2017–18 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team represented Loyola University Chicago during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Ramblers, led by seventh-year head coach Porter Moser, played their home games at the Joseph J. Gentile Arena in Chicago. They were members of the Missouri Valley Conference. With a win against Evansville on February 18, 2018, Loyola clinched at least a share of its first-ever Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship.[1] With a win over Southern Illinois on February 21, the Ramblers clinched the outright MVC championship.[2] The Ramblers defeated Northern Iowa, Bradley, and Illinois State to win the MVC tournament. As a result, the Ramblers received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 11 seed in the South Region, they upset No. 6-seeded Miami (FL) on a last second three-pointer. In the Second Round, they defeated No. 3-seeded Tennessee to earn the school's first trip to the Sweet Sixteen since 1985. They then defeated Nevada in the Sweet Sixteen and Kansas State in the Elite Eight to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 1963. Their Cinderella run ended with a loss to the eventual runner-up Michigan in the national semifinal. The Ramblers' run also made the team's then-98-year-old chaplain Sister Jean a national and even international media figure.

2017–18 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Final Four
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
Record32–6 (15–3 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaJoseph J. Gentile Arena
Seasons
2017–18 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Loyola Chicago 15 3   .833 32 6   .842
Southern Illinois 11 7   .611 20 13   .606
Illinois State 10 8   .556 18 15   .545
Drake 10 8   .556 17 17   .500
Bradley 9 9   .500 20 13   .606
Indiana State 8 10   .444 13 18   .419
Missouri State 7 11   .389 18 15   .545
Evansville 7 11   .389 17 15   .531
Northern Iowa 7 11   .389 16 16   .500
Valparaiso 6 12   .333 15 17   .469
2018 MVC tournament winner

Previous season

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The Ramblers finished the 2016–17 season 18–14, 8–10 in MVC play to finish in fifth place. They lost to Southern Illinois in the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament.

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Glorind Lisha 1 G 6'2" 185 Senior Chicago, IL Walk-on; graduated
Matt Chastain 22 G/F 6'6" 190 Freshman Leroy, IL Transferred to Illinois State
Tyson Smith 25 G 6'2" 185 Junior Baltimore, MD Walk-on; didn't return
Byron Burt 30 G 6'5" 190 Junior Chicago, IL Eligibility ended
Maurice Kirby 31 F 6'9" 240 Junior Chandler, AZ Graduate transferred to IUPUI
Vlatko Granic 32 F 6'8" 230 Junior Split, Croatia Playing professional in Croatia
Milton Doyle 35 G 6'4" 185 RS Senior Chicago, IL Graduated

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Carson Shanks 32 C 7'0" 230 RS Senior Prior Lake, MN Transferred from North Dakota. Was eligible to play immediately because he graduated from North Dakota.
Aher Uguak 30 G/F 6'7" 206 Sophomore Edmonton, AB Transferred from New Mexico. Under NCAA transfer rules, Uguak had to sit out the 2017–18 season, and had three remaining years of eligibility.

2017 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Cameron Krutwig
#52 C
Algonquin, IL H. D. Jacobs High School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (110 kg) Aug 2, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 70
Christian Negron
#29 PF
San Juan, Puerto Rico Larkin High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Oct 18, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 80
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: #93   Rivals: #58  247Sports: #103
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Preseason

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In the conference's preseason poll, the Ramblers were picked to finish in third place in the MVC.[3] Senior forward Aundre Jackson was named to the preseason All-MVC first team.[3]

