Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann greets Sister Jean after win over Loyola

Ohio State got dealt a tough first-round matchup in the 2022 NCAA Tournament in the form of Loyola-Chicago. Despite that, the Buckeyes managed to handle the Ramblers and win, 54-41.

The Buckeyes were able to play smothering defense and held Loyola to just 41 points for the entire game with the Ramblers hitting just 26.8% of their shots from the field. Ohio State was able to knock out a team that has been a dangerous tournament teams in recent years. In 2018, the Ramblers made a Cinderella run all the way to the Final Four, and they also reached the Sweet Sixteen in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

After his team advanced to the second round of March Madness, Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann shared a moment with long-time Loyola fan Sister Jean. Holtmann tweeted a photo of himself speaking with the 102-year-old Sister Jean.

102 yrs young! What a blessed life! On to the next one. Survive and advance. #MarchMadness2022 pic.twitter.com/kooP2XrOIc

— Chris Holtmann (@ChrisHoltmann) March 19, 2022

In his postgame press conference, Holtmann said he was proud of his team for being ready to play against a tough opponent. Holtmann also gave credit to Loyola for what it has built over the years.

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“A credit to our players,” Holtmann said. “They were locked in on the game plan at a high level. Great respect for this Loyola program, this Loyola team. The job that obviously Porter and now Drew is doing, terrific players, terrific system. We knew we were in for a rock fight, and that’s very much what it was. So our guys deserve great credit. They really competed on both ends and were able to break away just when we needed to. Players win games, and those guys did a great job with that.”