Another Cinderella Story?

It has been 55 years since the Loyola Chicago Ramblers have made it to the Elite Eight in the NCAA March Madness Tournament.  With a seed of eight, no one expected the Ramblers to advance past the first round of the tournament. However, with Sister Jean–the team’s 98-year-old chaplain–by their side, it looks as if they can do anything.

In the first round, they took on ACC power Miami, ranked 6.  The score was tied at halftime, 28-28, which was a surprise to the Hurricanes, who didn’t expect much from a team no one had heard of.  The score was 62-61 with 6.3 seconds to go’ Miami was winning, but Loyola had the ball.

With an amazing three-pointer from around 35 feet, Loyola amazingly pulled out the win.  Leading the team in points was Clayton Cluster, a junior, who added 14 to the final score of 64. During the game, the Hurricanes had a total of 16 turnovers, compared to the Ramblers 10.

The Ramblers had advanced to the second round, and they were not ready to give up just yet.  No one believed that this team would have a performance good enough to beat number three Tennessee.  However, at halftime, the Ramblers were up 29-25.

The Volunteers knew that they were going to have to kick it into gear if they wanted to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, so in the second half, they outscored Loyola by 3 points. The game clock was at 10.5 seconds, Tennessee was up 62-61. Loyola was inbounding the ball. Seem familiar?

Clayton Cluster grabbed the ball and drove to the high post where he was forced to pull up for a shot.  It bounced off the rim and looked like it wasn’t going to go in. But gravity was on the Ramblers side, and the shot fell in. The Ramblers took the lead 63-62 with 3.6 seconds left on the clock. Their defense would be key to win this game. Tennessee inbounded the ball,  took it all the way down the court, and threw up a contested 3-point shot. It bounced off the back of the rim, and the Ramblers advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.

On March 22, Loyola Chicago took on the Nevada Wolf Pack.  Again, they were not expected to win this game. At halftime, the score read 28-24, Loyola in the lead.  This team definitely follows patterns, seeing as they were up by 4 points at halftime during their last game as well.

With 11.3 seconds on the clock, the Ramblers were up 66-65. Clayton Cluster drives to the basket but dishes it out to Marques Towns standing at the corner for the three.  Nothing but net and the bench goes wild. The Ramblers are up by 4 with 6.9 seconds left, and the Wolf Pack has the ball. All they have to do is not foul, and they will stand victorious once again.  Nevada makes a three, but it is not enough to win. Loyola Chicago will now go onto the Elite Eight.

The defense on this team is absolutely outstanding, holding some of the best teams in the country to under 70 points every time.  They have the drive to win, and they will hold nothing back to get there. These young men leave everything they have out on the floor and are not just getting lucky as some say.  

The Ramblers will take on the Kansas State Wildcats, after their outstanding win over the Kentucky Wildcats.  This game will take place on March 24, at 5:09 PM. ESPN’s match-up predictor has the Ramblers with a 48.8% chance of beating the Wildcats.  However, some think we may just see the team in San Antonio.