from the arc in a game in which both teams had a player foul out and two others with four fouls. Loyola made 17 of 24 from the line to 11 of 18 for Drake which made up partially for the Bulldogs’ 23-6 advantage on points off turnovers.

Trailing the entire half, Drake got within two twice in the final couple of minutes, the last time with 22 seconds remaining after two Penn free throws. But Drake was forced to foul and Schwieger and Braden Norris converted two free throws each.

Drake, which beat Missouri State 79-78 in overtime in Saturday’s semifinals, had a seven-game win streak snapped.

Drake opened the game outscoring Loyola 18-8 with DeVries capping the run with a 3-pointer, the last of his 10 first-half points, while the Ramblers started 2-of-13 shooting.

Then the game took a complete turn with Drake missing its next five shots, going 2 of 14 and committing four turnovers as five Ramblers combined for 19 answered points and a nine-point lead after a Norris 3-pointer.

The Bulldogs recovered in the final two minutes to score the final seven points to trail 27-25 at halftime.

Uguak had a three-point play and a layup during a four-minute stretch when the Ramblers edged out to a nine-point lead, their largest of the second half, with 4 1/2 minutes to go. Part of that scoring came while Drake was missing eight straight shots over six minutes.

It’s the first time since 1962-63 that the Ramblers have reached the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons.

Loyola Chicago promotes Drew Valentine to replace Porter Moser as coach

Associated PressApr 6, 2021, 2:46 PM EDT

Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

CHICAGO — Loyola Chicago promoted assistant Drew Valentine to head coach on Monday, hoping he can build on the success the Ramblers experienced under Porter Moser.

The 29-year-old Valentine helped Loyola make two deep NCAA Tournament runs in four seasons as an assistant. He gets his first head coaching job with Moser taking over at Oklahoma after a 10-year run that included a Final Four in 2018 and a Sweet 16 appearance this year.

In a statement, Valentine called the promotion “an absolute honor” and called Moser “one of the biggest mentors and role models in my life.”

“The impact that he has made on this entire university will not forgotten,” Valentine said. “We will continue to do things the right way, with character and passion! The vision and standard that Coach Moser established will forever remain a part of the culture.”

Valentine played a big role in Loyola’s rise. The Ramblers went 99-36 overall and 56-16 in the Missouri Valley Conference the past four years, winning three regular-season league championships.

He was Loyola’s de facto defensive coordinator the past two years. That group ranked among the best in the country this season.

“Over the course of his career as both a player and as a coach, Drew had proven that he’s a winner who does things the right way,” athletic director Steve Watson said in a statement. “We are extremely proud of the recent success of our program and Drew has played a key role in those accomplishments. He is the perfect person to lead us as we continue to build upon that success as we begin the next chapter of Loyola basketball.”

Before arriving at Loyola, Valentine played at Oakland and was a graduate manager at Michigan State under Tom Izzo. He then returned to his alma mater as an assistant from 2015 to 2017. Valentine is the older brother of Chicago Bulls guard and former Spartans star Denzel Valentine, and his father, Carlton, starred for the Spartans in the 1980s and became a successful high school coach.

Moser, who takes over for the retired Lon Kruger at Oklahoma, was 188-141 in 10 years at Loyola. He 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).

The Ramblers went 26-5 in their fourth straight year with 20 or more wins and returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since their stunning Final Four appearance.

They 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 team chaplain, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, became a celebrity, with bobbleheads and athletic apparel and national TV interviews.

Loyola, with the nation’s stingiest scoring defense, made another run this year. The Ramblers earned their first AP Top 25 ranking since March 1985 and won the MVC Tournament for the second time in four years.

Sister Jean, 101 years old and fully vaccinated against COVID-19, was on hand for the NCAA Tournament. She watched in Indianapolis as the Ramblers beat Georgia Tech and dominated top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Illinois in the second round before falling to Oregon State.

Picked last, Oregon State now Elite: Beavers beat Loyola in NCAAs

Associated PressMar 27, 2021, 6:32 PM EDT

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

INDIANAPOLIS — Picked to finish dead last in the Pac-12, Oregon State instead might be the last one standing.

