March Madness: Tennessee Vols to become villains vs. Loyola Chicago

Tennessee basketball faces the Loyola Chicago Ramblers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. This will make the Volunteers March Madness villains.

They were the underdogs to start the season. But after overachieving enough to become a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Tennessee basketball is about to become the villain of March Madness for being the favorites.

After dominating the Wright State Raiders Thursday in their tournament opener, the Vols are now scheduled to face the Cinderella team of the day on Saturday: the No. 11 seed Loyola Ramblers.

Loyola University Chicago became the story of the day by upsetting the No. 6 seed Miami Hurricanes by hitting a game-winning three with a tenth of a second on the clock to win 64-62. But it’s not just because the Ramblers pulled off the upset. It’s the nature of the upset.

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This program is historical in nature for its work to integrate college basketball in the early 1960s. They became the first team to start more than three black players on the court for every game in the 1962-1963 season, and they then defeated the all-white Mississippi State Bulldogs in the NCAA Tournament en route to winning the national championship, shocking the Cincinnati Bearcats in the process.

As a school from the SEC, the story of integration is hard enough for the Vols to compete with in March Madness. How can they handle those distractions?

But on top of that, Loyola became even more beloved because of one Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt. The 98-year old chaplain for the basketball team, Schmidt is the school’s biggest fan. She was a teacher at Loyola’s neighbor Mundelein, the all-women’s Catholic school, when the Ramblers won that 1963 national title.

After the game, her interview garnered national attention. Somebody who played basketball back in the 1930s when it was a completely different game for women, she proved she was much more for the Ramblers than just a fan.

Loyola also has a head coach in Porter Moser who is a bit of a resurrection story. Illinois State fired Moser back in 2007, and he had to climb back up the basketball ranks. Now, in his seventh year at Loyola, he is the darling coach of the mid-majors.

Sure, Rick Barnes is going through a bit of a resurrection. But he never went a year without a head coach job after Texas fired him.

So Loyola is an underdog school with a positive Civil Rights history, a beloved longtime associate and a head coach with a resurrection story. They are also a Cinderella school that had only made one NCAA Tournament since the 1960s before this year. It was in 1985. Oh, and as a religious school, they bring in another huge base?

How are the Tennessee Vols going to compete with all of this? March Madness seems to have given them a favorable draw. But they now have to face the upset darlings of the NCAA Tournament.

Tennessee is a heavy favorite with an established coach coming from the region of the country that has the most negative history with Civil Rights. And they are a secular school.

On top of everything, by the way, Loyola Chicago is actually a pretty good team. They beat the Florida Gators on the road early in the year and just beat Miami. As a result, the Vols are going to have their hands full on the court as well.

Next: Tennessee football: Ranking 2018 early enrollees

Simply put, the world is about to root against Tennessee basketball on Saturday. They are officially the biggest villains in March Madness. But after being one of the biggest underdogs to start the year, they can handle different roles. Rick Barnes’s team is now going to have to do that.

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Tennessee Vols to become March Madness villains vs. Loyola Chicago

By Caleb Calhoun | Mar 15, 2018

Tennessee basketball faces the Loyola Chicago Ramblers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. This will make the Volunteers March Madness villains.