Saturday, February 21, 2015 7:00 p.m.
Redbird Arena, Normal, Ill.

When the Redbirds and Ramblers last met on Jan. 31 at Gentile Arena, Loyola nearly staged their most miraculous comeback in several years. Down by 15 points with 8:16 left to play and Christian Thomas knocked out of the game with a concussion, the Ramblers closed the gap to 46-45 with :48 left. Montel James’ monster game (a career high 22 points on 10 of 15 field goal shooting and seven rebounds, going up against one of the league’s best big men) was tarnished when he missed five of his six free throw attempts in the final minute of the 48-45 loss. Since that pivotal game, the Redbirds have struggled a bit, going 2-3 (including a loss at SIU), while the Ramblers have gone 3-2 through Milton Doyle’s continued absence—including a road win at Missouri State without Thomas from his concussion.

Thomas may be back to form in the lineup for the 6-9 Ramblers, and Doyle may be nearing a return to practice for a push to lock up the 6th seed at Arch Madness. The Redbirds, at 8-7 in conference coming off a 60-47 road win at Bradley to stop a three-game slide, are looking to win their final three against the Ramblers, Salukis and Aces to reach 3rd place. Loyola is 3-4 in conference road games, while Dan Muller’s crew is 4-3 at home in conference play.

The key to making the Redbirds vulnerable is getting 6’10”, 257-pound shot-blocking machine Reggie Lynch into foul trouble. Loyola did that last time out, limiting Lynch to nine points and two rebounds in only 14 minutes on the court, and nearly staged an upset win. ISU is 8-6 on the season when Lynch picks up 4 or 5 fouls, and three of the victories have been in overtime or within four points. While Lynch isn’t ISU’s top scorer (he’s third in scoring behind 6’1” guard Daishon Knight at 14.0 and athletic 6’5” wing DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell at 12.3) almost all of ISU’s most effective offense and defense depends on Lynch. He blocks out space in the lane for driving layups, draws double-teams, creates effective inside-out combinations, and deters the opposition’s higher percentage shots in the paint with his blocking ability. Lynch’s backups, 6’9” John Jones and 6’8” Will Ransom, are serviceable big men, but the ISU game plans and style are built around Lynch’s exceptional abilities in controlling the paint (72 blocks, 70 offensive rebounds, 53.3% field goal shooting on the season). ISU is quite simply a different and less effective team without him on the court.

Another key player for the Redbirds is Akoon-Purcell, who is very long, has a quick first step, and is a spectacular finisher at the basket. Guards Knight, Bobby Hunter, and Paris Lee are accurate and prolific three point shooters, each with over 20 made threes and better than 37% accuracy from behind the arc. Newcomer MiKyle McIntosh, a 6’7” Canadian forward, is another long and nimble athlete with the ability to cause damage when he’s on; he’s had seven games in double figure scoring this season, including a few game-high scoring and rebounding performances.

Getting to the line (and making those shots!) is also key to a Rambler victory. In games where opponents have made 13 or more free throws, the Redbirds are 5-9 on the season. If Loyola had made just four more free throws their last time against ISU-- they missed five in the final minute of the game, and seven other attempts before that—the Redbirds would be 5-10 in that metric.

Loyola’s game at ISU is their toughest remaining contest. A win is not essential in securing the 6th seed going into Arch Madness, but a loss puts much, MUCH more pressure on the Ramblers to defeat Drake in Des Moines, as a split with Drake would give the tiebreaker to the Bulldogs on strength of schedule. Loyola was the second opponent and first non-con game at Redbird Arena when it opened in January 1989, and has a 1-4 record in the building—the sole Loyola victory was a 73-69 overtime win on January 20, 1991. A win over the Redbirds on Saturday isn’t expected or absolutely vital, but putting a big win in the bank would definitely give Loyola some momentum, breathing room, and margin for error to avoid Thursday in St. Louis.

Loyola game notes: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/loy ... 220aaa.pdf

Illinois State game notes: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/loy ... a_ilsu.pdf

TV/Streaming video/audio: Comcast Sports Net, Audio: http://www.loyolaramblers.com/collegesp ... dia=474643

Vegas odds: Illinois State by 10

Sorry but I usually agree with 673--Not this time--I DO EXPECT a win --It is now absolutely rug cutting; time. Milton would really help--but if not, I feel our remaining guns will be sufficient--We will see a ton of Turk, Ben and Earl---will score and Thomas and James will keep their biggies plenty busy .
We have battled and hustled all year long--It is now time to reap some wins- STARTING in Normal !

GO RAMBLERS !!

Free throws and turnovers are the key. ISU is a very talented team that is not "well-coached." They'll make some careless mistakes. We need to capitalize on those opportunities by not making mistakes of our own. Despite the fact that they're the more talented team, last game was a horrendous loss because of the missed free throws and turnovers. If we do the little things, we win this game even if we're not at full strength.

I have a hunch Doyle plays. Even 15 minutes at 80% is huge for us.

Hope everybody going down has a safe and enjoyable trip. Go Ramblers!

Not sure if we will have Milt or not, but I love that the parents and fans believe in this team.

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A clever poster on the Redbird board has taken to calling us the Grandees. Pretty funny-- I wonder who will get it.

http://www.redbirdfan.net/forum/viewtop ... f=6&t=7431

Standees on Granville ?????

If I remember correctly that was almost the school nickname, way back when, instead of Ramblers

How is THIS for a cheap shot ?? Some of our cheap-shooting competitors have NO IDEA what a Grandee is--Look it up children !!!!!! It will drive you nuts when you find out !!!

BAD BROT !! Ouch ! That bump on the head was Longshot drilling me with a bolt from Heaven !!!

Wheels up!

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Somebody looked up how we got the Ramblers nickname and found out that in the 20s there was a student contest to name the team, and the winning entry among the students was Grandees.

http://www.lib.luc.edu/specialcollectio ... s/ramblers

I think it's pretty clever. Big Joe had an idea to informally revive the name back in the early 2000s for a fan group, and it caught on then about as well as it did in the 20s.

Apparently, Grandee was a much more commonly used word in the 20s. I found a Tribune newspaper article from 1924 that refered to the Spanish royal family visiting Chicago as Grandees. I've heard it used a few times in the past decade or two, usually ironically or comically.