Game Notes

CHICAGO (March 14, 2018) - Winners of 17 of the last 18 games, including each of the last 10, Loyola will be playing its first NCAA Tournament game since 1985 when it takes on No. 6 seed Miami. The Ramblers are making their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance, winning the national championship in 1963 and reaching the Sweet 16 in 1985. The Ramblers' 28 victories are the second-highest total in program history. Only the 1962-63 NCAA championship team has won more games (29).
 
Series Stuff
This marks the first meeting between the Ramblers and Hurricanes, but Loyola is no stranger to teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference. A year ago, the Ramblers dropped a 79-77 heartbreaker at ACC rival North Carolina State.
 
Loyola is 10-42 all-time against current members of the ACC and is seeking its first win over an ACC foe since a 70-58 victory at Notre Dame on January 24, 1994. Since Porter Moser took over the Loyola program for the 2011-12 season, the Ramblers have collected four wins over Power 5 conference opponents, plus another four versus teams from the Big East or Mountain West conferences.
 
Scouting Miami
The Hurricanes have split their last eight contests after getting off to an 18-5 start to the season. Miami is 3-2 on a neutral court this season, dropping two of its last three. Miami is one of the best teams in the nation at taking care of the basketball, ranking in top 40 in fewest turnovers per game (11.3). and it also limits opponents to just 32.6 percent shooting from three-point territory.
 
One of the biggest teams in the country, Miami's roster features five players who stand 6-foot-10 or taller. Freshman guard Lonnie Walker IV leads a balanced Hurricane attack, which includes seven players averaging over 8.0 points per game with 11.5 ppg. Sophomore forward Dewan Huell pitches in 11.4 ppg and grabs 6.6 rebounds per contest.
 
Loyola In The NCAA Tournament
Loyola is making the sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and first since 1985. The Ramblers also reached the big dance in 1963, 1964, 1966, and 1968, winning the national championship in their first-ever NCAA appearance. Loyola is 9-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament contests and has won at least one game in three of its previous five trips to the tourney.
 
Game Changing Anniversary
Fifty-five years ago today (March 15, 1963), one of the most important games in college basketball history was played when Loyola faced Mississippi State in a NCAA Regional semifinal contest in East Lansing, Michigan. The Ramblers won the game, 61-51, and would go on to win the national title, but the outcome is not what mattered most.
 
The contest, known as the "Game of Change," forever shaped integration in the state of Mississippi and the south after the courageous Mississippi State squad defied an unwritten state law that prohibited games against integrated teams. The Maroons snuck out of town under the cover of darkness to play the game against a Loyola team that featured four African-American starters.