Analyst Bill Raftery, who will be part of TBS’ announcing team for Friday’s Loyola-Georgia Tech matchup in the NCAA Tournament, is excited to see the Ramblers back in the Big Dance.
“I’m looking forward to seeing Sister Jean,” Raftery said, referring to Loyola’s 101-year-old team chaplain, during a videoconference Monday. “I could use some prayers, certainly.”
TBS has stitched together a doubleheader of sorts Friday for the Land of Lincoln. It starts with Illinois, the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region, against No. 16 seed Drexel at 12:15 p.m. from the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Kevin Harlan will handle play-by-play alongside analyst Dan Bonner and reporter Dana Jacobson.
That will be followed at 3 p.m. by eighth-seeded Loyola against No. 9 seed Georgia Tech from Butler University’s Hinkle Fieldhouse, with Jim Nantz, analysts Raftery and Grant Hill and reporter Tracy Wolfson.
Nantz and Co. covered Illinois’ Big Ten Tournament championship game victory over the weekend in Indianapolis, and he came away believing big things might be in store
More Top Picks Best Calming Lights For Autism Bedrooms
for the Illini.If they’re to reach the Final Four, they might need to get past not only Loyola, but also Nantz’s alma mater, Midwest No. 2 seed Houston. Yet he told reporters, “It wouldn’t surprise me to see Illinois win a national championship.“
Raftery noted the Illini’s depth and versatility and added that “the way they get along is something special,” which will be helpful as teams are confined in Indiana for the tournament’s duration in an effort to limit COVID-19 risks.
“They just have a lot of juice and life and they’re having a ball,” Raftery said. “It’s just been, to me, extremely impressive, and it shows on the floor too. They support one another. They back one another up. They’ve got a great collective spirit. They’ve just done a marvelous job.”
Raftery said the fact the Illini seemed to be able to amuse themselves with card games, video games and other activities between games during the conference tournament will be a plus moving forward.
“Enjoying themselves, binding together, I think that’s going to be as big a challenge as game preparation,” Raftery said.
As for Loyola, Raftery said he’s “in love with” senior center Cameron Krutwig, who was a freshman on the 2018 Ramblers squad that coach Porter Moser took to the Final Four.
“The feel for the game … how he finds people, he just makes plays, and now it’s a new group of kids,” Raftery said of Krutwig. “(Lucas) Williamson is a very talented kid too. He passes it well. At guard, (Braden) Norris, the transfer from Oakland, runs the show, makes free throws coming down the stretch.
“This is a talented team. I don’t know if they score as well as we saw a couple years ago, but they guard and they’re tough closing out games. It seems a little bit deeper, too, with (Tom) Welch doing a pretty good job for them, so it will be fun to watch them again.
“Porter Moser decided with all the acclaim and success that he was going to stay there. He’s a Chicago guy. He loves it and he freely understands the kind of kid he wants to coach.”
Sign up for our sports alerts on your phone, desktop and inbox to stay current with the latest news
Sign up for our sports newsletter, delivered daily each morning