They’re 145 miles apart — a 2.5-hour drive down I-57.
Now, for the first time in a decade, Illinois and Loyola Chicago are getting set to play a basketball game.
Only this time, it’s win-or-go home.
The Fighting Illini sprinted past Drexel 78-49 and the Ramblers followed suit with a 71-60 win over Georgia Tech despite a slow start in their respective first-round games Friday afternoon.
After a week of hoping it would happen, the “Battle of Illinois” is now set for the Round of 32.
“There’s a huge amount of passion for basketball in the state of Illinois,” said Loyola Chicago coach Porter Moser. “It’s been that way for decades. I grew up there. To see two ranked teams go at it to get a ticket to the Sweet 16 is great for the state.”
This won’t be the first time the two teams have played each other in the NCAA tournament. It happened once before — 58 years ago.
In 1963, Loyola Chicago defeated the Fighting Illini 79-64 in the Elite Eight en route to the national championship. Loyola Chicago remains the only program in Illinois to win an NCAA men’s basketball title.
This year’s Fighting Illini are looking to change that, even in a tournament setting we’ve never seen before.
“This is the NCAA tournament,” said Illinois coach Brad Underwood. “We’re going to show up. … We knew this was coming. We’ve been prepared for this.”
On paper, it looks to be an exciting matchup. A potent Illinois offense led by National Player of the Year contender Ayo Dosunmu facing off against a top-ranked Loyola Chicago defense anchored by Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year Lucas Williamson. A potential NBA Draft pick in Kofi Cockburn going head-to-head with MVC Player of the Year Cameron Krutwig.
This is going to be good.
Time and location hadn’t been determined for the game as of publication.