2020–21 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team explained

Mode:Basketball
Year:2020–21
Prev Year:2019–20
Next Year:2021–22
Team:Loyola Ramblers
Conference:Missouri Valley Conference
Short Conf:MVC
Coachrank:12
Aprank:17
Record:26–5
Conf Record:16–2
Head Coach:Porter Moser
Hc Year:10th
Asst Coach1:Jermaine Kimbrough
Asst Coach2:Matt Gordon
Asst Coach3:Drew Valentine
Stadium:Joseph J. Gentile Arena
Champion:Missouri Valley regular season and tournament champions
Tourney:NCAA tournament
Tourney Result:Sweet Sixteen

The 2020–21 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team represented Loyola University Chicago during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Ramblers, led by 10th-year head coach Porter Moser, played their home games at the Joseph J. Gentile Arena in Chicago, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 26–5, 16–2 in MVC play to win the regular season championship. They defeated Southern Illinois, Illinois State, and Drake to win the MVC tournament championship.[1] As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 8 seed in the Midwest region.[2] There they defeated No. 9-seeded Georgia Tech[3] and upset No. 1-seeded Illinois to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.[4] In the Sweet Sixteen, they lost to Oregon State.[5]

On April 3, 2021, Moser left Loyola to accept the head coaching position at Oklahoma.[6] A few days later, the school announced that assistant coach Drew Valentine would take over as the Ramblers' head coach.[7]

Previous season

The Ramblers finished the 2019–20 season 21–11, 13–5 in MVC play to finish in second place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament to Valparaiso. All postseason play was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[8]

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
4 G 6'4" 175 Senior Graduated
50 G 6'4" 180 Junior Transferred to Purdue Fort Wayne

2020 recruiting class

Schedule and results

|-!colspan=9 style=| Regular season|-!colspan=12 style=| MVC tournament|-!colspan=12 style=| NCAA tournament

Rankings

See also: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings. *AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2021-03-07. Drake falls to No. 20 Loyola in MVC Championship. 2021-04-07. Radio Iowa. en-US.
  2. Web site: Hefferman. Todd. MVC Basketball Drake slotted in First Four, Loyola receives 8 seed. 2021-04-07. The Southern. en.
  3. Web site: Georgia Tech vs. Loyola Chicago - Game Recap - March 19, 2021 - ESPN. 2021-04-07. ESPN.com. en.
  4. Web site: Lauren M. Johnson and Homero De la Fuente. No. 8 Loyola Chicago stuns No. 1 seed Illinois to advance to the Sweet 16. 2021-04-07. CNN.
  5. Web site: Oregon State vs. Loyola Chicago - Game Recap - March 27, 2021 - ESPN. 2021-04-07. ESPN.com. en.
  6. Web site: Oklahoma hires Loyola Chicago's Porter Moser to replace Lon Kruger as Sooners coach. 2021-04-07. CBSSports.com. en.
  7. Web site: Drew Valentine Hired as Loyola-Chicago's Head Coach, Replacing Porter Moser. 2021-04-07. NBC Chicago. en-US.
  8. Web site: NCAA cancels March Madness tournaments, all other winter and spring championships. 2020-12-06. NBC News. en.