Tuesday, January 25, 2022 7:00 p.m.
Gentile Arena, Chicago, Illinois


It's been two years and one month since Loyola had to rebound from a home loss. Three days after suffering their first conference loss of the 2021-22 season the Ramblers will suit up for a Tuesday night matchup with Southern Illinois at Gentile Arena. SIU comes to Chicago at 3-4 in MVC play, but they have lost four of their last five conference games.

Loyola lost to a fired-up Missouri State team on Saturday, unable to come all the way back from a 20 point deficit. The Ramblers have begun the new year struggling against four of the five league foes they've faced. Against Bradley, Valparaiso, and Indiana State, Loyola allowed the opposition to build a double-digit lead before the Ramblers came back or forced overtime. The big second half deficit against Missouri State was more than the Ramblers could overcome against a really good offensive team.

The Salukis lost at Bradley on Saturday, unable to control the tempo and the inside game of the Braves on the road in a hostile environment. SIU has the league's best scoring defense, allowing just 61.4 points on average. Even though they're 10-9 on the season, five of their losses (against Little Rock, Creighton, Tulsa, Northern Iowa, and Drake) came by four points or fewer.

Third-year Coach Bryan Mullins will most likely start 6'8" junior forward/center J.D. Muila, 6'6" junior 6'6 Marcus Domask, 6'1" junior guard Lance Jones, 6'4" junior guard Steven Verplanckien, and 6'7" grad transfer Ben Coupet Jr. at guard. Four players from the bench get some considerable time on the court: 6'2" sophomore guard Dalton Banks, 6'9" sophomore center Kyler Filewich, 6'7" freshman forward Troy D'Amico, and 6'2" junior guard Trent Brown.

Domask is back from missing most of last season, and he's one of the most prolific offensive players in the MVC, averaging 15.8 points per game. He's passing better than ever, but given his offensive responsibilities on this team (one of the Salukis' best inside offensive players) his shooting percentage has fallen off a bit. He's making up for it by getting to the free throw line a bit more. The other explosive offensive player for SIU is Lance Jones, the Evanston native who scores 14.1 per game. Domask, Jones, and Verplancken have each hit between 32 and 36 three pointers, with Verplancken one of the most efficient behind the arc in the league at 45.6% (just behind league-leader Braden Norris). The Salukis' inside presence-- mostly in the form of 6'8" Muila and 6'9" Filewich-- are primarily for defensive purposes, but if they find the ball in their hands under the basket they can finish with authority. Filewich averages 4.5 points off the bench, and Muila scores 3.1 on average.

SIU stays in games with their defense and controlling tempo. The Salukis rank 353 out of 358 teams in Division I in tempo according to KenPom; the Ramblers are at 330. The Salukis like to make their opponents work, and drive the clock down to single digits most possessions. They are also among the best in DI at limiting offensive rebounds by opponents.

Both Loyola and SIU have three games in a five-day swing, starting with Tuesday, then against each other again on Thursday in Carbondale (the December Covid make-up game), folllowed by Sundays games-- Loyola at Drake and SIU hosting Valpo. The Ramblers would be well-served by taking solid control of the first game early and eliminating any drama from their home game.

Loyola game notes: https://loyolaramblers.com/documents/20 ... _25_22.pdf

SIU game notes: https://siusalukis.com/documents/2022/1 ... Loyola.pdf

TV/Streaming video: NBC Sports Chicago, ESPN+ https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=a4 ... cago-US-EN

Radio/Streaming audio: https://loyolaramblers.com/watch/?Live=101&type=Live

Live stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=369448

Vegas odds: Loyola by 12.5

We still control destiny for all of our goals (conference championship, at-large with a good seed, etc.). But the margin for error has narrowed. With away games still lingering @MoSt, @UNI, @Drake and @SIU, defending our home court is absolutely critical. SIU has had some hard luck but they are a very good team--they only lost by 5 points @MoSt and then by a single point vs Drake and UNI.

Our depth needs to shine tonight. SIU will try to slow the game down and keep it in the high 50s/low 60s. We need to run fresh bodies out there and attack on offense. The super slow pace is part of the reason they played us super tight both games @Gentile last year (+ Lance Jones getting red hot in the second game). When we ran our offense and attacked them at Arch Madness, we won with ease.

As said in other threads, this week is critical. Three tough games in five days, two of which are on the road. We sweep and I think we all start feeling comfortable/confident again. We go 2-1 (ideally with the loss @Drake) and the margin for error narrows even more, but we still should control our own destiny. 1-2 or 0-3 and we are talking NIT.

Marquise isn’t dressed tonight. In street clothes.

Man we look sloppy on O

Clemons has been incredible so far

Schwieger has just been brutal.

Clemons and Welch looking good out there with the starters.

Welch had a great half. That was a soft foul on Hutson but I don't mind him getting yanked.

We said the exact same thing. Hutson out - Welch in. Good foul!!

Hey. Hudson actually challenged a shot! Progress!