Davidson Preview and Game Thread -- 02/04/2024
Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2024 9:18 am
Sunday, February 4, 2024 12:00 p.m.
Gentile Arena, Chicago, Ill.
Loyola welcomes the Davidson College Wildcats to Gentile Arena for the first time ever as an A-10 rival and the first time since a non-conference game in Dec. 2019. Davidson really beat up on the Ramblers last year in Loyola’s first A-10 conference road game, 80-57. Loyola hopes to even the ledger in Sunday’s Mimosa Special tipping off at Noon.
One of the obvious story lines for this game is the fact that Davidson transfer Des Watson has gone from a role player at Davidson last year to a star at Loyola this season. His points per game leapt from 9.4 to 13.0, and his three-point shooting has gone from 27.1% to 41.8%. With at least 11 games left in the season, he’s already exceeded his assist total from last year, he’s two steals away from last year’s total, and he’s two offensive rebounds away from matching last season. In his second-to-last game with the Wildcats last year he got his first KenPom Game MVP recognition, and this year he’s already had four of them for the Ramblers. And then there’s the body language…. It’s obvious this guy is having fun.
Another story in this game is whether Davidson’s second-leading scorer David Skogman is going to be available. The 6’10” senior forward from Waukesha, Wis. signed to play for former Loyola Head Coach Jim Whitesell at Buffalo. After Whitesell was let go, he transferred to Davidson. Skogman had an undiagnosed heart ailment that almost killed him as a high school senior, but has become a healthy and successful college player at a high level. This year, he’s had nagging foot and ankle issues that have caused him to miss three games; two were earlier in the season, and last time out against VCU he was in a boot. Skogman averages 13.3 ppg, 4.9 rebounds, and leads the team shooting 47.1% from three.
Coach Matt McKillop is in his second season after taking over for his legendary father, and has the ‘Cats at 12-8 overall, 2-5 in the A-10. Davidson has wins over Maryland and AAC-leading Charlotte. They’re at 125 in KenPom, just a few spots below Loyola—so home court advantage will need to kick in to help the good guys.
If Skogman isn’t available to start, the most likely starting five are 6’4” senior guard Grant Huffman, 6’5” senior guard Connor Kochera, 6’7” freshman forward Bobby Durkin, 6’11” sophomore Reed Bailey, and (starting in Skogman’s spot) 6’10” sophomore Sean Logan. Davidson is one of a very few teams in the A-10 capable (or willing) to play only two guards. They have seven players on their roster at 6’7” or taller, and four players at 6’9” or taller. KenPom ranks them as the 10th tallest team in D-1.
Huffman is the leader in scoring and assists at 13.5 and 4.9 respectively, plus he adds 5.0 rebounds per game. Kochera (out of Arlington Heights and St. Viator) averages 10.9 points and 3.9 rebounds. In the frontcourt, rookie forward Bobby Durkin is another Chicago-area player from Darien and Glenbard West; he averages 9.5 points and 4.7 boards. Bailey averages 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds. Logan was the top frontcourt bench player before Skogman’s injury, and is their top shot-blocker with 1.3 blocks per game in addition to 2.9 points and 3.3 boards.
Coach McKillop rarely goes deeper than nine players, so the bench consists of 6’3” sophomore guard Angelo Brizzi, 6’4” guard Archie Spadone, and 6’7” freshman forward Hunter Adam. They each average between 11 and 19 minutes per game, and Brizzi leads the bench players with 6.0 ppg.
Most hard-core Loyola fans have seen Davidson’s unique style of play. They feel comfortable being deliberate in their pacing, but they can speed it up if they need to. The team, and its coach on the sidelines, are masters of manipulating pace to their benefit. They don’t have a lot of team speed (they look to the eye like a lot of lumbering big guys), but they have quickness getting shots off and a high level of discipline in positioning.
The Wildcats are 0-4 in conference play at home, and 2-1 in conference away games so far, but their two road wins were against St. Louis and Fordham. Their home losses have come against Dayton, Rhode Island, Richmond, and VCU. The Ramblers are 3-1 at home and 3-1 away in conference.
The Wildcats are in the top 20 in college basketball in forcing long offensive possessions on their opponents… if the Ramblers can be patient, take care of the ball, hit a few threes, and get to the free throw line they’re likely to win. Davidson does not shoot the three well as a team, and if Skogman is out it should be more difficult. Hey, I’m still honked-off about that 59-56 loss to Davidson on Dec. 22, 2019. Loyola had a 9-point second half lead, but freshman Hyunjung Lee came off the bench to score 19 points, including the three-pointer with seconds left that won it. Payback time.
Loyola game notes: https://loyolaramblers.com/documents/20 ... vidson.pdf
Davidson game notes: https://davidsonwildcats.com/documents/ ... hicago.pdf
TV/Streaming video: CBS Sports Network https://www.cbssports.com/cbssports
Radio/Streaming audio: https://loyolaramblers.com/watch/?Live=172&type=Live
Live stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=482157
Vegas odds: Loyola by 4
Gentile Arena, Chicago, Ill.
