ATLANTA -- Expect to see a lot of college basketball fans in downtown Atlanta on Thursday ahead of the Sweet 16 later in the evening at Philips Arena.
The road to Atlanta started with a dramatic finish – eleventh seed Loyola Chicago beating third seed Tennessee making it to the Sweet 16.
Players took over the captain’s seat during their flight out before the team hit a roadblock near Philips Arena. Their bus driver got lost on the way making the Ramblers 30 minutes late to practice.
This is the Ramblers’ first Sweet 16 since 1985. The team chaplain Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt became a darling on social media at the age of 98 helping make Loyola the sweethearts of the Sweet 16.
Kansas State plays Kentucky in the second game of the night with the team tweeting about their arrival in Atlanta.
What you won’t see here – a top-four seed. For the first time in tournament history, the top four seeds were eliminated from the same region before the Sweet 16.
This is a kind of tune-up as Atlanta prepares to host the Final Four in 2020. March Madness comes to Atlanta on Friday night as the city hosts a pair of games in the Sweet 16 round of college basketball’s national championship tournament.
Loyola-Chicago plays Nevada at 7:07 p.m. and Kentucky plays Kansas at 9:37 p.m. Both games will be televised on CBS.
The tournament continues Saturday with the Elite 8 matchups. The Final Four games are March 31 followed by the National Championship April 2 in San Antonio.
Atlanta will host the Final Four in 2 years after the city hosts the Super Bowl in 2018.