Led by unflappable guard Ethan Thompson, whose 20 points included a pair of clinching foul shots with 35 seconds left, the No. 12 seed Beavers and their brilliant defense shut down eighth-seeded Loyola Chicago in a 65-58 victory on Saturday that sent their long-suffering program into the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

It’s Oregon State’s first regional final since 1982 – one that was later vacated by the NCAA – and sets up a showdown with second-seeded Houston or No. 10 seed Syracuse on Monday night for a spot in its first Final Four since 1963.

“They just want to keep riding the wave,” said Beavers coach Wayne Tinkle, whose hungry bunch of underdogs have matched Missouri in 2002 as the lowest-seeded teams to advance past the Sweet 16.

“We did use the fact we were picked 12th in the Pac-12 this year,” Tinkle added, “but we haven’t made a big deal about the 12th seed. I don’t want to throw too much at them. They’ll see it. We just have to keep our feet on the ground.”

That’s getting harder to do with each passing day.

Not even the fervent prayers of Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt could help Loyola deal with the Beavers (20-12) and the constantly changing defenses that Tinkle rolled out. The Ramblers (26-5), who played with such poise and perfection in toppling top-seeded Illinois, wound up shooting 33% from the field and 5 of 23 from beyond the arc.

All-America forward Cameron Krutwig led Loyola with 14 points. Lucas Williamson and Braden Norris added 10 apiece, though both of them missed 3-pointers in the closing minutes as Loyola tried to mount a comeback.

“Very hard scene in our locker room,” said Ramblers coach Porter Moser, whose name has surfaced in connection with several major conference jobs. “Kids cared so much, invested so much. Very tough when it comes to an end.”

It was the second meeting between the teams and first since Dec. 31, 1927, when Loyola won 31-19 in Chicago – and Sister Jean, the Ramblers’ beloved 101-year-old chaplain, was still just a schoolgirl.

And for most of Saturday, it looked as if 31 points would be plenty.

Oregon State turned it over twice before getting off a shot, went nearly 6 1/2 minutes before making its first field goal and at one point was 1 of 8 with four turnovers. Then the Ramblers, who failed to take advantage of their defense, proceeded to miss 11 consecutive shots as Oregon State flip-flopped between man-to-man and zone defenses.

“We kind of let them slow us down a little bit,” Krutwig said. “Honestly, we got a lot of good looks.”

The Beavers wound up shutting out Loyola the last 5:48 to take a 24-16 halftime lead, the lowest-scoring first half of the entire tournament. Krutwig was 3 of 5 from the field; the rest of the Ramblers were 1 of 18.

You’d have sworn the Beavers sported the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense, not the other way around.

Oregon State built on Warith Alatishe’s buzzer-beating bucket to end the first half by getting some shots to go in the second. Thompson did most of the damage, hitting an early jumper, beating the shot clock with another fadeaway, then catching a Hail Mary heave to beat a full-court press and give the Beavers a 37-24 lead with 12 minutes to go.

Meanwhile, the Ramblers were hitting everything but the bottom of the bucket.

Williamson rimmed out 3-pointers on back-to-back trips down the floor. Tate Hall clanked a couple of free throws when that was about the only place they were scoring. Krutwig even had a baby hook go halfway down and right back out.

Even when the shots wouldn’t fall, Loyola continued to play defense, and that kept the game close. And when Braden Norris knocked down a 3 and Aher Uguak tipped in an ally-oop with 2:43 to go, the Ramblers had trimmed their deficit to 49-44 and had the partisan crowd sitting mostly in the rafters of Bankers Life Fieldhouse cheering.

Kennedy hit a 3-pointer to get the Ramblers within 51-47, then another shot to get within 53-49, but the Beavers kept finding answers. Lucas provided one with a 3, Alatishe provided another from the foul line, and that was enough to keep the Pac-12’s dream tournament going into the Elite Eight.