Roster

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2017–18 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G/F 0 Donte Ingram 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Simeon Chicago, IL
G 1 Lucas Williamson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Whitney Young Chicago, IL
G 2 Jake Baughman (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Central Catholic Bloomington, IL
G 4 Bruno Skokna 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Košarkaški klub Gorica Zagreb, Croatia
G 5 Marques Townes 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr St. Joseph
Fairleigh Dickinson
Edison, NJ
G 10 Adarius Avery 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Arlington
Connors State CC
Arlington, TN
F 12 Christian Negrón 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Larkin Elgin, IL
G 13 Clayton Custer 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Jr Blue Valley Northwest
Iowa State
Overland Park, KS
G 14 Ben Richardson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Blue Valley Northwest Overland Park, KS
G 23 Cameron Satterwhite 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Gilbert Christian Gilbert, AZ
F 24 Aundre Jackson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Kennedale
McLennan CC
Kennedale, TX
C 25 Cameron Krutwig 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Fr Jacobs Algonquin, IL
F 30 Aher Uguak   6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Harry Ainlay
New Mexico
Edmonton, AB
F 31 Dylan Boehm (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Loyola Los Angeles, CA
C 32 Carson Shanks 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) RS Sr Prior Lake
North Dakota
Prior Lake, MN
F 44 Nick Dinardi (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Providence Catholic Palos Park, IL
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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The Ramblers won at least eight of their first nine games for the first time since the 1965–66 Ramblers.[4] In their tenth game on December 6, they upset No. 5 ranked Florida, for the school's first win against a ranked opponent since a February 15, 2009 win over No. 15 Butler and the first against a top 5 team since a December 22, 1984 victory over No. 4 Illinois.[5]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Oct 28, 2017*
7:00 pm
Lewis W 79–63 
 15  Norton   10  Blaylock   4  Pischke  Joseph J. Gentile Arena (1,103)
Chicago, IL
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Wright State W 84–80  1–0
 21  Ingram   7  Krutwig   6  Richardson  Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,814)
Chicago, IL
Nov 12, 2017*
2:00 pm, ESPN3
Eureka W 96–69  2–0
 14  Tied   9  Jackson   5  Townes  Joseph J. Gentile Arena (1,135)
Chicago, IL
Nov 16, 2017*
7:00 pm, NBCSC+
at UMKC W 66–56  3–0
 20  Custer   9  Townes   3  Tied  Municipal Auditorium (1,482)
Kansas City, MO
Nov 19, 2017*
2:00 pm, ESPN3
Samford
Savannah Invitational
W 88–67  4–0
 18  Tied   8  Tied   9  Custer  Joseph J. Gentile Arena (1,289)
Chicago, IL
Nov 21, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Mississippi Valley State
Savannah Invitational
W 63–50  5–0
 13  Custer   10  Ingram   5  Townes  Joseph J. Gentile Arena (1,133)
Chicago, IL
Nov 24, 2017*
4:00 pm
vs. UNC Wilmington
Savannah Invitational
W 102–78  6–0
 25  Jackson   9  Ingram   4  Custer  Savannah Civic Center (485)
Savannah, GA
Nov 25, 2017*
4:00 pm
vs. Kent State
Savannah Invitational
W 75–60  7–0
 18  Ingram   11  Tied   6  Custer  Savannah Civic Center (547)
Savannah, GA
Nov 28, 2017*
8:00 pm
at Boise State
MW–MVC Challenge
L 53–87  7–1
 14  Jackson   5  Krutwig   4  Custer  Taco Bell Arena (3,738)
Boise, ID
Dec 2, 2017*
3:00 pm, NBCSC
UIC W 85–61  8–1
 23  Jackson   6  Ingram   7  Krutwig  Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,024)
Chicago, IL
Dec 6, 2017*
7:00 pm, SECN
at No. 5 Florida W 65–59  9–1
 23  Jackson   8  Tied   3  Tied  O'Connell Center (9,012)
Gainesville, FL
Dec 9, 2017*
3:00 pm, ESPN3
Norfolk State W 80–52  10–1
 18  Skokna   8  Krutwig   3  Tied  Joseph J. Gentile Arena (1,904)
Chicago, IL
Dec 16, 2017*
1:00 pm, FSW
at Milwaukee L 56–73  10–2
 13  Ingram   10  Ingram   2  Tied  UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (1,705)
Milwaukee, WI
Missouri Valley regular season
Dec 22, 2017
8:00 pm, NBCSC
at Missouri State L 59–64  10–3
(0–1)
 18  Krutwig   6  Ingram   3  Williamson  JQH Arena (4,583)
Springfield, MO
Dec 30, 2017
3:00 pm, NBCSC
Evansville W 66–59  11–3
(1–1)
 19  Townes   5  Tied   3  Tied  Joseph J. Gentile Arena (1,914)
Chicago, IL
Jan 3, 2018
7:00 pm, NBCSC
Indiana State L 57–61  11–4
(1–2)
 16  Ingram   8  Jackson   3  Richardson  Joseph J. Gentile Arena (1,501)
Chicago, IL
