The dream is still alive for the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers. For the second time in three days, Loyola-Chicago used a basket in the waning seconds to pull off a major upset. This time, Loyola-Chicago upended the Tennessee Volunteers 63-62 in the Round of 32 on Saturday and will be playing in the Sweet 16 next weekend. The Ramblers were a five-point underdog according to the oddsmakers coming into this one, so backing them on the moneyline would have led to a pretty nice payday. The game went under the total of 131.
Loyola-Chicago will be looking to make the Elite Eight for the first time since it went on a miracle run to win the NCAA Championship back in 1963. The Ramblers will be taking on the winner of Sunday’s game between the Nevada Wolf Pack and the Cincinnati Bearcats. The betting odds for that showdown will be released soon by BetDSI Sportsbook. Loyola-Chicago would likely be around a five-point underdog to Cincinnati and would be an even shorter dog to Nevada.
The Ramblers led for almost the entire second half, but Tennessee responded late to take the lead with 21 seconds left after Grant Williams converted an and-one situation for the Volunteers. Loyola-Chicago’s Clayton Custer hit a jumper with five seconds left to put the Ramblers back on top and sent the team to the Sweet 16 after Tennessee failed to convert at the buzzer.
Both teams played at a relatively slow pace with less than 100 total shots combined between the two sides. Loyola-Chicago was a little bit better at getting to the line though, giving the Ramblers some crucial freebies. Aundre Jackson led Loyola-Chicago with 16 points off of the bench.
Loyola-Chicago was considered a pretty unlikely team to win the NCAA Tournament with odds of +60000 at BetDSI prior to the opening tip-off. Of Loyola’s potential opponents, Nevada was +25000 and Cincinnati was +2500.
