Elite 8 Basketball: Loyola Ramblers vs. Kansas State Wildcats

With the winner heading to the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio – the Ramblers of Loyola and Wildcats of Kansas State will play in a historic Elite 8 game. This is the first time in the history of the NCAA Tournament that the 11th seed battles the 9th seed in the Elite 9. The winner of this game will take on the winner of the Florida State Seminoles and Michigan Wolverines game in Los Angeles.

Bruce Weber and his Kansas State Wildcats are getting hot at the right time. The Wildcats fell to Kansas in the Big 12 Semi-Finals, and have won three straight since then. The Wildcats are allowing just 54 points per game in their three tournament wins over Creighton, UMBC and Kentucky.

The Loyola Ramblers are 31-5 on the season. Porter Moser’s team has won games over Miami, Tennessee and Nevada. Those three wins came by a total of 4 points. The Ramblers won the regular season and conference tournament out of the Missouri Valley Conference. Loyola and Kansas State are a pick’em in this game.

Ramblers Rolling Along

Clayton Custer is the leading scorer for the Ramblers, but they are a great well balanced basketball team. THe Ramblers have gotten great production from Marques Townes and Donte Ingram as well. Custer is scoring 14.3 points per game, while Ingram and Townes combined for 22.5 per game.

The Ramblers won the Missouri Valley Conference by 4 games over Southern Illinois. The Ramblers also beat Illinois State in the conference tournament title game. The Ramblers are seeking their second trip to the NCAA Final Four. Loyola is 12-4 in NCAA play in their school history.

Wildcats Surging

Bruce Weber and his Kansas State Wildcats are getting hot at the right time. Not known for their offense, the defensive play of the Wildcats has led them one win from the Final Four. The Wildcats lost 11 games in the regular season. The Wildcats beat TCU in the conference tournament, before losing to Kansas.

The top scorer for Kansas State has been Dean Wade with 16.2 points per game. Wade did not play the first two games of the tournament, and tried to play in the win over Kentucky. Barry Brown and Xavier Sneed are the other two Wildcats scoring double digits per game with a combined 27 points per game.

Loyola in Final Four

Well – here we go. The winner of this game will be the first team in the NCAA Final Four. Either the Big 12 – which was known as the most competitive conference in College Basketball or the Missouri Valley. The Missouri Valley Conference has had tournament success in the past. Now, we see if they can get another team to the Final Four.

Both teams are sound defensive teams, but Wichita State is a team that struggles to score more than Loyola. The difference though is the ability to take care of the basketball, and Loyola is a little stronger at the guard position. Loyola wins this game and cuts down the nets and heads to San Antonio. Bet Loyola pick’em over Kansas State.

  • Bet the Loyola Ramblers pk
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