Big Dance: Loyola-Chicago Ramblin' to Sweet 16 on a Late Bouncing Basket

Published on 17-Mar-2018 by Alan Adamsson

Basketball - NCAA Mens    NCAA Basketball Daily Update

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Big Dance: Loyola-Chicago Ramblin' to Sweet 16 on a Late Bouncing Basket

Any good shooter will confirm that you've gotta have arc and backspin to give your jumper every chance to find twine.

On the day, Loyola-Chicago guard Clayton Custer was a good shooter.

Dude went 4-5 from the field against Tennessee and 2-2 from trey territory as part of a 10-point performance.

However, it was his fundamentally sound mid-range effort with 3.6 seconds remaining in the game for which he'll forever be known among the Rambler faithful:

 

Here's a question for the ages:

Why do defenders allow shooters to drive toward their strong side game after game and season after season?

 

Rick Barnes is a helluva coach.

Why, when his Volunteers see an iso-play coming -- a 1-4 or, in this case, a 1-3-1 -- doesn't he have them prepared to shade the ball handler a half-man to his strong side in order to force him into a less rhythmic setup for his jumper?

 

It's not just him. Hardly any coach has ordered that in the days since shorts got longer.

That was the era when Loyola claimed the NCAA hoops title, back in 1963. Incidentally, the Ramblers won it on a buzzer-beating putback in overtime:

 

Even more incidentally, it was Donte Ingram's buzzer-beater against Miami in the opening round that got the team this far:

 

Chicago produces as much top hoops talent as any other big city, and coach Peter Moser is getting a foothold on keeping it home.

Granted, it doesn't hurt to take advantage of the graduate transfer rule that's done so much to revolutionize the college game.

Right now, the Ramblers have been putting it all together, throwing up fundamentally sound prayers and having them answered.