Loyola Chicago Makes the NCAA Tournament for First Time Since 1985

Well, the Missouri Valley Conference actually went as planned. We haven’t said that too much thus far in conference tournament SZN. Loyola defeated Illinois State 65-49 at Arch Madness to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1985.

So who is Loyola? This is going to be a 12 seed that will be the popular 12/5 upset pick. They already won this year at Florida when Florida was ranked No. 5 in the country (conspiracy theory at 12/5 game). They also have wins over Wright State and UNC-Wilmington. The only nonconference losses came to Boise State and Milwaukee.

Loyola is led by Clayton Custer, who was named MVC Player of the Year after averaging 13.7 per game and shooting 45% from the 3-point line. They are ranked 45th on KenPom and while they are balanced, they really rely on the defense. They don’t give up a lot of looks from the 3-point line and they rank in the top-100 in every defensive category besides block percentage. Loyola really slows the game down, averaging over 18 seconds of possession both offensively and defensively.

3 in, 65 to go.

NCAA Tournament Bids Handed Out: 

Loyola (MVC) – projected 12 seed
Radford (Big South) – projected 14/15 seed
Murray State (OVC) – projected 13 seed