Sunday, January 30, 2022 1:00 p.m.
Knapp Center, Des Moines, Iowa
The Ramblers head for Des Moines for a match up with the Drake Bulldogs on Sunday. Drake is the site of Loyola's last conference road loss, a 51-50 overtime decision on Feb. 14, 2021. The Ramblers have won 11 of their last 12 conference road games.
Sunday is the first meeting of the season between the Ramblers and Bulldogs. Loyola finished up their season series against SIU with a 44-39 win in Carbondale on Thursday night to sweep the season series. The Ramblers have also completed a sweep against Indiana State; besides Drake, the Ramblers have also yet to face Northern Iowa and Illinois State.
Drake was picked to win the Valley in the MVC preseason poll, capturing 29 of the 43 votes for first place. The Bulldogs came out of the gate and won their first three-- including a quality home win over Richmond-- but ran into big trouble as they lost all three games of their MTE in Orlando. Drake took Clemson to OT before losing, only to be forced to overtime in their next game by Jackson State. Drake has been forced to OT in their last two games at UNI and at Illinois State, but they came out with the road wins.
Going into Sunday's game, the Bulldogs find themselves at 15-6 overall and 6-2 (good for 2nd place) in the Valley. Coach Darian DeVries' team hasn't been without their injuries and setbacks-- it almost wouldn't be a
real Drake team if there weren't. Point guard Roman Penn missed seven games in December. Super Senior ShanQuan Hemphill has missed five of their eight games since Christmas, but the Bulldogs appear to be back at mostly full strength for Sunday's game-- which counts as the halfway mark of the conference season for both squads.
The Bulldogs will most likely start 6'0" point guard Roman Penn, 6'2" senior guard D.J. Wilkins, 6'6" senior forward Tremell Murphy, 6'3" senior guard Garrett Sturtz, and 6'7" guard/forward Tucker DeVries. The last two games, Coach DeVries has started four guards and only one forward as 6'10" senior Darnell Brodie has come off the bench. Senior forward ShanQuan "Tank" Hemphill has just returned to playing, with 15 points in 21 minutes off the bench in Wednesday's 89-88 overtime win at Illinois State.
The coach's son, Tucker DeVries, leads the team in scoring (13.5 ppg) and ranks second on the team in minutes played. DeVries takes a lot of shots to get his points-- he shoots only 39.3% from the field and only 33.8% from behind the arc. DeVries is tied for fifth in the league in field goal attempts, the only player on his team (or Loyola, for that matter) to rank in the league's top 20. He has 49 made three-pointers, but it's taken 145 three point shots to get there.
Penn has played against Loyola for several years, so most Rambler fans know he plays with a lot of energy and creativity. Penn is averaging 10.9 points and 3.6 assists per game. The 6'3" Sturtz averages 10.9 points per game, but leads the team with an astounding 7.4 rebounds, 28 steals, and 65 trips to the free throw line. Sturtz' 61.4 field goal percentage leads the team, and he leads the MVC in Box Score Plus/Minus (9.0) and offensive rating (141.4, well above runner-up Gaige Prim at 121.1). Hemphill averages 9.8 points and 4.9 rebounds. Murphy is the team's best inside scorer and defender, averaging 9.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game.
Drake has a lot of weapons-- several players that can identify a mismatch and score 8-10 points in a flash. Six players average between 25-30 minutes a game and between 9.8 and 13.5 points per game, so they're all capable of taking charge on either end of the court. Almost all of them can drive to the basket and finish, or step back and hit a three.
Loyola leads the all-time series 22-14, and the Ramblers have a 12-5 advantage since joining the MVC. Loyola and Drake usually play close games-- only six of the 17 games between the teams have been decided by more than 10 points, and seven of the last 15 games have been decided by five points or less.
Loyola game notes: https://loyolaramblers.com/documents/20 ... _30_22.pdfDrake game notes: https://godrakebulldogs.com/documents/2 ... _30_22.pdfTV/Streaming video: ESPN2
https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=f5 ... ddcba9887dRadio/Streaming audio: https://loyolaramblers.com/watch/?Live=102&type=LiveLive stats: https://godrakebulldogs.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summaryVegas odds: Loyola by 3