The Missouri Valley Conference is home to many teams that have went on to upset teams in the NCAA Tournament. It’s been over thirty years since Loyola-Chicago made an NCAA Tournament appearance. Can they join the likes of Wichita State, Indiana State and Valparaiso and make it deep in the NCAA Tournament?
The Atlantic Coast Conference had a good year with nine teams making it in the NCAA Tournament. Virginia was the cream of the crop with Duke finishing second and a four-way tie for third. The ACC was a jumbled mess by end of the year.
Can Loyola-Chicago pull off the upset?
Who do you think will win?
Do you have #6 Miami Hurricanes or #11 Loyola-Chicago Ramblers?
The Miami Hurricanes finished tied for third in a stacked ACC this season. They started off the year winning their first ten games. They padded their schedule a bit with some cupcakes, but ten-straight wins is still a great start. They finished the season amassing marquee wins over Florida State, Virginia Tech and North Carolina. They won a lot of games by the skin of their teeth after losing Bruce Brown to a foot injury. He isn’t expected to be back in time for this game.
The Loyola-Chicago Ramblers are the kind of team bracket gamblers love. I used the term ‘bracket gamblers’ in reference to people who don’t go chalk on their brackets. They love to roll the dice and think outside of the box. They are one of the best defensive teams in the country and on offense, they score at will against man-to-man defense. Also, let me remind you that Loyola-Chicago won AT Florida earlier this season. They have shooters and have five guys that nearly average a steal per game. The Ramblers are a well-rounded team from the Missouri Valley Conference.
I’ve watched a few Miami games this season and have never been enamored by them. They have some guys who could be future role players in the NBA, but Loyola-Chicago could be something special. I’m calling for an upset.
Prediction: #11 Loyola-Chicago Ramblers
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About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.