Peak March Madness: Watch Loyola hit 3-pointer to upset Miami (Video)

March Madness in the NCAA Tournament got real Thursday afternoon, with No. 11 seed Loyola hitting a late 3-pointer to pull an upset.

The Loyola-Chicago Ramblers went into the NCAA Tournament on an incredible high note, with 17 wins in their last 18 games. That carried them right through the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, with an automatic bid and a 29-5 record.

Loyola got the No. 11 seed in the South Region, and a Thursday afternoon date in Dallas against No. 6 seed Miami (FL). The Hurricanes (22-10) lost to North Carolina in an ACC Tournament quarterfinal.

The game was tied at 28 at halftime, and Miami led by as many as seven in the second half. But once Loyola-Chicago narrowed the margin to three (43-40) the Hurricanes led by no more than five again.

The Ramblers were trailing by that five-point margin, 60-55, with 2:47 to go. From there they went on a 9-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer from hometown hero Donte Ingram with less than a second left. The Hurricanes could not muster much from there, and Loyola advanced with a 64-62 upset victory.

Ingram, a 6-foot-6 senior guard from Chicago, hit the amazing shot to put his hometown team into the Round of 32. He finished the game with 13 points (3-for-8 from beyond the arc), seven rebounds, two assists and a block.

The No. 3 seed in the South Region, Tennessee, easily handled No. 14 seed Wright State 73-47 earlier on Thursday afternoon. The Ramblers will take on the Volunteers in the next round.

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This is Loyola’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1985. They lost in the Sweet 16 that year to eventual champion Georgetown, led by Patrick Ewing. Another trip to the Sweet 16 will obviously come with a win over Tennessee on Saturday. The prospect of another postgame interview from 98-year old team chaplain Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt should have us all rooting for that upset.