Jan 7, 2018
3:00 pm, ESPNU
at Northern Iowa W 56–50  12–4
(2–2)
 11  Custer   6  Ingram   4  Custer  McLeod Center (3,765)
Cedar Falls, IA
Jan 10, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Illinois State W 68–61  13–4
(3–2)
 15  Jackson   5  Tied   5  Richardson  Redbird Arena (4,466)
Normal, IL
Jan 13, 2018
3:00 pm, NBCSC
Bradley W 81–65  14–4
(4–2)
 21  Krutwig   13  Krutwig   3  Townes  Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,814)
Chicago, IL
Jan 17, 2018
7:00 pm, NBCSC+
Southern Illinois W 79–65  15–4
(5–2)
 25  Ingram   9  Krutwig   6  Richardson  Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,439)
Chicago, IL
Jan 21, 2018
3:00 pm, ESPNU
at Valparaiso W 70–54  16–4
(6–2)
 18  Custer   7  Tied   4  Custer  Athletics–Recreation Center (4,040)
Valparaiso, IN
Jan 24, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Drake W 80–57  17–4
(7–2)
 17  Townes   7  Krutwig   8  Custer  Knapp Center (3,522)
Des Moines, IA
Jan 28, 2018
3:00 pm, ESPNU
Northern Iowa W 70–47  18–4
(8–2)
 21  Custer   8  Tied   3  Tied  Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,658)
Chicago, IL
Jan 31, 2018
7:00 pm, NBCSC
at Bradley L 67–69  18–5
(8–3)
 23  Custer   8  Krutwig   6  Richardson  Carver Arena (5,753)
Peoria, IL
Feb 3, 2018
1:00 pm, CBSSN
Missouri State W 97–75  19–5
(9–3)
 23  Custer   7  Tied   6  Custer  Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,592)
Chicago, IL
Feb 7, 2018
7:00 pm, NBCSC
Drake W 72–57  20–5
(10–3)
 17  Krutwig   10  Ingram   6  Richardson  Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,802)
Chicago, IL
Feb 10, 2018
1:00 pm, ESPN3
at Indiana State W 75–71  21–5
(11–3)
 17  Ingram   6  Tied   4  Richardson  Hulman Center (4,328)
Terre Haute, IN
Feb 14, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Valparaiso W 80–71  22–5
(12–3)
 20  Custer   7  Tied   4  Ingram  Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,091)
Chicago, IL
Feb 18, 2018
3:00 pm, ESPN3
at Evansville W 76–66  23–5
(13–3)
 22  Townes   7  Custer   6  Custer  Ford Center (4,887)
Evansville, IN
Feb 21, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Southern Illinois W 75–56  24–5
(14–3)
 16  Custer   7  Jackson   8  Richardson  SIU Arena (6,036)
Carbondale, IL
Feb 24, 2018
1:00 pm, ESPN2
Illinois State W 68–61  25–5
(15–3)
 16  Krutwig   8  Ingram   7  Custer  Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,963)
Chicago, IL
Missouri Valley Tournament
Mar 2, 2018
12:00 pm, ESPN3
(1) vs. (9) Northern Iowa
Quarterfinals
W 54–50  26–5
 13  Tied   8  Ingram   6  Richardson  Scottrade Center (6,410)
St. Louis, MO
Mar 3, 2018
2:35 pm, CBSSN
(1) vs. (5) Bradley
Semifinals
W 62–54  27–5
 12  Tied   8  Ingram   5  Richardson  Scottrade Center (8,415)
St. Louis, MO
Mar 4, 2018
1:05 pm, CBS
(1) vs. (3) Illinois State
Championship
W 65–49  28–5
 18  Ingram   9  Krutwig   6  Custer  Scottrade Center (8,056)
St. Louis, MO
NCAA tournament
Mar 15, 2018*
2:10 pm, truTV
(11 S) vs. (6 S) No. 22 Miami (FL)
First Round
W 64–62  29–5
 14  Custer   7  Ingram   8  Richardson  American Airlines Center (15,802)
Dallas, TX
Mar 17, 2018*
6:10 pm, TNT
(11 S) vs. (3 S) No. 13 Tennessee
Second Round
W 63–62  30–5
 16  Jackson   6  Townes   4  Krutwig  American Airlines Center (18,642)
Dallas, TX
Mar 22, 2018*
6:07 pm, CBS
(11 S) vs. (7 S) No. 24 Nevada
Sweet Sixteen
W 69–68  31–5
 18  Townes   5  Krutwig   5  Townes  Philips Arena (15,616)
Atlanta, GA
Mar 24, 2018*
5:09 pm, TBS
(11 S) vs. (9 S) Kansas State
Elite Eight
W 78–62  32–5
 23  Richardson   8  Ingram   5  Custer  Philips Arena (15,477)
Atlanta, GA
Mar 31, 2018*
5:09 pm, TBS
(11 S) vs. (3 W) No. 7 Michigan
Final Four
L 57–69  32–6
 17  Krutwig   9  Ingram   2  Ingram  Alamodome (68,257)
San Antonio, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
S=South W=West.
All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
APRVRVRVRVRVNot released
CoachesRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV7

References

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  1. ^ "Loyola-Chicago vs. Evansville – Game Recap – February 18, 2018 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  2. ^ Greenstein, Teddy. "Loyola clinches Missouri Valley title with 75–56 win over Southern Illinois". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Missouri State Picked to Win MVC Men's Basketball". Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  4. ^ "No. 5 Florida upset again, this time by Loyola-Chicago 65–59". ESPN. Associated Press. December 6, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  5. ^ "Loyola Stuns No. 5 Florida, 65–59". Loyola University Chicago. December 6, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
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