| 1962–63 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball | |
|---|---|
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NCAA tournament, national champions  | |
| Conference | Independent | 
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 4 | 
| AP | No. 3 | 
| Record | 29–2 | 
| Head coach | 
  | 
| Assistant coaches | 
  | 
The 1962–63 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team represented Loyola University Chicago. The head coach was George Ireland. The Ramblers were the 1963 NCAA tournament champions, defeating top-ranked and two-time defending champion Cincinnati Bearcats in a 60–58 overtime contest. The 1962–63 Ramblers were one of the first NCAA men's basketball teams to have broken the so-called "gentlemen's agreement" among coaches in which no more than two black players would be on the floor at one time (and in some road games, black players would have to rotate so that only one of them was playing at any given moment): the Ramblers would regularly have three or four black starters, paving the way for the 1965–66 Texas Western Miners men's basketball team who would finally put the "agreement" to rest and have an all-black starting five.[1][2] They played in the Game of Change, in which a Mississippi State team defied segregationists to play against Loyola, breaking the unwritten law that Mississippi teams would not play against black players.
On July 11, 2013, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of their championship, surviving members of Loyola's team were honored by President Barack Obama in a ceremony at the Oval Office of the White House. It also was announced that the entire team would be inducted in the College Basketball Hall of Fame in a ceremony scheduled for November 2013.
Roster
| Name | # | Position | Height | Year | Hometown | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Connaughton | 34 | Sophomore | Hamilton, Ohio | ||
| Jack Egan | 11 | Guard | 5–10 | Junior | Chicago, Ill. | 
| Jerry Harkness | 15 | Forward | 6–3 | Senior | Bronx, N.Y. | 
| Les Hunter | 41 | Center | 6–7 | Junior | Nashville, Tenn. | 
| Earl Johnson[lower-alpha 1] | 30 | Sophomore | |||
| Ron Miller | 42 | Guard | 6–2 | Junior | Bronx, N.Y. | 
| Jim Reardon | 33 | Senior | |||
| Pablo Robertson[lower-alpha 2] | 14 | Guard | 5–7 | Sophomore | Bronx, N.Y. | 
| Rich Rochelle | 10 | Center | 6–9 | Junior | |
| Vic Rouse | 40 | Forward | 6–6 | Junior | Nashville, Tenn. | 
| Billy Smith[lower-alpha 2] | 24 | Forward | 6–5 | Sophomore | |
| Chuck Wood | 23 | Junior | |||
Schedule
| Date time, TV  | 
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site (attendance)  city, state  | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1, 1962* | 
No. 4 | Christian Brothers | W 114–58 | 1–0 | 
Alumni Gym  Chicago, IL  | ||||||
| December 3, 1962* | 
No. 4 | North Dakota | W 110–56 | 2–0 | 
Alumni Gym  Chicago, IL  | ||||||
| December 10, 1962* | 
No. 4 | Milwaukee | W 107–47 | 3–0 | 
Alumni Gym  Chicago, IL  | ||||||
| December 15, 1962* | 
No. 4 | South Dakota | W 105–58 | 4–0 | 
Alumni Gym  Chicago, IL  | ||||||
| December 17, 1962* | 
No. 4 | Western Michigan | W 123–102 | 5–0 | 
Alumni Gym  Chicago, IL  | ||||||
| December 19, 1962* | 
No. 4 | at Indiana | W 106–94 | 6–0 | 
Gladstein Fieldhouse  Bloomington, IN  | ||||||
| December 22, 1962* | 
No. 4 | #10 Seattle | W 93–83 | 7–0 | 
Chicago Stadium  Chicago, IL  | ||||||
| December 26, 1962* | 
No. 3 | Arkansas | W 81–62 | 8–0 | 
Municipal Auditorium  Oklahoma City, Okla.  | ||||||
| December 27, 1962* | 
No. 3 | Memphis State | W 94–82 | 9–0 | 
Municipal Auditorium  Oklahoma City, Okla.  | ||||||
| December 28, 1962* | 
No. 3 | Wyoming | W 93–82 | 10–0 | 
Municipal Auditorium  Oklahoma City, Okla.  | ||||||
