Loyola's Bus Gets Lost Going To Arena? That's March Madness

ATLANTA — As Loyola continues its underdog run through the men's NCAA basketball tournament, the Ramblers are discovering that not all their challengers are on the court or in games. Some of them come in just trying to get to the arena for an off-day practice.

Coach Porter Moser told ESPN that the Atlanta police escort to accompany the team from its hotel to practice at Philips Arena was a no-show Wednesday. But that wasn't the end of the commuting troubles for No. 11 Loyola, which is playing in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1985. The No. 11 Ramblers face No. 7 Nevada on Thursday, March 22.

Once players and coaches were on the bus and seemingly on their way, they soon found out that their driver didn't know how to get to the arena. The bus ended up circling the area in a search of the correct arena entrance, according to USA Today.

RELATED: Loyola's Sister Jean Gets Push To Go On 'Ellen DeGeneres Show'

Ultimately, Loyola's Atlanta odyssey took about 35 to 40 minutes, and the team was around a half hour late for practice. Fortunately, the delay didn't cost players any court time, USA Today reports.

But that didn't temper Moser's anger over the situation once he arrived at the arena.

"I knew Porter was not happy about what was happening," fourth-year junior Clayton Custer told ESPN. "We were driving around, driving around, and then when we finally made it, I knew that he wasn't — I knew he was going to say something to somebody.”

"Our guys handled it a lot better than me,” Moser confessed. “I guess my immaturity came out.”

To their credit, Loyola's players stayed loose and looked at the upside of their extended tour of the city.

"Atlanta is beautiful, and we got to see all the sights," guard Ben Richardson told USA Today. "That’s how I’m going to take it in as a chance to see the sights. But we got in here and we got after it once we got going."

Loyola vs. Nevada

When: 6 p.m. Thursday, March 22

Where: Philips Arena, Atlanta

TV: CBS (WBBM-TV, Channel 2, in Chicago)

Online: The game will be live-streamed on fuboTV, which is offering a free trial period.

More via ESPN and USA Today

Loyola coach Porter Moser (Photo by Tom Pennington | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images)