Loyola welcomes the Davidson College Wildcats to Gentile Arena for the first time ever as an A-10 rival and the first time since a non-conference game in Dec. 2019. Davidson really beat up on the Ramblers last year in Loyola’s first A-10 conference road game, 80-57. Loyola hopes to even the ledger in Sunday’s Mimosa Special tipping off at Noon.
One of the obvious story lines for this game is the fact that Davidson transfer Des Watson has gone from a role player at Davidson last year to a star at Loyola this season. His points per game leapt from 9.4 to 13.0, and his three-point shooting has gone from 27.1% to 41.8%. With at least 11 games left in the season, he’s already exceeded his assist total from last year, he’s two steals away from last year’s total, and he’s two offensive rebounds away from matching last season. In his second-to-last game with the Wildcats last year he got his first KenPom Game MVP recognition, and this year he’s already had four of them for the Ramblers. And then there’s the body language…. It’s obvious this guy is having fun.
Another story in this game is whether Davidson’s second-leading scorer David Skogman is going to be available. The 6’10” senior forward from Waukesha, Wis. signed to play for former Loyola Head Coach Jim Whitesell at Buffalo. After Whitesell was let go, he transferred to Davidson. Skogman had an undiagnosed heart ailment that almost killed him as a high school senior, but has become a healthy and successful college player at a high level. This year, he’s had nagging foot and ankle issues that have caused him to miss three games; two were earlier in the season, and last time out against VCU he was in a boot. Skogman averages 13.3 ppg, 4.9 rebounds, and leads the team shooting 47.1% from three.
Coach Matt McKillop is in his second season after taking over for his legendary father, and has the ‘Cats at 12-8 overall, 2-5 in the A-10. Davidson has wins over Maryland and AAC-leading Charlotte. They’re at 125 in KenPom, just a few spots below Loyola—so home court advantage will need to kick in to help the good guys.
If Skogman isn’t available to start, the most likely starting five are 6’4” senior guard Grant Huffman, 6’5” senior guard Connor Kochera, 6’7” freshman forward Bobby Durkin, 6’11” sophomore Reed Bailey, and (starting in Skogman’s spot) 6’10” sophomore Sean Logan. Davidson is one of a very few teams in the A-10 capable (or willing) to play only two guards. They have seven players on their roster at 6’7” or taller, and four players at 6’9” or taller. KenPom ranks them as the 10th tallest team in D-1.
Huffman is the leader in scoring and assists at 13.5 and 4.9 respectively, plus he adds 5.0 rebounds per game. Kochera (out of Arlington Heights and St. Viator) averages 10.9 points and 3.9 rebounds. In the frontcourt, rookie forward Bobby Durkin is another Chicago-area player from Darien and Glenbard West; he averages 9.5 points and 4.7 boards. Bailey averages 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds. Logan was the top frontcourt bench player before Skogman’s injury, and is their top shot-blocker with 1.3 blocks per game in addition to 2.9 points and 3.3 boards.
Coach McKillop rarely goes deeper than nine players, so the bench consists of 6’3” sophomore guard Angelo Brizzi, 6’4” guard Archie Spadone, and 6’7” freshman forward Hunter Adam. They each average between 11 and 19 minutes per game, and Brizzi leads the bench players with 6.0 ppg.
Most hard-core Loyola fans have seen Davidson’s unique style of play. They feel comfortable being deliberate in their pacing, but they can speed it up if they need to. The team, and its coach on the sidelines, are masters of manipulating pace to their benefit. They don’t have a lot of team speed (they look to the eye like a lot of lumbering big guys), but they have quickness getting shots off and a high level of discipline in positioning.
The Wildcats are 0-4 in conference play at home, and 2-1 in conference away games so far, but their two road wins were against St. Louis and Fordham. Their home losses have come against Dayton, Rhode Island, Richmond, and VCU. The Ramblers are 3-1 at home and 3-1 away in conference.
The Wildcats are in the top 20 in college basketball in forcing long offensive possessions on their opponents… if the Ramblers can be patient, take care of the ball, hit a few threes, and get to the free throw line they’re likely to win. Davidson does not shoot the three well as a team, and if Skogman is out it should be more difficult. Hey, I’m still honked-off about that 59-56 loss to Davidson on Dec. 22, 2019. Loyola had a 9-point second half lead, but freshman Hyunjung Lee came off the bench to score 19 points, including the three-pointer with seconds left that won it. Payback time.
Loyola game notes: https://loyolaramblers.com/documents/20 ... vidson.pdf
Davidson game notes: https://davidsonwildcats.com/documents/ ... hicago.pdf
TV/Streaming video: CBS Sports Network https://www.cbssports.com/cbssports
Radio/Streaming audio: https://loyolaramblers.com/watch/?Live=172&type=Live
Live stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=482157
Vegas odds: Loyola by 4