INDIANAPOLIS – Loyola Chicago led 101-year-old sister Jean’s plans to a T on Sunday, moving to Sweet 16 with a 71-58 victory over Illinois, the first No. 1 seed to return from the NCAA Tournament this fall. year.
Cameron Krutwig delivered a 19-point masterpiece, 12 rebounds, and the Ramblers (26-4) from the fast hand led wire to wire. They mistaken a strong Illinois offense to return to the second weekend, three years after their last magic race in the Final Four.
The Ramblers will continue to play Oklahoma State or Oregon State, which will meet later Sunday.
Their 2018 trip to the Final Four was led by Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the team’s venerable chaplain, who received both COVID-19 vaccines and permission to travel to Indianapolis to see what inspiration she could offer in 2021.
Before taking most of this game out of the luxury suite – seated in a wheelchair and adorned in her brown and gold scarf – Jean said a prayer before the game that could have been taken directly from a textbook John Wood.
“As we play Fighting Illini, we ask for special help to overcome this team and get a wonderful victory,” she said. “We hope to score early and make our opponents nervous. We have a great opportunity to turn recoveries, as this team makes about 50% of layouts and 30% of its 3 points. Our defense can handle that’s why. “
From her mouth to their ears.
Illinois (24-7) won the top spot for the first time since its own Four Four final in 2005, but was two figures behind in the first half and never reached a striking range. Illini committed 16 turnovers and scored 23 points less than their season average.
All-American Kofi Cockburn, the second American 7-meter team, finished with 21 points at 7-for-12, but worked hard for every shot against the annoying presence of Krutwig & Co.
And Loyola’s good guards, Lucas Williamson and Keith Clemons, prevented the American Ayo Dosunmu from the first team to ever find his comfort zone. He finished with nine points, 11 below his season average.
The other All-American on the floor was a third team, Krutwig, who showed everyone in it.
Displaying, pivoting, frying when needed and causing all sorts of defense problems in the paint, the 6-meter and 9-meter senior played bigger. He also had five assists. Krutwig was with Loyola for the final trip to the Final Four and has since become one of four players in the history of the Missouri Valley Conference to record 1,500 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists.
And there are chances for more.
It’s a turn of events that Sister Jean could see happening. Before the match, she suggested that Loyola, the MVC champions who won 25 games this year, could have gotten a gross deal with a No. 1 ranking.
There was only one way to deal with this and for anyone outside of Champaign – or who now holds a freshly canceled parenthesis – it’s hard to argue that this Loyola team isn’t the breath of fresh air in this tournament — in an extreme balloon. of need.
Of course, there were upsets, some dramas and small teams doing big things.
But there is no one like Sister Jean to put everything in perspective. The Ramblers and March Madness – is a habit hard to break.