Under 30-year-old first-year coach Drew Valentine, the Loyola Ramblers earned their second straight NCAA Tournament invitationand their third in five yearswith a 64-58 win over Drake in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) title game that took place March 6 in St. Louis, per The Chicago Tribune.
Lucas Williamson led Loyola (25-7) with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Aher Uguak added 16 points and 10 boards.
The Ramblers entered the conference tournament seeded fourth after finishing the regular season in a three-way tie for second, then cruised to wins over Bradley and regular-season champion Northern Iowa before holding off Drake.
Loyola advanced to the Final Four in 2018 and went to the Sweet 16 last year in the final season under former coach Porter Moser.
Loyola is leaving for the Atlantic 10 Conference in July, as the University of Illinois of Chicago is planning to join the MVC.