I could buy the whole weak conference thing if it were only the metrics that valued them. But Loyola was ranked 17 in the end of season AP poll. They had a history/some players with recent tourney success. There were plenty of humans that thought they were pretty solid, too.
Their results against conference opponents that know and scout them intensively isn’t a great barometer either. They play a game that values possessions so close games are a given. They had a knack for winning the vast majority of them which according to KenPom is a measure of quality coaching.
And the metrics didn’t just like them, they loved them. Top 10 in KenPom. #1 KenPom defense. That’s a brutal 8 seed.
They could have easily been a 5 and there would have been little argument. If IL was truly a championship caliber team we should have beat them.