“We’re not in charge of the rankings,” Thompson said. “You know, the preseason, all of that – all we can control is what we can control. That’s going out every night, having fun, giving it our all and trying to win the game. That’s it.”

BIG PICTURE

Oregon State is making the most of its second NCAA Tournament appearance since 1990. The Beavers had beaten higher-seeded teams in Tennessee and Oklahoma State before knocking off one of the sentimental favorites.

Loyola Chicago was trying to become the first No. 8 seed since Kentucky in 2014 to reach the Elite Eight. But its slow start proved to be too much to overcome. The Ramblers never led the final 35-plus minutes of the game.

UP NEXT

The Beavers play the Cougars or the Orange for a spot in the Final Four. Oregon State has never played Syracuse, but it beat Houston in the 1966 West Region semifinal and again in the 2009 CBI Tournament.

Nun-and-done: Loyola Chicago stuns top-seeded Illinois 71-58

Associated PressMar 21, 2021, 3:42 PM EDT

Justin Casterline/Getty Images

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-year-old 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 quick-handed, eighth-seeded Ramblers (26-4) led wire to wire. The team with the nation’s leading defense befuddled powerful Illinois to return to the second weekend three years after its 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 Oregon State, which topped Oklahoma State 80-70 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 a 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.”

From her mouth to their ears.

Illinois (24-7) earned top seeding for the first time since its own Final Four run in 2005, but fell behind by 14 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 a grand total of two fast-break points.

Illinois’ 7-foot second-team All-American Kofi Cockburn finished with 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting, but worked hard for every shot against the pestering presence of Krutwig and Co.

Loyola’s handsy guards, Lucas Williamson (14 points) and Keith Clemons (two steals), kept first-team All-American Ayo Dosunmu from ever finding his comfort zone. He finished with nine points, 11 under his season average. Illini guard Trent Frazier went 1 for 10 for two points.

Loyola held its lead in the eight-to-12-point range through most of the second half, and though Illinois made a few 4-0 flurries, it never got this to a one-possession game.

“We tried everything in the bag,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “Everything that’s made us one of the most efficient offensive teams, today, just for whatever reason, didn’t work.”

Krutwig is also an All-American – a third-teamer who looked all-world in this one.

Posting up, pivoting, dishing when necessary and causing all kinds of trouble on defense in the paint, the 6-9 senior played bigger. He also had five assists and four steals. Krutwig was with Loyola for the last Final Four trip, and has since become one of only four players in Missouri Valley Conference history to record 1,500 points, 800 boards and 300 assists.

And there’s a chance for more.

It’s a turn of events that Sister Jean could see happening. Before the game, she suggested Loyola, the MVC champs who allow only 55.7 points per game and were ranked 17th in the final AP poll, might have gotten a raw deal with a No. 8 seeding that put it up against a 1 so early.

Turns out, it was Illinois that got the bad break. To anyone outside of Champaign – or now holding a freshly obliterated bracket – it’s hard to argue this Loyola team isn’t the breath of fresh air this tournament-in-a-bubble sorely needed.

Sure, there have been upsets, some drama and little teams doing big things.

But there’s nobody quite like Sister Jean to put the whole thing in perspective. The Ramblers and March Madness – what an inspiration!

“It’s amazing what happens when you get a group of young men who believe,” coach Porter Moser said. “And these guys believed.”

IN THE CROWD

On other days, for other teams, Jerry Harkness might have been the biggest celebrity spotted in the crowd for Loyola Chicago. The point guard sparked Loyola’s national-championship run in 1963 – a win, of course, that Sister Jean watched on an 11-inch TV loaned to her by a friend.

No. 8 seed Loyola holds off No. 9 seed Georgia Tech, 71-60

Associated PressMar 19, 2021, 8:17 PM EDT

INDIANAPOLIS – Loyola Chicago might be the only team that feels as though little has changed about the NCAA Tournament.

Probably has something to do with all the winning the Ramblers do.

