This is what made the Uguak charge call so important. Take a few points off for us and then they exploited a defense without our top guys. The game really might've gone differently if that's correctly called a block

Ultimately, it just came dow to the fact that they made some tough shots, and we uncharacteristically missed some really open shots. Sucks because I think this team could have gone all the way...

A couple of thoughts on the game.

1. The toughest part of the game was that the Seniors all struggled. I realize that this is relative because Krut had a double-double but it feels like everybody missed some opportunities.

2. As poorly as the first 28 minutes went, think I he Ramblers win if the game goes 5 minutes longer. The boys just ran out of time.

3. I'm surprised that Kennedy didn't see more action. Given the offensive struggles, I would've thought Moser would turn to him to spark the offense.

4. The offense struggled to get the ball inside. The offense actually looked decent when they got it to Hall on the elbow against the zone. I know they haven't done it a lot, but I'm surprised Welch didn't come in at the 4 to try to go high-low with Krutwig

5. I don't remember a designed play to get Cooper a 3. Why not?

6. You gotta give credit to Oregon State that as well as our defense played, there were very few opportunities for easy transition baskets.

Still, a Sweet 16 is still a huge accomplishment and all the guys should be proud.

The Tink sank us.

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MBB Scholarship Chart

There’s a reason only one team in the history of the State of Illinois has won it all. It’s damn hard to do. All you can ask for is a chance, and if we can keep this program going that’s exactly what we’ll have in the coming years.

It was a tough day for the Ramblers. Oregon State made some big shots when it counted. On the other hand, we missed multiple layups, free throws, and wide-open looks from the three-point line. Sometimes you shoot poorly from beyond the arc because their defense pushes you out further or disrupts your rhythm. Today, it was self-inflicted by Loyola. We had many clean looks and the ball wasn't falling. We also had some very bad luck on the foul calls. Williamson and Uguak picked up fouls with minimal contact and those calls just didn't even out today. Sometimes it goes that way and we've certainly had games where we got our share of calls-- it's basketball. The real problem is that we went something like 20 minutes with making more than about 6 buckets. You aren't beating any Power 5 conf champions when you can only manage 6 buckets over a 20 minute span.

Overall, we were 26-5, beat the ACC tournament champs, the Big 10 tournament champs, finished the regular season ranked in the Top 20, won the Valley, overcame horrendous seeding and ended up 4-3 versus Quad 1 teams. If this becomes a typical season for Loyola, I'm pinching myself. If we get a season like this every 3-4 years, I'm still over the moon.

Thanks for a great season Ramblers!

I agree with most of Cruyff's assessment of the game.
But good teams overcome some bad calls.
The offense actually ran well in my opinion. We were getting open looks.
The problem was, except for Norris, our shooters choked. I do not think that any of the missed 3's were contested. Even Krutwig, with a double-double, missed some shots he usually hits.
Norris should have taken more shots. He passed up a couple of good looks to make another pass and Porter could have called some plays to set him up to shoot.

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Let's go Braden!

I, like everyone on the board, was disappointed in the outcome. Woke up thinking "we got this" today. Disappointed we didn't play at the level we're capable of but that happens in the Tournament, it's what makes it great. You have an off day and you go home. We had an off day. Watched virtually every game this year and can't remember us shooting this poorly. It happens. Oregon St. did enough to beat us. Had so much fun watching this team this year and glad to see more alumni involved right now. Interested to know about Porter's plans and the seniors on the team. Will worry about that later. Very proud of this team!!

The OT loss to Drake and the last game against Valpo were also pretty bad offensively. We had several games where our guys just couldn't hit their shots, but our inside game usually bailed us out. We fell behind by too many in the first half and could just never fully shift the momentum.

I've been a Rambler fan since since around 2008. All of the seasons since our CBI run have been really fun to watch! While the loss stings, I'm just hoping that the program continues to build off of this momentum. Happy to be feeling down over a loss in the Sweet 16 on any given season. I know many of you have supported the team through some painfully horrible seasons.

I agree in the end we blew it. That call just stings a little. But yes we make a few more free throws and a couple 3s that we normally hit and we're playing Monday. Sucks to go out with this loss. Kinda hope Cam and Lucas come back just to try and leave feeling like it ended the way they wanted.