Loyola of Chicago Upsets Florida in College Basketball

Loyola of Chicago is one of three Loyola Universities that plays NCAA basketball at the Division I level, the others being Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles and Loyola of Maryland in Baltimore. Of the three, the Loyola of Chicago Ramblers are perhaps the least well known. Loyola Marymount is in the West Coast Conference with perennial NCAA heavyweight Gonzaga, and made the NCAA tournament three years in arrow from 1988-1990, reaching the Elite Eight in ’90 and Loyola of Maryland, out of the Patriot League, made it to the NCAA Tournament in 1994 and 2012. Loyola of Chicago, on the other hand, last made the tournament in 1985, as a member of the Horizon League, but did make it to the Sweet Sixteen that year, losing to national runner up Georgetown.

In 2013, the Ramblers moved from one mid major conference to another, joining the Missouri Valley Conference. Loyola finished 24-13 in the 2014-15 season and won the College Basketball Invitational tournament, which is even more obscure than the once prestigious National Invitational Tournament (NIT).

The Ramblers may be just another mid major basketball team these days, but back in the first half of the 1960s it was another story. Loyola was 23-4 in 1961-2, losing to eventual champion Dayton in the semi finals of the NIT, back when the NCAA tournament had fewer teams and the NIT meant more. Then, in the 1962-3 season the Ramblers were 29-2 and beat two time champion Cincinnati in the final to win the NCAA tournament. The Ramblers were 22-6 in ’63’-64, slipped to 11-14 the next year, but then were 22-3, 14-9, and finally 16-9 the next three years before fading.

This season, the Ramblers got off to an 8-1 start ahead of their December 6th game at #5 Florida. The Gators represented a big increase in the talent level of the opposition; Loyola’s victories had been against the Illinois-Chicagos, Missouri-Kansas Citys, and Mississippi Valley States of this world. But the Ramblers brought their A Game, shooting 52% from the field including 50% from three point range, and beat Florida 65-59 in Gainesville. It was the Gators’ third loss in a row. Florida shot 37 % from the field and was just 2 of 19 from three point range. It’s too early to figure on Loyola making the NCAA tournament, but this win should give the rest of the Missouri Valley Conference something to think about.