Atlanta
No. 11 seed Loyola-Chicago matched three other schools in becoming the lowest seed to reach the last weekend of the season with a 78-62 win over ninth-seeded Kansas State in the South Region final on Saturday night.
The Ramblers (32-5), making their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1985, advanced to their first Final Four since winning the 1963 national championship. They moved on to San Antonio, where in a week they will play the winner of Saturday’s late West Region final between No. 3 seed Michigan and No. 9 seed Florida State.
The stunning run means the sporting world will be treated to the most famous nun in the land, 98-year-old Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt, who led the Ramblers in prayer, as usual, before tip-off in the locker room.
No divine intervention proved necessary at Philips Arena, where an announced crowd of 15,477 witnessed Loyola storm to a 54-33 lead with 13:23 left in the second half thanks to 14-4 surge that included a four-point play from guard Ben Richardson, who was fouled while sinking a fadeaway basket from beyond the arc.
Junior guard Clayton Custer also connected on a 3-pointer in the decisive rush, during which the only field goal for Kansas State (25-12) came via Xavier Sneed’s tip-in.
The Wildcats threatened only modestly the rest of the way, getting within 61-48 on Kamau Stokes’ driving layup with 5:09 to play before Richardson’s 3-pointer on the ensuing possession calmed the proceedings for Loyola, which made 12 of 15 free throws over the final three minutes.
Richardson scored 23 points, going 6-of-7 from beyond the arc, to lead the Ramblers, who presumably would have won by an even wider margin had it not been for a 28-2 deficit in points off turnovers. But Loyola made up for that staggering imbalance with 57 percent shooting, making 9 of 18 3-pointers, and going 15-for-18 at the foul line.
For Kansas State, which got 16 points and six rebounds from Sneed, the South Region final marked the second time in this NCAA tournament that it had been cast as the villain standing in the way of a far smaller program’s path to further glory.
During the round of 32 last Sunday in Charlotte, N.C., the Wildcats ended the season of Maryland-Baltimore County, a nationally embraced underdog success story after it became the first No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 by shocking ACC champion Virginia, 74-54. The Cavaliers had entered the tournament as the top overall seed with only two losses amid a record-setting odyssey through the ACC.
Kansas State dispatched the highest remaining seed thereafter when it outlasted No. 5 Kentucky, 61-58, on Thursday, mucking up the proceedings with plenty of jostling throughout and dictating the tempo to its liking.
Loyola coaches and players remained in the arena to watch that game following their 69-68 win against No. 7 seed Nevada.
Scouting Kansas State along with Ramblers coach Porter Moser and his staff was, per usual, Sister Jean, who not only serves as a spiritual good-luck charm but also as an honorary assistant. The longtime basketball aficionado — she played for her high school team in San Francisco from 1933-37 — compares notes with Moser, and the partnership has yielded positive, although nail-biting, results.
Loyola’s three triumphs entering Saturday night’s region final came by a combined four points, and each thriller featured decisive baskets in the closing seconds, including Donte Ingram’s deep 3-pointer just before the final buzzer for a 64-62 victory over No. 6 seed Miami in the round of 64 in Dallas.
The drama continued for the Ramblers from virtually the moment they arrived in Atlanta. An escort who was supposed to accompany them on the bus ride from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to the hotel never showed and, according to Moser, it took roughly 40 minutes and any number of wrong turns before the team finally reached its intended destination.
“You know, I told our guys, ‘It’s our first thing to overcome,’ ” Moser said earlier in the week, ” ‘and it’s like getting a couple turnovers early. You’ve got to put it behind you and overcome.’ “
The Ramblers committed three early turnovers in the regional final, but otherwise the first half began quite nicely for them thanks to 10 consecutive points. Richardson made two 3-pointers, and Ingram added another during the flurry that produced Loyola’s first double-figure lead at 15-5.
A minor push drew Kansas State within seven until the Ramblers answered with consecutive layups to bump the lead to 25-14 with 8:54 to go. The Wildcats., again without ailing top scorer and rebounder Dean Wade, closed within 27-22 several minutes later, but Loyola got consecutive three-point plays to move in front 33-22 with 2:19 to play.
The half ended with the Ramblers leading 36-24, courtesy of Richardson’s 3-pointer from the right corner. After that shot with 13 seconds remaining, the senior jogged down the sideline smiling confidently toward Loyola fans as they chanted, “L-U-C! L-U-C! L-U-C!”