The surprise semifinalist in 2018, Loyola was relegated to the NIT the next year and missed out on the tournament entirely – along with everyone else – when it was canceled due to COVID-19 last season. But with key pieces of their Final Four team leading the way, the eighth-seeded Ramblers marked a triumphant return to college basketball’s biggest stage Friday with a 71-60 victory over No. 9 seed Georgia Tech at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Lucas Williamson scored 21 points in a dynamic performance by the defensive whiz, Buddy Norris added 16 points and All-America forward Cameron Krutwig had 10 as the Ramblers (25-4) advanced to play No. 1 seed Illinois on Sunday.

“It is an unusual tournament,” said Williamson, a freshman on that last NCAA tourney team, “but I will say everything is unusual about it until you get on the floor. We had some fans in the building, they were in here hyping it up. Once you’re on the court, you’re just playing basketball.”

Doing it at a high level, too – especially when it mattered.

After trailing 43-40 midway through the second half, Loyola heated up from beyond the arc and clamped down on defense, forcing Georgia Tech (17-9) into a series of missed shots and ugly turnovers during the decisive final five minutes.

Keith Clemons hit a 3-pointer that gave the Missouri Valley champs a 62-54 lead with 3 1/2 minutes to go, Norris added another from the top of the key to make it 67-56 with just over 2 minutes left, and the ACC Tournament champs finally ran out of answers as their eight-game winning streak came to an end.

“Our guys had tremendous grit to themselves,” Loyola coach Porter Moser said. “They just had a grit to them.”

Jordan Usher scored 15 points, Michael Devoe had 14 and Jose Alvarado 13 for the Yellow Jackets, who were forced to play without ACC player of the year Moses Wright after the big man tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week.

“I feel so bad for him,” Yellow Jackets coach Josh Pastner said. “He worked so hard, a chance of lifetime to play in the NCAA Tournament, and unfortunately he wasn’t able to play. I feel sick for him. I just feel sick for him.”

The Ramblers got off to a slow start, struggling through jitters and early turnovers, but Williamson and Krutwig eventually got them on track. They led Loyola on a 15-4 run midway through the first half to take a 30-25 lead at the break.

Georgia Tech wiped it right out by making eight of its first 11 second-half shots.

Sister Jean’s beloved bunch regained the lead midway through the half but never got comfortable, the teams playing a game of one-upmanship down the stretch. Williamson hit a 3 for the Ramblers, Alvarado a cartwheeling layup for Georgia Tech; Krutwig would get a baby hook to go, Usher would throw down a dunk for the Yellow Jackets.

It wasn’t until Clemons and Norris hit their 3-pointers in the closing minutes that Loyola finally broke free.

“They deserve so much credit,” Pastner said. “It’s a great basketball team we played, and the way Coach Moser has it running, they’re going to be building a statue in the middle of Chicago if they haven’t already.”

BIG PICTURE

Georgia Tech sorely needed Wright in the paint. The Yellow Jackets were out-rebounded 30-17 and managed just one on the offensive end. And without second-chance opportunities, their cold shooting down the stretch cost dearly.

Loyola showed why it was No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense this season. The Ramblers clogged up the paint to prevent drives to the basket, forced Georgia Tech into long jumpers and made life difficult for its perimeter players.

SISTER SIGHTING

Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the Ramblers’ 101-year-old team chaplain, rolled into the fieldhouse in her wheelchair shortly before tip. Sister Jean became an icon during their 2018 Final Four run, but she hadn’t attended a game in person since the pandemic began. She recently was vaccinated but has continued to keep her distance from the team, delivering the Jesuit school’s pregame prayer virtually all season and again during the tournament.

WRIGHT STUFF

Even though Wright remained in quarantine after testing positive Monday, his No. 5 still made it onto the floor of Hinkle Fieldhouse. Alvarado donned his teammate’s jersey rather than his own No. 10 for the first-round game.

UP NEXT

The Ramblers play the top-seeded Fighting Illini for a spot in the Sweet 16. They’ve won three straight in the series, all on their campus in Champaign, but Loyola beat them in the 1963 NCAA Tournament on their way to the championship.