Tag: loyola chicago

Five Cinderella candidates to bet on in men’s 2022 March Madness

Which teams are the best bets to be this year’s Cinderella team in the men’s NCAA tournament?

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament gets underway on Tuesday, March 15 with the first of the First Four games in Dayton, Ohio. As we look towards the bracket and making picks, it’s time to pinpoint some Cinderella candidates for this year’s dance.

Cinderella runs have long been one of the best things about the NCAA tournament, with teams like 1983’s NC State, 2006’s George Mason, 2011’s VCU, and 2018’s Loyola-Chicago sticking out in our minds. So which team in 2022 has the potential to do what Oral Roberts did in 2021?

Let’s take a look at some of the Cinderella candidates that could also potentially make you some money. All odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook.

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Loyola Chicago coach Drew Valentine was pumped to have Sister Jean back for March Madness

She’s back!

Back during Loyola Chicago’s Cinderella run to the Final Four in 2018, Sister Jean became one of the most beloved characters of the entire tournament. Well, the Ramblers will be dancing once again after their Sunday win in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship over Drake, and the 102-year-old Sister Jean will be joining them.

Nobody was more excited about that than first-year head coach Drew Valentine.

Valentine was an assistant coach on that Final Four team and took over this season following Porter Moser’s departure to Oklahoma. So, he is well aware of the aura around Sister Jean, and when it was his turn to cut down the nets in St. Louis, he gave a special shoutout to Loyola Chicago’s biggest supporter.

He held up a piece of the net and shouted, “For Sister Jean!”

At 102 years old, health is always at the forefront when it comes to travel decisions, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the NCAA Tournament’s closed bubble in Indianapolis presented obstacles, but Sister Jean did ultimately make the trip. This year, she is feeling healthy, according to The Chicago Tribune, and ready to experience another Loyola Chicago appearance in March Madness.

That’s great news because the tourney is always fun when Sister Jean is involved.

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Michigan State basketball beats Loyola Chicago behind career game from Malik Hall

Michigan State basketball beats Loyola Chicago in first game of Battle 4 Atlantis behind career game from Malik Hall

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Well, that was not a pretty game, but boy was that fun. Michigan State basketball was able to knock off  Loyola Chicago in the opening game of the Battle 4 Atlantis in The Bahamas in dramatic fashion, 63-61.

The Spartans were led by co-captain Malik Hall, who ended up with 24 points, 7 rebounds, and an assist. He was a perfect 9-for-9 from the floor.

It was Marcus Bingham Jr. who won the game for the Spartans on a perfectly thrown lob from Tyson Walker (who is finally starting to look more comfortable) as time expired, when the whole gym expected the ball to go back to Malik Hall. Bingham set a career high with 7 blocks to go along with 11 points, 9 rebounds and a steal.

Max Christie and AJ Hoggard struggled in this one, going a combined 2-for-14 from the field.

This was, unfortunately, another game in which the Spartans struggled to hold onto the ball, ending up with 20 turnovers. That is becoming their achilles heel, but if they are able to clean that up, this team could have a high ceiling.

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WATCH: Michigan State basketball commit Max Christie seen working out with Loyola-Chicago players

Michigan State basketball 5-star recruit Max Christie was recently seen working out with some Loyola-Chicago players.

Loyola-Chicago has been one of the best stories in college basketball these past four years, making multiple runs through the NCAA Tournament as the Cinderella team before recently appointing the brother of MSU great Denzel Valentine, Drew, as their new head coach. The Spartans now have another tie to the Ramblers, as their prized 5-star recruit, Max Christie, was recently seen hooping with some members of the Loyola squad on Instagram.

It’s cool to see Christie holding his own with players who made a deep March Madness run last year. You can watch it below:

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Brother of MSU basketball great Denzel Valentine expected to take over Loyola-Chicago head coaching job

Drew Valentine, the brother of MSU great Denzel Valentine, is now expected by many to become the head coach of Loyola-Chicago.

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In some shocking news on Friday, it was revealed that long-time Loyola-Chicago head coach Porter Moser would be leaving the small school that he has led to unprecedented success to become the head coach at Oklahoma.

