Saturday, February 27, 2021 5:00 pm
Gentile Arena, Chicago, Ill.
No. 21 Loyola had another grind-it-out win on Friday, this time against Southern Illinois. The Salukis hit 12 (!) threes, hitting 60% of their long-range shots, but Loyola's interior defense allowed only eight two-point shots in 28 tries (28.6%) and forced 18 turnovers. The result was a 60-52 win that somehow looked dominating and lucky at the same time. The Ramblers shot only 39.6% from the field, but made good on 13 of 14 free throws.
The Ramblers' choppy offense is an unwelcome new feature of a team that was once hitting on all cylinders. Friday's game was the third in a row where Loyola shot under 40%. The team had shot over 50% in eight of their nine previous games before the last three games.
The Salukis have held teams to less than 44% shooting nine times this season, and won all of them except yesterday's game. And believe it or not, they actually had one game where they shot better from behind the arc than yesterday, an early season win over North Dakota where they were 10 of 16.
Second-year Head Coach Bryan Mullins starts 6'1" guard Lance Jones, 6'8" senior Anthony D'Avanzo, 6'9" freshman center Kyler Filewich, 6'2" guard sophomore guard Trent Brown, and 6'4" sophomore guard Steven Verplancken. Jones, an Evanston product, is one of the most dynamic guards in the league, averaging 12.9 points, 3.1 assists and 3.0 boards. Jones had 14 points in the first half of yesterdays game, but none after the half. He also had eight turnovers. D'Avanzo is a transfer from Lewis, by way of Niles Notre Dame. He had six points in 24 minutes in yesterday's game.
Newcomer Tyler Filewich, is a big and center (listed at 250) who took on a lot of the scoring when Domask went down. Since the Domask injury and a Covid layoff after Jan. 4, Filewich has averaged 9.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists. He finishes well at the basket (shooting 56%) and can pass out of the high post. He has great footwork, but his first step takes a lot longer to get going than Krutwig. In Friday's 60-52 loss he was held to four points and five rebounds, but dished out five assists.
Trent Brown is the top on-ball defensive player for SIU, ranking just after Domask in minutes per game, third in steals, third in assists, and averaging 6.9 points per game. He's second on the team in made threes, and shoots 40.4% from distance. He had nine points, all on threes, in Friday's game. Verplancken was added to the starting lineup when Domask was sidelined; he averages 6.5 points per game shooting respectably from distance. Since joining the starting lineup, he averages 9.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and over 30 minutes per game. He was the huge offensive star for the Salukis on Friday, going six-for-six from the field and hitting five threes. All of his 17 points came in the second half when Loyola denied any offense from Jones.
Tops off the thin bench is 6'2" freshman Dalton Banks, who averages 6.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. Six-five sophomore guard Ben Harvey got 12 scoreless minutes off the bench on Friday. Six-seven sophomore forward Sekou Dembele and 6'5" senior transfer from Southern Utah Jakolby Long sometimes see playing time for single digit minutes. Dembele was in for only two minutes yesterday.
In other action around the league, Drake, Northern Illinois, Indiana State and Missouri State were winners on Friday. If the same teams win again on Saturday, the Ramblers will have a share of the regular season title, but will get the #2 seed behind Drake and ahead of #3 Missouri State, #4 Indiana State, and #5 Northern Illinois. The 6th seed will go to Evansville, and Valparaiso will get the 7. SIU and Bradley would be 8th and 9th, and Illinois State would get the 10 seed. But this is The Valley, so crazy things can happen.
Saturday is likely the last home game for Loyola seniors Cameron Krutwig, Lucas Williamson, Jake Baughman, Aher Uguak, Tate Hall, and Keith Clemons. Together, the four-year players have been the winningest players in Loyola history with 93 wins while at Loyola. The 93 wins is the most of any Illinois team over the past four years, besting Bradley at 74.
Loyola Game Notes: https://loyolaramblers.com/documents/20 ... _26_21.pdfSIU Game Notes: https://siusalukis.com/documents/2021/2 ... f?id=10039TV/Streaming Video: ESPN 2
https://www.espn.com/watch/catalog/34ec ... ConferenceRadio/Streaming Audio: https://loyolaramblers.com/watch/?Live=60&type=LiveLive Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=325932Vegas Odds: Loyola by 19
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