By Woodrow Carroll
As nice as was Loyola University’s 71-58 victory over top-seeded Illinois Sunday, at least from the victorious Ramblers’ stand point in the Division I men’s college basketball tournament which started with a field of 68 teams, it was not the first time the Ramblers took a meaningful victory over their in-State rival in the NCAA tournament.
In the 1963, Loyola bounced Illinois from tournament play, 79-64. Illinois was co-Big Ten Conference champion that season after an 11-3 final record in the Big Ten Conference with a share first place with Ohio State. By virtue of a victory over the Buckeyes, the Illini, which included Bill Small of West Aurora High School, earned the NCAA berth that went to the Conference champion. Most of the time beating a state rival would have been the focal point. Not so much in 1963, however!
The day prior to Loyola’s playing Illinois, the Ramblers played Mississippi State, a team all-white and segregated, Mississippi State had to sneak out of its state to play Loyola which had four African-American players in the starting lineup.
The Loyola-Mississippi State game, played at Jenison Fieldhouse, Michigan State’s arena, was a largely uneventful game, other than for the social implications. Loyola won, 61-51.
The Loyola victory over Illinois propelled the Ramblers into the NCAA Final Four in Louisville., Ky.. From there, the Ramblers beat Duke, 94-75, then knocked off two-time defending national champion Cincinnati, 60-58, in overtime to claim the national tournament championship.
Loyola hired John Jordan as head basketball coach for the 1950-1951 season. A Notre Dame product, Jordan stayed one season at Loyola before taking the Notre Dame position which had opened up. Loyola hired George Ireland who had been a teammate of Jordan’s at Notre Dame.
Prior to taking the Loyola job, Ireland was the coach at Marmion Academy in Aurora during the 1940s. Loyola proved to be Ireland’s one and only collegiate coaching job, a long lasting one! From 1951-1952 through 1973-1974 Ireland was the Loyola head coach.
This year, upset victories included four teams, Oral Roberts, #15; Abilene Christian, #14; North Texas State, #13; and Ohio, #13; They were seeded 13 or lower and came up with victories in first-round games.
The Golden Eagles of Oral Roberts have been a tournament surprise. Based in Tulsa, Okla., the Golden Eagles are a members of the Summit League, which includes Western Illinois University. During the regular season Oral Roberts finished in fourth place, but, at league tournament time, the Golden Eagles came through victoriously to earn the NCAA tournament berth. From there, Ohio State and Florida have learned the Golden Eagles have sharp talons.
Evangelist Oral Roberts started the school in 1963. He was born in Oklahoma and claimed Choctaw ancestry.
Big Ten fans should be thankful that Michigan beat LSU in Monday’s second round.. View it as a small consolation! Nine Big Ten teams were in this season’s NCAA tournament. Eight of the nine failed to make it out of the second round. Only Michigan survived. The Big Ten’s record was 7-8 in the first week.