For a mid-major team to be participating in the March Madness, they are always put with the label of being underdogs, but not the Loyola Chicago Ramblers. This squad is way too good to be called underdogs or a Cinderella. The Ramblers are known for their magical run in the 2018 tournament where they made the final four as an No. 11 seed. It was easy to sleep on them in 2018, but this year the Ramblers showed they were a top team, with a few ranking databases having them as a top ten team in the country. Despite having an improved tournament resume, the tournament committee still fixes the seeding and listed them as a No. 8 seed.

The Ramblers were presented with a tough matchup in the opening round against No. 9 Georgia Tech who just won the ACC tournament. The Ramblers went on to handle the Yellow Jackets 71-60 and the prize was a showdown with the No. 1 seeded Illinois Fighting Illini. Illinois was not only one of the Ramblers’ in-state rivals, but the Fighting Illini were one of the national championship favorites to win the whole tournament. Illinois, led by future NBA players Ayo Dosunmo and Kofi Cockburn, had won 14 games in their last 15, including a tough Big Ten conference tournament. It looked like no team could compete with Illinois until they came face to face with Loyola Chicago. The Ramblers No.1 rated defense showed up as they went on to defeat Illinois with a score of 71-58. The Ramblers always had an answer for Illinois and were too much for the Fighting Illini to handle.

The Ramblers proved to the committee they were very under seeded and that they are one of the best teams in the nation. In 2018, the Ramblers had to win their conference to qualify for March Madness, but this year was not the case. Finishing the regular reason with a 24-4, the Ramblers have not shown any signs of slowing down or playing differently from what their record shows.

The Ramblers have a showdown with No. 12 Oregon State on Saturday,  who is one of the hottest teams in the tournament right now. If Sister Jean does another prayer before the game, I do not see how Loyola Chicago can lose.