| December 31, 1962* | 
No. 3 | Dayton | W 74–69 | 11–0 | 
Alumni Gym  Chicago, IL  | ||||||
| January 3, 1963* | 
No. 2 | Marshall | W 103–58 | 12–0 | 
Alumni Gym  Chicago, IL  | ||||||
| January 5, 1963* | 
No. 2 | Loyola (LA) | W 88–53 | 13–0 | 
Alumni Gym  Chicago, IL  | ||||||
| January 8, 1963* | 
No. 2 | at Marquette | W 87–68 | 14–0 | 
  Milwaukee, WI  | ||||||
| January 10, 1963* | 
No. 2 | at Western Michigan | W 107–69 | 15–0 | 
University Arena  Kalamazoo, MI  | ||||||
| January 19, 1963* | 
No. 2 | at Kent State | W 96–55 | 16–0 | 
Memorial Gymnasium  Kent, OH  | ||||||
| January 21, 1963* | 
No. 2 | at Ohio | W 80–72 | 17–0 | 
Grover Center  Athens, OH  | ||||||
| January 26, 1963* | 
No. 2 | Santa Clara | W 82–72 | 18–0 | 
Chicago Stadium  Chicago, IL  | ||||||
| January 31, 1963* | 
No. 2 | Washington (MO) | W 118–58 | 19–0 | 
Alumni Gym  Chicago, IL  | ||||||
| February 2, 1963* | 
No. 2 | Iowa | W 86–68 | 20–0 | 
Chicago Stadium  Chicago, IL  | ||||||
| February 12, 1963* | 
No. 2 | Marquette | W 92–90OT | 21–0 | 
Chicago Stadium  Chicago, IL  | ||||||
| February 16, 1963* | 
No. 2 | at Bowling Green | L 75–92 | 21–1 | 
Anderson Arena  Bowling Green, OH  | ||||||
| February 18, 1963* | 
No. 2 | at St. John's | W 70–47 | 22–1 | 
Alumni Hall  Queens, NY  | ||||||
| February 23, 1963* | 
No. 3 | at Houston | W 62–58 | 23–1 | 
Jeppesen Gymnasium  Houston, TX  | ||||||
| February 27, 1963* | 
No. 3 | Ohio | W 114–94 | 24–1 | 
Alumni Gym  Chicago, IL  | ||||||
| March 2, 1963* | 
No. 3 | #8 Wichita State | L 72–73 | 24–2 | 
Chicago Stadium  Chicago, IL  | ||||||
| NCAA Tournament | |||||||||||
| March 11, 1963* | 
No. 5 | vs. Tennessee Tech  NCAA mideast regional quarterfinal  | 
W 111–42 | 25–2 | 
McGaw Hall  Evanston, IL  | ||||||
| March 15, 1963* | 
No. 3 | vs. No. 7 Mississippi State  NCAA mideast regional semifinal "Game of Change"  | 
W 61–51 | 26–2 | 
Jenison Fieldhouse (12,143) East Lansing, MI  | ||||||
| March 16, 1963* | 
No. 3 | vs. No. 8 Illinois  NCAA mideast regional final  | 
W 79–64 | 27–2 | 
Jenison Fieldhouse  East Lansing, MI  | ||||||
| March 22, 1963* | 
No. 3 | vs. No. 2 Duke  NCAA national semifinal  | 
W 94–75 | 28–2 | 
Freedom Hall  Louisville, KY  | ||||||
| March 23, 1963* | 
No. 3 | vs. No. 1 Cincinnati  NCAA national championship  | 
W 60–58OT | 29–2 | 
Freedom Hall (19,153) Louisville, KY  | ||||||
*Non-conference game.  #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.      All times are in Central Standard Time. Source: 2018–19 Loyola men's basketball media guide[4]  | |||||||||||
Rankings
Awards and honors
- Consensus First Team All-American
 - First Team AP All-American
 - First Team USBWA All-American
 - First Team NABC All-American
 - First Team UPI All-American
 - Second Team NEA All-American
 
Team:
Records
Loyola's first-round Mideast Regional victory over Tennessee Tech, 111–42, continues to be the record margin of victory (69 points) in an NCAA men's basketball tournament game.
NBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 9 | Jerry Harkness | New York Knicks | 
References
- ↑ DeCourcy, Mike (November 8, 2018). "1962 Cincinnati's barrier-breaking title against Ohio State echoes in 2018-19 opener". The Sporting News. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
 - ↑ Wolff, Alexander (March 10, 2003). "Ghosts Of Mississippi". Sports Illustrated.
 - 1 2 Lenehan, Michael (2013). Ramblers: Loyola Chicago 1963—The Team That Changed the Color of College Basketball. Agate Publishing. ISBN 1572841400.
 - ↑ "Loyola Men's Basketball 2018–19 Media Guide" (PDF). Loyola University Chicago Athletics. 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
 
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