Game Notes | Live Video

CHICAGO (March 23, 2018) - A berth in the Final Four is on the line Saturday night when Loyola faces No. 9 seed Kansas State in the NCAA South Regional final in Atlanta. Riding a 13-game winning streak, the longest current run in the nation, the Ramblers have captured 20 of their last 21 contests and have won their three NCAA tournament contests by four points. Loyola's lone Final Four appearance came in 1963 when it won the NCAA championship.  With 31 wins this season, Loyola has established a new single-season school record, surpassing the previous mark of 29 set by the 1963 NCAA championship squad. This is the second 20-win year in the last four years under head coach Porter Moser. Prior to his arrival for the 2011-12 campaign, Loyola had one 20-win season in 26 years.
 
Series Stuff
Loyola and Kansas State are meeting for the 10th time in a series that traces its roots to 1936. The Wildcats hold a slim 5-4 edge in the series thanks to a current three-game winning streak. The Ramblers are seeking their first win over K-State since a 69-64 decision at Gentile Arena on December 19, 1999. The teams last met in Porter Moser's first season on the Loyola bench, on November 14, 2011, with the Wildcats earning a 74-61 victory at Bramlage Coliseum. Since Porter Moser took over the Loyola program for the 2011-12 season, the Ramblers have collected six wins over Power 5 conference opponents, plus another five versus teams from the Big East or Mountain West conferences.
 
Scouting Kansas State
Kansas State has collected a win in five of its last six contests, with the lone setback coming at the hands of Kansas at the Big 12 Championship. The Wildcats rank 11th in the nation in total steals (287) and have won five of their last six games played on neutral floors.

Dean Wade, a 6-foot-10 junior forward, leads K-State in both scoring (16.2) and rebounding (6.2), while sinking 55 percent of his field goal attempts. Junior guard Barry Brown pitches in 16.0 ppg and 3.3 rpg and sophomore forward Xavier Sneed rounds out the Wildcats' double-digit scorers with 11.0 ppg. K-State has limited its last three opponents to a paltry 26.4 percent accuracy rate (18-for-68) from three-point range.