Aaron Carr’s game-winning, buzzer-beating, 25-foot basket last Thursday night had fans buzzing an hour after Illinois-Chicago nipped Loyola 66-65 in a Chicago basketball classic.
At the same time, the Bailey brothers, David and Martell, were already thinking ahead … and hoping.
“I’m looking forward to playing them again,” said David, 5-foot-8-inch senior point guard and captain of the Ramblers.
“One more time? Yes, in the championship game like last year,” said Martell, a 5-10 Flames junior and the national leader in assists.
It’s a long shot, but this matchmaker’s dream could happen. Chicago’s two Horizon League teams could clash in the final of the conference tournament as they did last year when the Flames won in overtime on a last-second shot by Cedrick Banks, a former Westinghouse teammate of the Baileys.
A Loyola-UIC showdown for the Horizon tournament title and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament would be played March 11 at the UIC Pavilion.
Loyola can take its first step toward that goal at 7 p.m. Tuesday when, as No. 4 seed with records of 14-15 overall and 9-7 in the league, it plays host to coach Rollie Massimino’s Cleveland State Vikings in a first-round tournament game.
To reach the final, Loyola would have to win two more games after Cleveland State. The Ramblers would play Tuesday’s Wright State-Detroit survivor Friday in Milwaukee and face No. 1 seed Butler Saturday.
Coach Jimmy Collins’ Flames (20-7, 12-4) earned a first-round bye as the No. 3 seed. They play at 5 p.m. Friday in Milwaukee against Tuesday’s Green Bay-Youngstown survivor. A victory would be UIC’s 21st of the year and advance it to Saturday’s semifinal against No. 2 seed and host Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
As the two top seeds, Butler and Wisconsin-Milwaukee receive first- and second-round byes and are seeded into Saturday’s semifinal in Milwaukee. The title game will be played at the home of the finalist with the higher seed unless UW-Milwaukee is in the game. Because the Panthers had been awarded the tournament before the format was changed, they would get to play the title game at home.
A look at conference tournament outlooks for some other Division I schools in Illinois:
Mid-American: If Northern Illinois (15-11, 11-5) wins its two remaining games, at Central Michigan on Wednesday and home against Western Michigan on Saturday, the Huskies will be seeded first or second and have a first-round bye in the MAC tournament. They would begin play in the quarterfinals March 13 at Gund Arena in Cleveland. The Huskies can be no worse than the No. 4 seed, in which case they would play host to a first-round game Monday.
Missouri Valley: The Southern Illinois Salukis already have clinched the No. 1 seed for the tournament to be played Friday through Monday in St. Louis.
Southern Illinois opens tournament play at 12:15 p.m. Saturday. It plays the winner of Friday’s game between Nos. 8 and 9 seeds Drake and Illinois State. The Salukis could be headed for a third meeting with Creighton, the No. 2 seed, in the title game. Sixth-seeded Bradley opens Saturday against Wichita State.
Mid-Continent: Valparaiso (18-9, 12-2), led by 6-11 Raitis Grafs from Latvia, is seeded No. 1 and favored to win its eighth Mid-Con tourney in the last nine years. The Crusaders face No. 8 Chicago State (3-26, 0-14) in a first- round game at noon Sunday in Kansas City, Mo. No. 7 seed Western Illinois (7-20, 3-11) plays No. 2 Indiana-Purdue-Indianapolis in the first round.
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Ohio Valley: Henry Domercant, the nation’s No. 2 scorer with a 27.8-point average, leads No. 5 seed Eastern Illinois (14-14, 9-7) against No. 4 Murray State in a first-round OVC game at Murray State on Tuesday. Semifinals and finals will be Friday and Saturday in Nashville.