Open thread: Loyola is one win away from the Final Four???

The Loyola Ramblers are one win away from the Final Four. That feels really weird to type.

In an NCAA Tournament that has had no shortage of madness or storylines, our neighbors four miles down Sheridan Road have been one of the biggest stories. After cruising to the Missouri Valley regular season and tournament championships, the 11th-seeded Ramblers have won three straight games in dramatic fashion, using clutch late-game shots to knock off Miami, Tennessee, and Nevada.

Now all that stands between LUC and the Final Freaking Four is an extremely winnable game against 9-seed Kansas State. This should be fun. Kenpom has it as a toss-up, as both the Ramblers and the other purple Wildcats are in the mid-30s.

As we pretty universally decided the other day, rooting for Loyola is a good thing. Yes, we would rather be the Chicago-area school making headlines in the Tournament, but we had our moment last year. Now Loyola is living theirs, and they just keep on extending it.

So let’s do this, Blers. I want to see more reverse layups from Clayton Custer and company, another game-winning jumper, and you’re dang right I want more shots of the players hugging Sister Jean after the game.

If you’re watching the game (which you should be), let’s talk about it in the comments.

And with Haas-less Purdue falling to Texas Tech last night, there’s only one Big Ten team left in the dance. Michigan, which has won 12 straight games since falling to Northwestern at Allstate Arena (lol), takes on Florida State in tonight’s second game. Stick around to chat about that one too!

Loyola-KState tips off at 5:09 central, and Michigan-FSU follows at 7:49. Both games are on TBS.