The matchup pitted the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers, who were making their first NCAA tournament appearance, against the Cincinnati Bearcats, the two-time defending national champions.

Cincinnati won its next three games by double-figure margins,[4] before traveling to Kansas, where the team posted a 64–49 victory at Allen Fieldhouse.

[3] In their next contest, Dayton became the first team to avoid a double-digit defeat against the Bearcats, losing 44–37 in Cincinnati's lowest-scoring game of the season.

The Bearcats remained undefeated through mid-February; their victories included a 62–53 win at third-ranked Illinois, along with seven MVC games.

On February 16, the Bearcats suffered their first and only defeat of the regular season: in a second game against Wichita, the Shockers prevailed by one point, 65–64.

[4] The Bearcats remained the top-ranked team in the AP Poll throughout the season, and they won the MVC championship with an 11–1 conference record, four games ahead of second-place Wichita.

[5] The Bearcats played conservatively on offense and were the NCAA's leading defensive team statistically, allowing an average of 51.9 points a game to opponents.

Cincinnati held the Beavers to 28.8% shooting for the game, while making 54.9% of their shots; Wilson led the Bearcats with 24 points and made eight of his nine field goal attempts.

After wins in their next three games, Wichita defeated Loyola in the Ramblers' regular season finale, leaving them with a 24–2 record.

[7] In contrast to Cincinnati, the Ramblers played an aggressive style of offensive basketball, and their defense frequently pressed the opposition.

[10] Unlike Cincinnati, the Ramblers were required to play in the first round; they were placed in the Mideast regional and faced Tennessee Tech.

[6] At the time, teams from Mississippi were unofficially banned from playing against integrated opponents due to segregation policies in the state.

[11] According to USA Today's Mike Lopresti, the Bulldogs "had to rush out of Starkville just to get to the tournament" game in Michigan, which came against a Loyola team with four black starters.

[19] Sports Illustrated's Ron Fimrite wrote that "The Bearcats' lead was not so much the product of an impenetrable defense as of a Rambler offense decidedly out of whack.

However, they were required to make a substitution a few minutes later after Wilson was called for a foul, his fourth of the game; he was briefly benched in favor of Heidotting.

[17] In response to the high number of Cincinnati players with numerous fouls, Jucker ordered his team to play more conservatively on offense, stalling to keep their lead intact;[2] they were not required to shoot due to the lack of a shot clock.

[12] Making both would put the Bearcats on the verge of winning the NCAA championship, as there were no three-point field goals at the time.

[17] Miller received the ball and juggled it briefly;[12] Ireland and Fimrite believed that he had been guilty of traveling, but it was not called a violation on the court.

Jucker attempted to call a timeout, but the referees did not hear his request due to crowd noise and the clock expired with the game still tied.

Loyola later had an opportunity to extend their advantage, but missed a field goal attempt; after coming down with the rebound, Thacker made a long pass to Shingleton, and a resulting layup evened the score at 58–58.

[15] The game remained tied with under two minutes on the clock, as the Ramblers called a timeout with possession of the ball and subsequently went into a slow-paced offense themselves.

[22] The game has received attention as the first national title contest to feature a majority of black starters; according to Ireland, an "unspoken" rule existed at the time that led to most teams starting only one or two African-Americans at most.

[2] However, over time the 1966 championship game, in which an all-African-American Texas Western team defeated an all-white Kentucky squad, became more widely recognized as a key moment in college basketball history.

[23] Regardless, Loyola's Miller later said that he believed the game was significant, as it encouraged college coaches to increase their recruiting efforts to black players.

[2] In national television ratings, it finished higher than episodes of the shows Gunsmoke and Have Gun – Will Travel that aired during the telecast.

[24] In the Ramblers' home market of Chicago, however, the game was broadcast on tape delay, after multiple other sporting events.