Loyola (IL) Ramblers
Missouri Valley (28-5, 15-3)
It has been 33 years since Loyola reached the NCAA Tournament and they deserved to get back after a superb regular season when they went 15-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Ramblers had to take care of business in the conference tournament though and they did by knocking off Illinois State with a bid on the line.
Big Wins: 11/10 Wright State (84-80), 12/6 at Florida (65-59), 1/10 at Illinois State (68-61)
Bad Losses: 12/16 at Milwaukee (56-73), 12/22 at Missouri State (59-64), 1/3 Indiana State (57-61)
Coach: Porter Moser
Why They Can Surprise:
Loyola does not make it easy for anybody to beat them, as many teams have found out this year. This team enters the NCAA Tournament with just five losses, with the latest coming in late January. This group plays great defense, led by the conference’s defensive player of the year, Ben Richardson. On the other side of the floor, the Ramblers have a deep roster of players who can spread the floor, pass the ball around and shoot it. When there are four or five shooters on the floor, anybody is tough to defend. Clayton Cluster is the most dangerous all-around scorer. He can get to the basket. Donte Ingram is the team’s most prolific outside shooter, connecting on 39.9 percent of his 168 attempts from beyond the arc. With Marques Townes and Aundre Jackson a threat to shoot and attacking the basket and Richardson and Lucas Williamson knocking down three-pointers, anybody on the floor can do damage.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The Missouri Valley Conference was not too difficult this year. Loyola took advantage of that, but they also have not been consistently tested as a team recently. This group did beat Florida back in December so they have proven that they can beat quality opponents, but that is the only big win on their resume. Against bigger, tougher teams, the pressure will be on freshman center Cameron Krutwig. He has had a very good season and is a solid defender, passer and interior scorer, but he will need some help from the bigger wings and small forwards on the team like Ingram and Jackson when it comes to containing opposing big men and hitting the glass.
Probable Starters:
Clayton Custer, Junior, Guard, 13.4 ppg, 4.3 apg, 1.5 spg
Ben Richardson, Senior, Guard, 6.7 ppg, 3.8 apg
Marques Townes, Junior, Guard, 11.2 ppg, 2.4 apg
Donte Ingram, Senior, Guard, 11.6 ppg, 1.5 apg, 6.5 rpg
Cameron Krutwig, Freshman, Center, 10.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg
Key Role Players:
Aundre Jackson, Senior, Forward, 10.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg
Lucas Williamson, Freshman, Guard, 4.8 ppg, 1.0 apg
Bruno Skokna, Sophomore, Guard, 3.5 ppg
Cameron Satterwhite, Sophomore, Guard, 1.9 ppg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 72.4 (221st in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 62.2 (5, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 50.7 (4, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.2 (40, 3)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.5 (192, 4)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 39.8 (21, 2)
Free-Throw Percentage: 72.4 (131, 3)
Rebound Margin: 1.6 (129, 5)
Assists Per Game: 15.8 (52, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.2 (109, 4)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2015 CBI First Round win over Rider
2015 CBI Quarterfinal win over Oral Roberts
2015 CBI Semifinal win over Seattle
2015 CBI Final win over Louisiana Monroe
*all team stats through 3/4
