Loyola-Chicago ran this play where they would get the ball to their center Cameron Krutwig at the top of the key, and one of their guards would come through a bunch of screens along the baseline, come around a final screen to get a hand-off pass from Krutwig, and then the guard would drive off the pass to the basket. Typically, the person guarding the guard would run into multiple screens – and so it would force Illinois to either switch to guard the person driving to the basket, or stay with their man defense. If they switch, the guard simply passed the ball back to Krutwig for a layup. It they don’t, the guard got a layup. And it seemed no matter which choice Illinois made, it was always the wrong one.

Loyola-Chicago jumped out to a 9 point half-time lead, and never looked back. They beat the #1 seed (3rd ranked team in the country) 71-58 and become the first team to make it to the Sweet 16. To be fair, maybe we should have all seen this coming – we all remember the Ramblers Cinderella run to the Final 4 in 2018. 5 of the top 7 players in minutes for the Ramblers are now seniors. And of course, they still have the 101 year old chaplain Sister Jean watching over them.

I am just so bummed because I fell for the hype. This was going to be the Big 10’s year. Illinois, Michigan, Iowa and Ohio State are all ranked in the top 8 of the country. The entire tournament is happening in the heart of Big 10 country in Indianapolis. While the crowds would be small, it was clear every crowd would be rooting for the Big 10 team creating a home court advantage.

Illinois was supposed to be the best of the Big 10 teams (although I am sure Michigan would argue with that). And Loyola-Chicago basically dismantled them. This game wasn’t even close. Illinois kept trying to force the ball into Kofi Cockburn down low, and it was clear why. When he got the ball, he was impossible to stop. The problem was Loyola stopped most of the times they tried to force the ball into them and they would turn the ball over. Ayo Dosunmu is a first team All-American, and he was invisible – going 4 for 10 from the field with 9 points and 6 turnovers. The Illini had 17 turnovers as a team.

Illinois did not look like the #3 team in the country. Ohio State losing to Oral Roberts did not look like one of the top 8 teams in the country. Purdue losing to North Texas did not look like one of the top 16 teams in the country. The Big 10 was supposed to be the best in college basketball and was playing the NCAA tournament on basically their home court. And the Missouri Valley champion just took their best team out of the tournament.

Loyola-Chicago deserves so much credit – because the way they played today, they certainly looked like they are capable of going much farther than the Sweet 16. Congratulations to the Ramblers for being the first team to make the Sweet 16.