March Madness, heavy on the madness. The 2021 NCAA tournament has reached the round of 32. That’s right, we’re only one round into the tournament and we’ve lost the reigning national champion (Virginia), a No. 2 seed (Ohio State), a No. 3 seed (Texas) and two No. 4 seeds (Purdue, Virginia).
The Pac-12 is undefeated. The Big 12 is 6-1 and the ACC is a miserable 2-5.
And Sunday saw the end of No. 1 seed Illinois, which lost 71-58 to Loyola Chicago.
To paraphrase The Rock, “Finally Sister Jean has come back to the Sweet 16.” The team’s 101-year-old chaplain offered up this analytics-heavy prayer before the game:
Sister Jean with the analytics in her pregame prayer ??? #Loyola pic.twitter.com/PcQ9X9DpXB
— BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) March 21, 2021
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Loyola Chicago has not beaten a top-2 seed in the tournament since seeding began in 1979. It knocked off just one top-3 seed on its Final Four run in 2018 (3rd-seeded Tennessee).
The win came with a heavy dose of Cameron Krutwig and Lucas Williamson.
Krutwig is a magician ?@RamblersMBB | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/Q2U5xJ8BfR
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 21, 2021
CAMERON KRUTWIG KNOWS THIS IS MARCH ? pic.twitter.com/tF8yFN9vcZ
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 21, 2021
We ain’t goin! @lucasw2424 https://t.co/wRizQD2DvQ
— Loyola Men’s Basketball (@RamblersMBB) March 21, 2021
We don’t call him #KingKrut for nothing ?#OnwardLU x #StillChasing pic.twitter.com/z2WgUnwLX4
— Loyola Men’s Basketball (@RamblersMBB) March 21, 2021
Krutwig, who finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds, is the third Missouri Valley player with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in an NCAA tournament game since assists became official in 1984. The others: Bradley’s Hersey Hawkins in 1988 and Tulsa’s Shea Seals in 1994.
Williamson added 14 points.
Loyola Chicago is the sixth team to reach the Sweet 16 in consecutive NCAA tournament appearances as an 8 or lower seed since seeding began in 1979. Gonzaga is the only other non-major conference team to do this, doing so in three straight years from 1999 to 2001, all as a double-digit seed. But, when Loyola gets in, it wins. The program is 15-5 all time in the NCAA tournament, tying Duke for the best tournament winning percentage (.750).
Social media erupted after the upset.
? THE FIRST 1-SEED HAS FALLEN ?@RamblersMBB | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/uKVVEXpUlk
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 21, 2021
These games are crazyyy!!!
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) March 21, 2021
Talk about a golden moment for the @RamblersMBB that looks as though it will happen – yes a W over super Illinois looks REAL. Wow the magic of MARCH MADNESS!
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) March 21, 2021
What a PROUD moment for the guys of @RamblersMBB They just won one of the greatest games in the history of the school.Yes the National Championship in1963 is # 1 led by Jerry Harkness but this is a special magical moment .Yes @PorterMoser is the TOAST OF THE WINDY CITY !
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) March 21, 2021
I have a bracket with Loyola winning it because I thought it would be funny, it is now also in the top .5% of brackets so far, but I picked Ohio State to make the Final Four in it pic.twitter.com/jRVBxpoG8R
— B1G CHA〽️PS (@UMvsEveryone) March 21, 2021
Just when you thought your bracket couldn’t get much worse, Loyola Chicago upsets Illinois ? pic.twitter.com/ipwIYfPS9A
— ESPN (@espn) March 21, 2021
That’s what Illinois gets for not saying “Car Ramrod” pic.twitter.com/o3iIysquMg
— Patrick Monahan (@pattymo) March 21, 2021
RGIII and J.J. Watt ‘face off’
On Friday, Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt (a Wisconsin alum) steadily trolled his wife (a North Carolina grad) during the Badgers’ first-round win over the Tar Heels.
Watt was ready to go again Sunday with Wisconsin facing No. 1 seed Baylor in the Round of 32, tweeting at former NFL QB Robert Griffin III and reality TV star Chip Gaines, both Baylor graduates. Sunday’s fun did not go as well for Watt.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) March 21, 2021
Baylor punched a ticket to the Sweet 16 with a 76-63 win over Wisconsin.