Loyola Final Four Berth Would Have Sister Jean 'Jumping Around'

Chicago IL

25 March, 2021

6:03 PM

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CHICAGO — Sister Jean Delores Schmidt vividly remembers watching the 1963 NCAA Championship game when Loyola University-Chicago captured a national title and she found herself outside near the school's Rogers Park campus as the celebration commenced following the Ramblers' 60-58 overtime victory over Cincinnati. The 101-year-old team chaplain is now preparing to travel to Indianapolis on Friday in anticipation for the Ramblers' Sweet 16 showdown with Oregon State on Saturday. Although Sister Jean originally pegged Loyola for an Elite 8 finish in this year's NCAA tournament, the team's most recognizable supporter acknowledged on Thursday that she can't imagine her feelings if the Ramblers were to make another improbable run to another national title like they did three years ago. While few pegged the No. 8-seeeded Ramblers to get past No. 1-seed Illinois last weekend in Indianapolis, Sister Jean isn't ruling anything out in a tournament that has been filled with one upset after another. Sister Jean originally chose undefeated Gonzaga as her national champion, but said Thursday that she would greatly enjoy a national championship game involving two Jesuit universities playing for the title. But before reaching the national championship game, the Ramblers would require three more three more victories, starting Saturday against Oregon State, which is seeded 12th in the Midwest Regional. Unlike previous tournament games when the Ramblers have been cast as underdogs, Loyola enters the Saturday afternoon matinee as the favorite. The thought of a return visit to the Final Four has Sister Jean excited about the possibilities. "I'll be jumping around, literally, not figuratively, I'll be jumping around as much as they are," the wheelchair-bound Sister Jean said on the video news conference with reporters. "It will just be a great thrill if they get to the Final Four again, or even go up a couple steps more. I will hardly believe that it happened. "Last time, I thought to myself, 'I will never see anything like this again.'" Sister Jean became an international celebrity in 2018 when Loyola used a string of upset victories to reach the national semifinals. Once there, the Ramblers couldn't sustain an early lead and lost to national runner-up, Michigan, which — like Loyola —is hoping for a return visit to the Final Four as the Big Ten's lone remaining tournament survivor. Loyola coach Porter Moser celebrates after the Ramblers stunned top-seeded Illinois last weekend in Indianapolis. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)) On Thursday, Sister Jean said she had trouble containing her excitement as she watched Loyola's first two tournament victories, including the stunning 71-58 victory over Illinois last Sunday. Perched high above the court in Indianapolis, the long-time team chaplain watched as Loyola players celebrated the victory like they were "little boys with ice cream cones jumping up and down." Before last week's victories, Sister Jean expressed her displeasure with the NCAA Tournament committee, which set up the second-round in-state meeting after seeding the Ramblers eighth to start the tournament. Asked if she feels differently now that Loyola advanced to the Sweet 16, Sister Jean said she still feels like the tournament seeding process has its flaws. One problem she said is that supposed experts, known within the college basketball world as "Bracketologists" don't have as much insight into Mid-Major schools like Loyola as others might. While those insights don't have an impact on how the tournament committee places a team in the brackets, Sister Jean sees some imperfections with the system. "The Bracketologists watch the games endlessly and they watch the plays, but they don't really know the team," she said. "I said, 'I know my team.' That's why I put such faith and trust in them, in what they're capable of doing." Like last weekend, Sister Jean will deliver a pregame prayer to the Ramblers — by phone as has been her custom all season. Her prayer against Illinois included a knowledgeable scouting report of the Illini that proved prophetic. Asked on Thursday on an appearance on the "Today" Show what her scouting report on Oregon State included, Sister Jean said she did not want to divulge too much just in case some within the opposing program might be watching. But as she was last weekend, Sister Jean remains faithful to the Ramblers and believes that if things fall into place like they did three years ago, another magical run to toward a national championship could be in the works. Whether Loyola can ride the momentum all the way like the 1963 team did, she said, remains to be seen. But as long as the Ramblers keep advancing, Sister Jean, fully vaccinated and ready for travel back and forth to Indianapolis, will be along for the ride. "If we got this, it would be perfect," Sister Jean said Thursday. "They're working toward it, and I believe they still can do it. One never knows what's going to happen in a basketball game on the floor that night."