Then came the rupture that was the Ramblers’ March Madness run. Through some alchemical combination of talent, grit, and luck, Loyola rampaged through the postseason last spring, finishing with a 32-6 record and advancing to the national semifinals as an 11-seed, just the fourth school to do so in college basketball history. For a few intense weeks, the country’s attention (and its cameras) descended. Overnight, Sister Jean transformed into a meme, then an inspiration, then a bona fide celebrity. Krutwig couldn’t walk 10 feet to class without somebody stopping him. Townes likened the surreal experience to that of a pilot or astronaut: “The program definitely shot up in the sky.”

A 2019 curtain call was always going to be tricky. This year’s club still wasn’t big (197th in height, nationally), nor was it stacked with five-star recruits or touted transfers. Three versatile contributors were lost to graduation, including guard Ben Richardson, the most competitive defender Moser has ever coached. On top of the roster turnover, Moser stiffened the slate in November and December, scheduling match-ups against major conference powers (Maryland) and talented mid-majors (Nevada, Furman). And the glare of the hard-earned national spotlight barely wavered. There was more media attention, more television crews, more nerves. The ball wasn’t moving as crisply. Unexpected losses piled up. “In the beginning of the season, we lost sight of the process,” Townes says, during a rare off-day in February, reflecting on the Ramblers’ 7-6 start. “And coming back from the Final Four, teams were definitely trying to take their best shot.”

New-year reset

At the end of December, Moser gave his players a much-needed holiday break. Trying to recreate last year’s recipe was an understandable impulse, but ultimately self-defeating; this was a new group with new pieces and new goals. “We’ve got to keep chasing,” Moser told the Washington Post earlier this winter. “And that’s the thing I’m consumed with. Man, we’ve got to be looking out our windshield, not our rearview mirror.”

When the Ramblers returned to campus to prepare for conference play, Moser shifted the focus towards fundamentals, film sessions, and positivity. “When we came back from Christmas, Coach told us to press the restart button,” Townes says. All they needed to right the ship and position themselves for another MVC title, Townes thought, was to “string out some wins and stay steady.”

Leaning on Krutwig certainly helped. The 6’9” center spent his offseason improving his conditioning. Still baby-faced but notably slimmer than 12 months prior, he transformed into an interior force, and the undeniable focal point of Loyola’s offense. The most efficient rebounder in the MVC and a crafty passer for his size, Krutwig averaged 14.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Those are big numbers for anyone, but especially for an underclassman only scratching the surface of his potential.

Townes also took on a larger load, to great effect. Always an adept on-ball defender, the fearless New Jersey native lead the team in scoring (15.6 points per game) and assists (3.5) while displaying a confident, yet understated, swagger. His backcourt partner and the reigning MVC player of the year, Clayton Custer, still served as the Ramblers’ main orchestrator, displaying what the coaching staff calls an unflappable demeanor.

After the calendar flipped, Loyola played with a newfound urgency, rattling off seven January wins in nine tries. They kept pace with Drake and Missouri State atop the league in February, despite occasional lapses in defensive concentration and another injury to sophomore Lucas Williamson, a key rotational player. (He only suited up 15 times.) By the beginning of March, they’d rally to claim a share of the conference regular season title, securing for the second straight season the top seed in the Arch Madness tournament. If it felt like a modest step back from 2018, it also represented a run of success about which past Ramblers could only dream.

March unfolded in a largely predictable manner: Loyola plays at a slow pace, turns the ball over at a rate that still frustrates Moser, and rarely rebounds its own misses, which gives them a slim margin for error. (The Ramblers had a 23 percent chance chance to win Arch Madness, according to the advanced statistics website KenPom.com.) “You know, we lay eggs here and there,” Townes says. “We’re still trying to play consistently.”Yet the program is absolutely pointed in the right direction. Next year’s recruiting class is the most decorated in at least two decades. The newcomers will train in the state-of-the-art Alfie Norville Practice Facility, expected to open its doors summer after next. Krutwig thinks the upgraded facilities will help Loyola “lure some better players and become a destination.” Championships no longer feel like a pipe dream, but the expectation.