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Loyola-Chicago among 5 of the greatest NCAA Tournament runs in Illinois history

By Ryan Heckman

ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 24: The Loyola Ramblers celebrate after defeating the Kansas State Wildcats during the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at Philips Arena on March 24, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. Loyola defeated Kansas State 78-62 to advance to the Final Four. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 24: The Loyola Ramblers celebrate after defeating the Kansas State Wildcats during the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at Philips Arena on March 24, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. Loyola defeated Kansas State 78-62 to advance to the Final Four. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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We do not even know the end to this story, but already it is great enough to put on such a prestigious list. The 2017-2018 Loyola-Chicago Ramblers will go down as one of the most memorable Illinois-based tournament teams ever.

The Ramblers began their regular season with seven straight wins, before losing on the road by 34 to Boise State. It was the first harsh reality check for Loyola-Chicago, but it wouldn’t be the last one.

Two and a half weeks later, they lost by 17 to Milwaukee, before ripping off another seven-game win streak. These Ramblers kind of had a thing for the number seven, as they scored three separate winning streaks of seven games over their season.

After winning the Missouri Valley Tournament, the Ramblers began their road to the Final Four with a battle against 6-seed Miami. They defeated the Hurricanes 64-62, in what would be the first of three very close games in a row.

Following their opening-round upset, the Ramblers went on to beat 3-seed Tennessee and 7-seed Nevada by margins of just one and two, respectively.

We all know what happened after that. Loyola-Chicago went on to destroy 9-seed Kansas State 78-62, after being up by as many as 23 points. The Ramblers will meet up with the Michigan Wolverines in San Antonio as they look to shock the world one more time on their way to the National Title Game.

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