The 2017–18 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team represented

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

during the

2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 10, 2017. The first tournament was the 2K Sports Classic and the season ended with the Final Four in San Antonio on April 2, 2018. Practices officially began on September 2 ...

. The Ramblers, led by seventh-year head coach

Porter Moser Porter Andrew Moser (born August 24, 1968) is a college basketball coach who is the current head coach of the University of Oklahoma Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball, men's basketball team. Moser spent 10 years (2011–2021) at Loyola University ...

, played their home games at the Joseph J. Gentile Arena in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. They were members of the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

. With a win against

Evansville Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in S ...

on February 18, 2018, Loyola clinched at least a share of its first-ever Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship. With a win over

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern United States, Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of th ...

on February 21, the Ramblers clinched the outright MVC championship. The Ramblers defeated

Northern Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

, Bradley, and

Illinois State Illinois State University (ISU) is a Public university, public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is reco ...

to win the MVC tournament. As a result, the Ramblers received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 11 seed in the South Region, they upset No. 6-seeded

Miami (FL) Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

on a last second three-pointer. In the Second Round, they defeated No. 3-seeded

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

to earn the school's first trip to the Sweet Sixteen since

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. They then defeated

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

in the Sweet Sixteen and

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

in the Elite Eight to advance to the Final Four for the first time since

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

. Their Cinderella run ended with a loss to the eventual runner-up

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

in the national semifinal.

Previous season

The

Ramblers The Ramblers is the trading name of the Ramblers Association, Great Britain's leading walking charity. The Ramblers is also a membership organisation with around 100,000 members and a network of volunteers who maintain and protect the path ...

finished the 2016–17 season 18–14, 8–10 in MVC play to finish in fifth place. They lost to

in the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament.

Offseason

Departures

Incoming transfers

2017 recruiting class

Preseason

In the conference's preseason poll, the Ramblers were picked to finish in third place in the MVC. Senior forward Aundre Jackson was named to the preseason All-MVC first team.

Roster

Schedule and results

The Ramblers won at least eight of their first nine games for the first time since the . In their tenth game on December 6, they upset No. 5 ranked

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, for the school's first win against a ranked opponent since a February 15, 2009 win over No. 15

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

and the first against a top 5 team since a December 22, 1984 victory over No. 4

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. , - !colspan=9 style=, Exhibition , - !colspan=9 style=, Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, Missouri Valley regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, Missouri Valley Tournament , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA tournament

Rankings

References

External links

Full Schedule and Results
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