Sunday, March 7, 2021 1:00 pm
The Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Mo.


Anyone who's paid attention to the MVC since late December should have seen it coming-- a potential Arch Madness showdown between the Drake Bulldogs and the Loyola Ramblers. On Saturday, that collision course became set when the short-handed, 2nd seeded Bulldogs won a 71-69 classic against 3 seed Missouri State, and the #20 Loyola Ramblers as the 1 seed dominated 4th seeded Indiana State 65-49.

Drake and Loyola have developed this rivalry over the past several years. Loyola's second MVC conference win came against Drake in 2014, and the Bulldogs were the second MVC team that Loyola was able to sweep in 2015. In 2019, Loyola and Drake shared the MVC regular season conference title. The Ramblers hold an 11-5 edge in the rivalry since joining the MVC, but the teams have split the last four games, with three of the last four decided by four points or less. The last time these two teams faced each other in a 51-50 Drake overtime win in Des Moines, the coaches and players had to be separated at the end of the game.

Yet Loyola and Drake have never before faced off at Arch Madness.

Of course, controversy swirls. The Bulldogs are on the bubble as an at large team thanks to a 25-3 record, an 18-game winning streak to start the season, wins over #20 Loyola and Kansas State, and a 12-2 road/neutral record. But the Bulldogs got a pass in the Arch Madness Quarterfinals when UNI had a positive Covid test and subsequent contact tracing disqualified too many players under local regulations for UNI to be able to field a team. A well-rested Drake team was therefore able to face Missouri State on Saturday, just 17 hours after the Bears beat Valpo 66-55.

Drake started Saturday ranked 42 in the NET, 52 in KenPom, and 62 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index. The neutral site win over Missouri State (94 in the NET) gives Drake another Q2 win; Drake has touted their Q1+Q2 won-loss record (now 6-1) as a top part of their Selection Committee resume.

Bollingbrook native Joseph Yesufu, named the MVC Sixth Man of the Year on Tuesday, had yet another incredible game with 25 points and an acrobatic drive to the hoop for the winning layup before the buzzer. Since joining the starting lineup after Roman Penn's season-ending injury, Yesufu has been on a mission, averaging 25 ppg and playing nearly every minute of each game. Senior forward Tremell Murphy added 20 points for the Bulldogs, who were only able to play seven men in the tight game.

The Ramblers reached the tournament final with a relatively easy win over Indiana State. Loyola opened the game with an offensive barrage, racing out to an 18-point lead after the first 13 minutes and then switching on the tough defense. Loyola allowed only 21 points in the second half on 33.3% shooting. The Ramblers held the Trees to 49 points for the game, marking the second consecutive game the LUC defense allowed 49 points, the eighth game this season holding opponents under 50, and the 17th consecutive game allowing 58 points or under. MVC Player of the Year Cameron Krutwig led the way with 18 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Lucas Williamson (14 points), Keith Clemons (12 points) and Aher Uguak (10 points) also scored in double figures, while the Ramblers shot 8 of 19 (42.1%) from distance.

Since their 51-50 overtime loss to Drake on Feb. 14, many Loyola fans were concerned about LU's drop in offensive efficiency. Loyola didn't lose any games closing out the regular season, but there were a couple close calls-- a two point win at home over Valpo, and a somnambulant overtime win against SIU on Senior Day. At least through the first two games of Arch Madness, that dread and worry has been put aside. In the two games in St. Louis, Loyola is shooting 45% from behind the arc, the scoring and playing minutes have been spread nicely, and the team has been playing with noticeable resolve and focus.

No matter who wins Sunday, Loyola is a virtual lock for the tournament, and Drake has a better than 50% chance at an at large berth-- according to most bracket predictors. Two bids would put the MVC on similar footing with the American, West Coast, Mountain West, and A-10 as a multi-bid league for the first time since the departure of Wichita State in 2017.

Nothing is for certain, but a Loyola win could propel the Ramblers to a 7 seed, which is (especially this year) a great deal better than an 8 or 9. A Drake win would probably give the Bulldogs a 9 or 10 seed, and could drop Loyola to the 9-11 range. A good showing in a loss to Loyola (along with the possibility of Tank Hemphill coming back to play in the NCAA Tournament) could still earn the Bulldogs a 10 or 11 seed as an at large.

But given the escalating rivalry between Drake and Loyola (and probably memories of some of the words said in Des Moines a few weeks ago), there's going to be a very spirited contest in St. Louis on Sunday, with pride, legacy and bragging rights on the line.


Loyola Game Notes: https://loyolaramblers.com/documents/20 ... 3_6_21.pdf

Drake Game Notes: https://godrakebulldogs.com/documents/2 ... nament.pdf

TV/Streaming Video: CBS https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/ncaa-on-cbs/

Radio/Steaming Audio: https://loyolaramblers.com/watch/?Live=76&type=Live

Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcas ... confid=mvc

Vegas Odds: Loyola by 6.5

Great preview JCT. I especially liked the little history lesson.
I haven't found any Las Vegas point spread online yet. My guess is we'll be favored by 4.5.

Edit: VegasInsider has us -6.5. So far the favorite has won every game in the tourney.

I’m completely surprised by the Krut-n-Hut in this tournament, but it’s working! Prince Hut is doing a great job of keeping the middle covered and giving King Krut breathers. Hutson is going to be a force for us next year.

I do wish I knew why Welch is not playing like he was. I’m also hoping we see Tate Hall get things going...

Cant wait for noon!

Happy Championship Sunday, Ramblers. Drake fans are already complaining about the refs on their message board--preemptive whining. Love to see it!

"Krut-n-Hut", "Prince Hut" and "pre-emptive whining".

Good stuff! I see we've brought our message-board A Game to this contest.

Sadly I forgot my pledge to have a complete Drake Trash Talk portfolio ready today. Will have to wing it.

True fact: In 1940 Drake's official mascot was a duck named Dopey Quakpot.

Swella embellishment: The mascot was named after Drake's unpublicized third founding father of the same name. It was only by winning a game of Rock Paper Scissors over Carpenter and Quakpot that Francis Drake got to name the college after himself.

Somehow Dopey U. seems more appropriate to me though, which is why henceforth that is what I will call them: DOPEY DUCKS.

Line moved from -6.5 to -8 overnight. Must be a lot of money coming in on the Blers

You got any skin in the game?

It must have been my $20 that moved the line

True fact: The origin of the city of Des Moines' place-name is controversial: it is possibly a French corruption of the Algonquian name for the river, Moingona; alternatively, it may be derived from the French de moyen (“middle”), being midway between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, or perhaps it was a reference to the Trappist monks (moines de la Trappe) who once lived at the mouth of the Des Moines River.

Swella embellishment Historical documents recently rediscovered in the archives of the Library of Congress resolve this controversy. Early French explorers named the area De Moyen Nulle Part, which roughly translated means "The Middle of Nowhere". It has nothing to do with its location relative to the two rivers.

Des Moines is just an abbreviated corruption of the original name, but people passing through Des Moines on their way to better places can appreciate the prescience of those French explorers who named it!