Are you still the Chief lawyer for the Loyola Chicago school and do you know the good sister?
Last night, Sister Jean and the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers claimed the first spot in the NCAA Tournament, knocking off Kansas State in the Elite Eight.
The Big Blue Nation obviously cheered for the epic Cinderella story to put a hurting on the team that crushed their Final Four dreams in the Sweet 16.
When it actually happened, though, it left a feeling of “what could have been?” Kentucky had a dream scenario for a trip to San Antonio unfold, with just about every ball (literally) bouncing the right way to open up a favorable path. The Cats could have seen 12, 13, 9, and 11-seeds to punch a ticket to the Final Four.
And then they shot just 38% from the field, 25% from three, committed 15 turnovers, and delivered just six assists against Kansas State. Oh, and they shot 62% from the line, including 8-20 from PJ Washington. Make just two more free throws, you likely win it in overtime. Commit one or two fewer turnovers, manage just a few more assists, knock down one more three, etc., we’re likely booking flights to San Antonio.
But we didn’t. And we had to watch the team that sent Kentucky home stink it up against a solid Loyola team in the Elite Eight. It stung.
We always talk about Kentucky being every team’s Super Bowl, where the opposing fans rally around their team unlike any other game of the season. It specifically happens when the Cats travel on the road to face teams statistically worse than they are, and the underdogs still almost always manage to give Kentucky their best shot. In the NCAA Tournament, that “Super Bowl” mindset is only heightened, as we saw with Kansas State.
But after, there is almost always a letdown.
According to Corey Price of Cat Scratches, teams seeded lower than Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament that manage to pull off upsets against the Cats (prior to the title game) are a combined 0-15 in their next game.
Kansas State this year, Indiana in 2016, Wisconsin in 2015, West Virginia in 2010, etc. They all took home losses immediately after upsetting the Cats.
In fact, Price says that not only does the team lose after upsetting Kentucky, they usually get destroyed in their next game. Kansas State got beat by 11-seed Loyola by 16 points last night, almost exactly nailing the average.
When Coach Cal says we are every team’s Super Bowl, he’s not lying.