This leaves a vacancy open that actually touches Michigan State in a few ways due to the fact that Drew Valentine, brother of Spartan legend Denzel Valentine, might be next in line for that head coaching position after spending the last four seasons on Moser’s staff at Loyola as an assistant.

Chicago Sun Times contributor Joe Henricksen said on Friday that he does ‘fully expect’ Drew Valentine to be named head coach of the Ramblers:

College basketball insider Jeff Goodman also expects Valentine to take the role:

Aside from the obvious connection to Denzel, this affects the Spartans in another way, albeit one that has only been speculated on. Many MSU fans had hoped that Drew Valentine might come to Michigan State as an assistant coach. He had previously been on Izzo’s staff as a graduate manager after playing college ball for Oakland.

Valentine has started to get a lot of buzz in the college coaching community for his work with Loyola over their extremely productive four seasons during his tenure. Those hopes now seem to be up in smoke after Moser’s departure.

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Meet Bud Ossey, the 101-year old Oregon State fan capturing everyone’s hearts

Move over, Sister Jean. Everyone’s talking about Oregon State fan Bud Ossey.

Everyone knows Sister Jean, the 101-year-old chaplain and Loyola Chicago fan that captured the hearts of college basketball fans back in 2018.

But CBS just introduced us to our new obsession, Bud Ossey, a 101-year-old World War II veteran and Oregon State fan who is cheering on the Beavers from home.

Ossey graduated from Oregon State in 1943 and even called Oregon State football games alongside legendary announcer Bob Blackburn for more than 20 years.

Loyola Chicago has been one of college basketball’s favorite Cinderella stories during March Madness, dating back to 2018, and this year is no different as the No. 8 Ramblers battle No. 12 Oregon State in the Sweet 16 round of the men’s NCAA tournament on Saturday.

But the afternoon’s most-heated match-up might not be the one happening on the court. It’s between Sister Jean and Bud Ossey.

This new rivalry has garnered everyone’s attention on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/ConnorM31112007/status/1375883612118208521?s=20

Surely, there’s plenty of room for both Sister Jean and Bud Ossey.

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Loyola star Cameron Krutwig became a hilarious meme during win over Illinois

The internet fell in love with Cameron Krutwig on Sunday.

Loyola Chicago is going back to the Sweet 16 for the first time since they went to the Final Four in 2018 as they beat top-seeded Illinois on Sunday, 71-58, to advance.

Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Cameron Krutwig was big once again for Loyola as he finished with a team-high 19 points and 12 rebounds.

More importantly, however, he became a legend on Twitter. Everyone couldn’t get enough of the big man who helped lead that Loyola team to the Final Four back in his freshman year.

Now a senior, the 6-foot-9, 255-pound center seems poised to lead Loyola back to the Final Four.

Twitter loved him:

https://twitter.com/marsjoint/status/1373732367009939457

Loyola Chicago is back in the NCAA tournament, which means Sister Jean is too

Yesssssssss!

This might be the best non-basketball storyline of the 2021 NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

With Loyola Chicago back in it — they’re the No. 8 seed in the Midwest and will play Georgia Tech in the first round — it means one very important thing: Sister Jean is back.

Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt is the Loyola Chicago chaplain who became the darling of the 2018 tourney as the Ramblers made an unlikely run to a Final Four. Her pregame prayers were wonderful. The memes about her were fun. Charles Barkley loved her and got to meet her. She ended up throwing the first pitch at a Chicago Cubs game.

She is, in short, the best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MSTuH0RFao

And she’s 101 years old!

But in 2021, it’s not quite as easy for her to travel to Indianapolis to be there with the team. From the Chicago Tribune:

COVID-19 restrictions limit the number of fans and the size of team travel parties at the NCAA Tournament, which will be held entirely in and around Indianapolis this year to help reduce the potential for virus spread. Although Sister Jean has been vaccinated, other safety and logistical concerns exist.

“They said there’s restrictions,” she said. “You can’t run down on the court. You can’t talk to the young men. I said, ’I’m not going to run down on the court, and I’m not going to cause any disturbance.’ I said, ‘I won’t do things I’m not supposed to.’”

We’re still awaiting word to see if Sister Jean will attend, but you can imagine even if she’s with the squad virtually or in person, she will have her presence felt. And we can’t wait.

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