Tuesday, January 31, 2017 7:00 p.m.
JQH Arena, Springfield, Mo.

Loyola faces Missouri State just 16 days after the Ramblers overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to notch a 77-71 win over the Bears in Chicago. Since then, the Ramblers have won three of four and climbed a game above a pack of four teams tied for 4th. With losses in their last two games-- against Drake at home and an overtime loss at SIU-- the Bears are stuck at the bottom of that four-team morass, meaning they’ve fallen to what would be the 7th seed on Thursday at Arch Madness. Just after the loss at Northern Iowa on Jan. 18, the Ramblers were in a similar predicament.

Alize Johnson, who impressed everyone in the losing effort at Loyola, has been on a tear since that game, averaging 20.4 points and 12.8 rebounds in the past five games. Dequon Miller has scored in double figures in seven consecutive games while averaging 17.4 points. Miller has scored 16 points in every career appearance against Loyola, despite averaging 12.7 for his career. Chris Kendrix, who played great against Loyola until his over-aggressive foul on a Milton Doyle dunk resulted in a game-changing six-point possession for the Ramblers was demoted to the bench in the Bears’ last outing against SIU.

Loyola’s Clayton Custer was playing despite flu-like symptoms against MSU on Jan. 15, but seems to have finally recovered with a 15-point showing on 5-of-6 field goal shooting and a perfect 3-for-3 from distance. Aundre Jackson suffered a mid-season mini-slump just before Loyola’s last meeting with MSU where he scored just 13 points in three games, shooting only 40% on just 10 attempts. Since then, he’s back to his early-season form, averaging 14.2 points and shooting 72% from the field. Jackson still ranks 5th nationally in overall field goal percentage and 4th in two-point field goal percentage. The top 10 players in field goal percentage includes one 7’6” player, two 7’0” players, five 6’9” players, one at 6’7”, and Aundre Jackson at 6’5”.

One thing that hasn’t changed since Loyola’s last meeting with the Bears is MSU’s problems closing out games. Since blowing their 11-point halftime lead in their loss to Loyola, they had a six-point lead at home against Drake with less than five minutes left and failed to score on three possessions in the final two minutes of regulation of a 72-71 overtime loss. Against SIU on Saturday, they blew a 12-point halftime lead and lost their second consecutive one-point game in overtime. MSU has outscored their opponents by 205 points in first halves of games, but their opponents have outscored them by 17 in second halves. And the Bears are 1-3 in overtime, which includes the one-point losses in their last two games.

Missouri State has the kind of talent that can take over a game and make the opposition look silly for several minutes at a time, but when the clock becomes a factor they have frozen up or faltered many times. The Bears have had sizable second-half leads year over Valpo (8 points), DePaul (13), Indiana State (11) Illinois State (5), Loyola (11), Drake (9), and SIU (11) and got forced to overtime or lost. They have also had a lot of games where they've held a lead throughout. The Bears certainly pass the eye test on talent with flying colors, the question is whether they can perform when the clock becomes a factor.

Loyola game notes: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/loy ... 130aaa.pdf

Missouri State game notes: http://missouristate_ftp.sidearmsports. ... eNotes.pdf

TV/Streaming video: ESPN3 http://www.espn.com/watchespn/index/_/i ... ouri-state

Vegas odds: MSU by 1.5

We played a 1:00 game Saturday and they played at 7:00 and went to overtime. Plus we got to go deep in the bench because of our big early lead.
We might be a tad more rested but probably won't make a difference. But any little edge helps...

Thanks JCT for another great report! I was able to catch most of the MSU-SIU 2nd Half+OT on Saturday, and Alize Johnson did not look like himself during that time. The announcers mentioned he was battling an ankle injury, and it was holding him back, especially on offensive rebounds. On top of that, Obediah Church has been getting in foul trouble lately leaving their front-court stretched thin. SIU came back by taking advantage of this. Their big guy Sean O'Brien scored 9 in a row at one point.

I think Jackson will have a big game as a result. Either that or without a big threat down low, our guards really step up defensively shutting down MSU and our offense runs like normal. Of course, this is all assuming Johnson is still hurt. If he's recovered and playing like he has been this year, I think it'll be very similar to the game in Gentile.

JCT should pen murder mysteries! He has me in full blown anxiety mode already....question is who murdered the bear?
All that aside I think Coach puts together good defensive plans and now that he is seeing the Bears for the 2nd time I feel like he will put together another one.
at the end of the 1st game against MS Alize Johnson was downright scary in the last few minutes when he just went rogue agent....he is a raw talent.

You can tell from reading between the lines in the Missouri State student paper game story that Coach Paul Lusk is getting a lot of blame for the late game collapses.

Same Story, Different Game: Bears Lose to Salukis in OT

Fans over at MVCfans.com also blame Lusk's coaching philosophy and tendencies.

Gee ! It used to be that these "fans" blasted Porter and a ton of it came out of Springfield !! Ah well. FUN from the stands !!!

Kind of a crazy quote in here about their game plan. Lusk basically said they decided to play it straight against O'Brien and he scored 24 points.... they never thought to try something different to stop him?

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Excellent preview! Missouri State has proven to be tough, but I've noticed somewhat lengthy scoreless streaks with them. Loyola will just need to take any advantage they can get.

Seems weird to be a two point underdog. Home court has some mystical quality. Could be officiating?
Anyhow, also odd that every next game is a BIG one for the Ramblers, BUT this certainly is in terms of separation from the bottom half of MVC.
Guys have to play forty minutes, use everyone and not shrink the lineup only to be short at the end of the game.
I feel good about the game, but still have these undercurrents of the Ramblers not finishing the half or end of game easily.
Should be fun to watch, and a W would certainly be HUGE.
GO RAMBLERS!

Loyola seems to play well as the underdog. They've pulled off a couple this year with a 6 point spread against them, most notably against San Diego State. Officiating has been a huge deal it seems, and a little problematic. I've noticed a ton of blatant calls blown.