Sunday, February 21, 2016 3:00 p.m.
JQH Arena, Springfield, Mo.

Way back on Jan. 9, Loyola dropped to 0-4 in conference after losing to Missouri State in Chicago, 56-54. The Ramblers led by as many as 10 points early in the second half, but Dequon Miller scored 11 of his 16 points in the second period—including a layup with four seconds left to break a 54-54 tie—to best the Ramblers before a season-low 1128 fans. The Ramblers reached a nadir in their next game, a one point home loss to Bradley, before shaking up the starting lineup and winning six of their last 10.

MSU, meanwhile, has taken care of business against teams they’re supposed to beat (road wins against Bradley and Drake), plus they’ve won their two home games against the ISUs in overtime. MSU is 4-3 in home conference games, dropping home games to Evansville, Wichita, and SIU. The difference between Loyola and MSU is now down to the Bears’ win in Chicago—and the Ramblers can reach a tie with the Bears by winning Sunday in Springfield.

The Bears start two guards and three forwards. Dequon Miller (leading the team with 12.6 ppg) and Jarred Dixon (7.7 ppg) are the two guards. The frontcourt is manned by freshman Obediah Church (6.7 points, 6.1 points per game), sophomore Chris Kendrix (12.1 ppg), and senior Camyn Boone (12.1 ppg, 6.3 boards). Kendrix was unavailable for the game against Loyola in Chicago, but has played well recently, averaging 18.2 ppg over his past six contests. Top bench players include senior guard Dorian Williams (7.6 ppg, but hasn’t played in the past four games), freshman three point specialist Ryan Kreklow (6.8 ppg), 6’6” senior forward Loomis Gerring (2.9 ppg), and 6’11” Tyler McCullough.

The Bears like to play methodically, and usually win their close games. In conference play, four of MSU’s seven wins have come by four points or less. A large key to beating MSU is containing Camyn Boone; the Bears are 3-11 when Boone scores less than 10 points. Kendrix has been hot lately, and at 6’5” can cause matchup problems for the Ramblers. The Bears have been highly susceptible to the three point ball—they have the second worst three-point defense in the league; Loyola was only 3 of 13 on threes in their loss earlier in the season, while Devon Turk was playing with hamstring soreness. Loyola is the top free throw percentage shooting team, but last in the league at getting to the free throw line—and Missouri State tends to put opponents on the line quite often. With a lot on the line (a potential sixth seed to avoid Thursday in St. Louis), it will be interesting to see if MSU’s methodical approach prevails, or if the Ramblers can take advantage of their strengths.

Loyola game notes: Pending

Missouri State game notes: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/mos ... 219aaa.pdf

TV/Streaming audio: ESPNU or ESPN3

Vegas odds: Bears by 2

Just finished watching the UNI/ILSU game.
Also just finished two glasses of a very nice dry white
Swiss wine, so take my comments with a grain of salt. (Purchased at Independent Spirits on
Broadway). It is down the street from my office, and quite nice wineshop.
But, did we not beat UNI twice? Did we not come within a bucket of beating ILSU?
Did we not have two cracks at beating Evansville in the final seconds of the last game?
Vegas says we are underdogs tomorrow by 1.5 or so... HOW in the heck?????
When we last played MOSU did we not play a clunker of a game?
I personally EXPECT to win this game tomorrow, and hope the guys are up to playing 40
minutes, every possession as a meaningful event. If they do, should be NO PROBLEM.
It was interesting how the broadcasters were drooling all over UNI after the game today, with the UNI COACH
accepting the possibility of his team doing well in the tournament. He did mention the LU game extremely briefly, saying that LU has been playing good ball of late. It hurt him to spit that out, as if that game was just a blip on the radar. Earning respect in this league is tough....
I've also been watching other MVC games of late, and find it interesting that on a given day, other than
WSU, games are really close and many could go either way.
I am still amazed at the RPI status of Indiana State and worry that as a tiebreaker we cannot pass them if all three teams end up at 8-10.
My wish is for LU to get to 8-10. It is possible that MOSU or IND ST could finish 7-11.
Of course , I rarely get my wish......
How interesting that those early conference losses, all of which came with our guys playing tentative and slow make all the difference in our perception of their progress. Again considering all of our SHORTcoming, literally, these guys NEVER quit and bounce back from crushing defeats regularly. IN many losses, a matter of two or three possessions made the difference.
Finally, I will be very sad to see Turk, Kiki, Montel and Earl finish their careers. I cannot say enough about how much they impressed me with their growth year to year, their effort, and persistence through tough times, to say nothing of their basketball skills!. All made some great plays at crucial moments. I have been around a long time as a Rambler fan, and am optimistic that the program will continue to improve going forward. I believe the Valley is a league we can be successful in and doing so should put us in place to be Chicago's college basketball team. These guys certainly made me Rambler proud and I wish them success as we continue this season and in their respective lives after the season.
Wrap it up with: a thumbs up to coach PM. I hope we decide on continuity over constant change. I hope the student body discovers what an exciting time can be had at a competitive basketball game. The players deserve their support. I hope Milton Doyle returns for the next season to finally deliver a culminating and statement season. He has so much talent inside and I am grateful to have witnessed those moments when he truly showed his skills in crunch time. His playing with injury was inspiring. I cannot imagine the team having the success they have had if Milton was not in the mix.
Well, I need to refill my glass, sit back and look forward to the remaining games, and conference tournament. I know we will play hard and maybe we finally get break or two here and there.
Go Ramblers....

There's a lot on the line in this game.... A loss virtually eliminates any chance of 6th.

Maybe our best opening four and a half minutes of any game this year. We forced three or four turnovers and kept them scoreless for three plus minutes.

And as soon as I compliment the squad, they go cold and MSU goes on 8-0 run.

The Ramblers came to play with vengeance in their mind.

Are we REALLY going to play nonchalant in a game this important, after traveling 510 miles? Our interior passing is crap.

Church is going to be an MVC first-teamer by his junior year.

yeah...things really turned around quickly. Amazing first few mins by the Ramblers...and then Missouri State turns on the boosters.

This game is HUGE! A loss almost for sure equals a 7th or lower seed and a losing season. A win equals a possible 6th seed and likely .500 or better season.


lose and we are 2 under and will likely finish the regular season 2 under. Would need to win Th, Fr, and Sat to finish .500