Loyola moves 1 win from NCAA Tournament, but team sees more wins ahead

ST. LOUIS — Forty minutes. That’s what’s left for Loyola to fight through.

One more victory. It would be the Ramblers’ 10th in a row and send them to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 33 years.

If the Missouri Valley Conference is going to be a one-bid league, then that bid might as well go to what clearly is the league’s — and the state of Illinois’ — best team.

After beating Bradley 62-54 Saturday in the semifinals of the MVC tourney, the Ramblers are a robust 27-5. They have the school’s most regular-season victories in 69 years under their belts and two wins to go to tie the record 29 set by the 1962-63 national championship squad.

But Loyola’s 100th season of basketball isn’t about numbers. It’s about unselfish, precision passes. It’s about impregnable defense. It’s about rising to the moment, again and again. It’s about a team that is better — a lot better — than many basketball fans in its own city realize. It’s about “no finish line.”

“We don’t feel like [Sunday] is going to be the last game for us,” said senior Donte Ingram, “or the game after that.”

As Loyola began to take control of the MVC with a seven-game winning streak in January, coach Porter Moser implored his players to remain in the role of “chasers.” While everyone else chased the Ramblers, the Ramblers would chase whatever was off in the distance. Championships? Glory? History?

Whatever it is, Moser’s team is gaining ground — and can take a giant step Sunday against No. 3 seed Illinois State in the MVC title game. The Redbirds have the high-scoring trio of Milik Yarbrough, Keyshawn Evans and Phil Fayne, who combine for nearly 50 points per game. The 6-9 Fayne scored 26 in Saturday’s overtime victory over No. 2 seed Southern Illinois.

The state of Illinois will have a team in the NCAA Tournament either way. But a team that’s capable of getting there and doing some damage? It might have to be the Ramblers.

“I 100 percent don’t think they’re scared of the moment,” Moser said. “I think they’re embracing it. I think they’re going to play hard, play tough. So I’m very confident.”

Bradley (20-13) was the last team to beat Loyola, by two points back on January 31 in Peoria. The Ramblers won their ninth straight since then — the longest streak in Moser’s seven seasons — thanks in part to a near-perfect first half in which they had 10 assists and only two turnovers and outscored the Braves by 11. For a team with a standing goal of at least 15 assists and fewer than 10 turnovers each game, it was right in the sweet spot.

For much of the second half, the Ramblers answered Bradley runs with clutch baskets set up by flawless ball movement. Center Cameron Krutwig zipped a perfect diagonal pass to point guard Clayton Custer (12 points) on one three-pointer. Swingman Ingram passed up a shot and fed the ball into the corner to Marques Townes (12 points) for another. Guard Ben Richardson (five assists) found a cutting Custer, his lifelong friend, alone under the basket for a layup.

“Our team picks each other up so well,” Custer said, “and that’s what we are — a team.”

It’s Moser’s best team, without question. It’s also the 49-year-old’s own prime as a coach. The Ramblers’ defense down the stretch — five straight stops with the score frozen at 56-54 — was a testament to that.

If national bracket experts are correct, the Ramblers must win on Sunday to get into the Big Dance. From there?

“There’s no finish line,” Moser said.

Yet the chase remains on.

Follow me on Twitter @slgreenberg.

Email: sgreenberg@suntimes.com