Well, 2 religious NCAA BB teams just advanced. Gonzaga had a hard time, but beat NC Greensboro by a bit. And 11th seed Chicago Loyola beat #6 Miami on a last second 3 pointer, as time ran out. Looks like God's favoring the Catholics.

Michael Francis is pretty awesome.

Because its...Gonzaga

Loyola even has Sister Jean. She led a prayer for them. Maybe she can lead them to the title

Yep. She sends coach Moser scouting reports and post game breakdowns (no shit). The lady knows her basketball.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/sports/ncaabasketball/loyola-ncaa-tournament-nun.html

ghawd's very own school made it into the NIT and lost last night, to Stanford.

...it's a test...

You forgot St. Bonaventure,but Florida is leading in the first quarter.

This means roman catholicism is true despite what you've heard.

Must be true. Gonzaga beat BYU 3 times this year.

Universities run by the Jesuit Priests have traditionally been very strong in basketball (Georgetown, Marquette, Loyola of Chicago, Xavier, Gonzaga, etc). Former Utah basketball coach started at Marquette and ended his career at St. Louis University.

I think, in part, its because they are mainly in urban settings and the Jesuit's penchant for social justice made them early adopters of recruiting black athletes.

"Former Utah basketball coach started at Marquette and ended his career at St. Louis University."

Good observation. Porter Moser, the head coach of Loyola, was Rick Majerus' assistant at St. Louis U. They don't have the most physically dominating athletes, but they are extremely disciplined (and ,no, not nuns smacking their knuckles).

Your remarks on race are spot on as well. Most don't remember the "Game of Change" but here's an interesting read. Different times.
Back then, some churches worked towards unity vs. some that spent their efforts fighting against equality.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8741183/game-change-mississippi-state-loyola-cannot-forgotten-college-basketball

My brother played basketball for a Jesuit high school.

I think "god" favors universities that spend a lot of money on recruiting and coaching/training, have a wide pool of candidates to recruit from, and who (usually) have profitable tv/media deals to fund their programs well.

:)

That is true. These small schools are able to advance a few rounds. But the champion is always a power conference team. I wish someday a team like Loyola-Chicago or UMBC could win the whole tournament. Loyla-Chicago did win in the 1963 but that was a different time for college sports.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/17/2018 11:32AM by Drew90.

Yep. You a Chi-Loyola fan?

I got my Master's from UMBC, and their success has been a source of pride to Marylanders. The school has come a long way since my time there. At the time (early 90s) it was an up-and-coming school. Now it is well respected. The UMBC men's basketball coach is very well thought-of.

I'm wearing my Retriever t-shirt right now. Could there be a more friendly school mascot? :) You see paw prints painted on to the sidewalk all over campus.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/17/2018 05:47PM by summer.

Yeah, can't get much cuter than Retrievers. Unless you name your team Baby Pandas. I hope they keep it going. But if they make it to the Elite 8, I hope Loyola wins.

Loyola just beat Tennessee to go to the Sweet 16. Sister Jean is the most famous nun since Mother Teresa.