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PostPosted: Fri Jan 11, 2019 5:51 pm 
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Saturday, January 12, 2019, 1:00 p.m.
Gentile Arena, Chicago, Illinois

Following their worst conference loss in more than two years, a 67-48 smackdown at Evansville, the Ramblers seek to get back on track against the Illinois State Redbirds back in Chicago. The sold-out showdown on Saturday had once promised to be a defining game for the season between two pre-season favorites.

The Redbirds were expected to be a powerful force in a stronger and more competitive MVC. ISU was picked to finish second in the MVC Preseason Poll, and Coach Dan Mueller brought back all his major contributors from a team that finished 3rd last year and reached the conference tournament final. But similar to the Ramblers, the chemistry, execution, and shooting percentages haven’t been nearly as good as last season.

ISU starts forwards Milik Yarbrough and Phil Fayne; guards William Tinsley, Keyshawn Evans, and newcomer Zach Copland. On this year’s team, Yarbrough has taken on more of the usage and ball touches that were performed by some of the other players last season. Yarbrough leads the team in points (16.9), rebounds (8.1) assists (3.9), and turnovers (4.4). Keyshawn Evans’ numbers have cratered from last season—he’s shooting under 30% from the field, ranks fourth on the team in assists, and his points per game have dropped from 15.2 last year to 6.5. Fayne’s shooting and shot-blocking remains among the best in the league for a big man, but his rebounds have fallen off. Tinsley’s scoring and rebounding have lagged as well.

Newcomers Copeland (10.8 points, 3.5 assists), Josh Jefferson (9.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists) and Matt Chastain (2.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists) have been bright spots, but have mostly taken minutes and ball touches away from returning players like Isaac Gassman and Matt Hein.

Like the Ramblers, Illinois State is also 2-1 in conference. They opened the season suffering a loss at Valpo on a half-court heave after blowing a late 10-point lead. They soundly beat Evansville at home last Saturday, and survived a late surge by Northern Iowa to win by one on Tuesday. Their best win on the year was their home win over BYU. The Redbirds are 0-4 on the year in true road games, including a 19-point loss at UIC.


Loyola game notes: https://loyolaramblers.com/documents/20 ... df?id=8284

Illinois State game notes: https://goredbirds.com/news/2019/1/11/m ... blers.aspx

TV/Streaming video: ESPN2 http://www.espn.com/watch/collections/1 ... lege-hoops

Live stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=234962

Vegas odds: Loyola by 9.5


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 12, 2019 8:03 am 
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They benched Tinsley for a familiar face.

STHer event at 11!


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 12, 2019 9:39 am 
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Roads are really bad around here with snowstorm, so I’m stuck watching it on TV. Not sure if Bloomington is getting hit as bad as Springfield, but I wonder if it’s going to affect ISU’s crowd any.


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 12, 2019 10:10 am 
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Which Ramblers will show up today? The gang that can't shoot straight or the gang the can't miss? Seems like that is the only thing that matters. ISU has some long arms, which worries me a little bit.

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PostPosted: Sat Jan 12, 2019 10:52 am 
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RAMBLERS BY 9 plus !! I hope we win by a lot more !! All big gamws for us now-- but this one is special--I say we win 72 55 !!!


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 12, 2019 1:52 pm 
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Great first half offensively! We've found the open guy and made our shots. We just need our D to take a step up and stop them a little more. Hopefully we come out swinging to start the 2nd half!


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 12, 2019 1:55 pm 
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Great half. I think everyone played well, and great rotations by Moser. All 10 guys saw the floor in the half and every rotation felt good for the most part


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 12, 2019 1:57 pm 
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Defense was strong early...not so great late. I’m guessing that’s going to be a point of emphasis at halftime.

Three starters saddled with 2 fouls didn’t help.


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 12, 2019 1:57 pm 
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I'm at the game and it feels like we're really getting screwed by the refs. Does it look the same on TV? Can't remember a MVC game where I felt we were on the short end of so many calls and non calls. They're really shoving and grabbing and pushing us, and only the 2 or 3 worst have been called.


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 12, 2019 2:01 pm 
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Location: Livin in the middle, between the two extremes
JCT wrote:
I'm at the game and it feels like we're really getting screwed by the refs. Does it look the same on TV? Can't remember a MVC game where I felt we were on the short end of so many calls and non calls. They're really shoving and grabbing and pushing us, and only the 2 or 3 worst have been called.


Williamson was clearly fouled going up to the basket on one play that wasn’t called. The TV commentators even pointed out how obvious it was.


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