(670 The Score) The Loyola Ramblers are back in the Sweet 16 for the second time in four seasons after beating top-seeded Illinois, 71-58, in a round of 32 matchup Sunday.
A Loyola program that hadn't made the NCAA Tournament since 1985 before returning in 2018 isn't just happy to be back in this point -- especially after reaching the Final Four three years ago. The Ramblers' sights are set on something bigger, and coach Porter Moser has his players focused on the opportunity ahead.
"I haven't even had one iota of thought process of validation," Moser said on the Mully & Haugh Show on Monday. "It's just advancing, winning a national championship. That's what I had last time. I'm not looking to get validated. I want to win a national championship. Once we get one, I want another. That's how we stay."
No. 8 seed Loyola will take on the No. 12 seed Oregon State in a Sweet 16 matchup next weekend. Their Midwest region also includes a matchup between No. 2 seed Houston and No. 11 seed Syracuse on the other side.
The Ramblers drawing a No. 8 seed was somewhat controversial, given the team's 24-4 record entering the NCAA Tournament. Loyola won the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament championships but didn't earn commensurate respect from the NCAA Tournament selection committee in the eyes of many. Through that, Moser made sure the Ramblers weren't worried about their seed. Instead, the focus is on what they can accomplish.
"You can't just go into this thing going, 'Hey, I'm happy to be in it,'" Moser said. "You got to go with the mentality and the mindset (that) you want to win. You want to win and advance. And you got to believe that.
"Create this incredible belief inside the locker room. Yeah, the eighth seed, it is what it is. We just told our guys, we can't control it. All we can control is beating Georgia Tech.
"We got Illinois. Then it was all about that and believing."