In Loyola’s tournament run, they were successful in the games in which they had more assists than their opponent. Against Miami and Tennessee, the assists were won 19-11 and 17-15 respectively. In the second weekend, against Nevada and Kansas State, the assists were won 15-8 and 17-9 respectively. Unfortunately for Loyola, their assist magic ran out when they played Michigan in the final four, losing the assist battle by 2, 6-8. When looking at Loyola’s season as a whole, in every one of their losses, they also lost the assist battle. It’s also interesting to note that in all of their losses but one, their assists were kept in the single digits.