CHICAGO -- They began lining up at 5:15 p.m. on a chilly Tuesday night, nearly three hours before Loyola-Chicago would tip off the season after The Season.
The first arrivals sat on the floor of the Damen Student Center, waiting for the Gentile Arena doors to open. Others filled in behind them, packing a long corridor. Eventually, the line curved left and stretched outside, along a campus walkway flanking the West Quad, extending out toward Sheridan Road. Most Loyola students made it inside the arena, where they wore their maroon-and-gold scarves, watched the 2018 Final Four banner rise to the rafters, prayed with Sister Jean and then screamed their heads off for two hours.