An ugly start to the game wouldn’t end up mattering one bit, because in March it’s simply survive and advance and that’s what the Beavers did on Saturday, when they knocked off Loyola Chicago, 65-58, to advance to the Elite Eight of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
The trip to the final eight will be the program’s first since 1982 - a vacated run by the NCAA - or since 1966 (if you prefer to play by more specific policies). But regardless, the Beavers advancing is simply another amazing step for a team picked to finish 12th in the conference’s preseason poll and is now just the second 12th seed ever to make the Elite Eight in NCAA Tournament history.