Saturday, January 11, 2014, 7:00 p.m.
Redbird Arena, Normal, Ill.

Illinois State was essentially a blank slate coming into the season, with a lot of talent on paper but only two players on the roster who had seen marginal playing time at the DI level. The team and the culture is in the process of being remade to the specifications of second year head coach Dan Muller.

Predictably, the Redbirds started the season slowly, with a blowout loss at VCU, a home loss to Drexel, nearly blowing a big lead at Northwestern, a home loss to Manhattan, and a neutral court loss to Vermont. But since then, the Muller architecture project has shown a lot of promise, going 7-3 overall with somewhat impressive wins at home against Dayton, DePaul, and Southern Illinois (by 18 points). The Redbirds are still iffy on the road, having lost at Oakland, Missouri State, and by 19 points at Wichita State. But at home, the new-look Birds have won five in a row.

The Birds usually go nine deep, and start four guards between 5'10" and 6'4", and a 6'10" freshman center. They're led in scoring by 6'1" junior guard Daishon Knight (13.6 ppg), a juco transfer. Sophomore guard Zach Lofton (another juco) averages 11.5 ppg, redshirt junior guard Bobby Hunter (standing only 5'10", but weighing in at 190) averages 10.1. Center Reggie Lynch doesn't score a lot (6.7 ppg in 16.3 minutes), but when he takes a shot he connects on 62%, and his length keeps the opposition honest in the paint-- he has 35 blocks.

Illinois State likes to play a fast-paced game. They look to run, they shoot pretty quick in the shot clock, they like to use their quickness to drive to the basket, and they take a whole lot of threes in transition. If they can't get a quick spot-up three, they make quick passes and look for opportunities to drive to the basket, hoping for tip-ins or second chances. In terms of tempo, the Birds play the 45th fastest pace in college hoops, far faster than the next team in the league (Evansville at 125th). ISUr's frenetic pace is reflected in their rebounding numbers: they're 2nd in the MVC in rebounding offense, and last in the MVC in rebounding defense. And I'll give you one guess who plays the most deliberate tempo in the league by far... Loyola ranks 339th in tempo out of 351 DI teams, and is last in the league in rebounding offense-- but the Ramblers rank second in rebounding defense.

Fundamentally, the game will probably come down to which team is able to control the tempo. If the Birds connect on their transition spot up threes, this game could get ugly. Loyola is going to need to take care of the ball, control the tempo, move well without the rock, and wear down ISU by making them play long defensive stretches. In transition, the Ramblers are going to have to force the Birds into half court offense and anticipate their superior quickness.

UPDATES: Spelling of Muller's last name corrected.

Redbirdfan.net message board has a thread about what Porter Moser's reception will be on his return to Redbird Arena.

http://www.redbirdfan.net/forum/viewtop ... f=6&t=5832

Also, ISUr is a 7.5 point favorite in Vegas.

Thanks 63. One of the highlights of this board is your pregame assessments which I always read before the game. Makes it more interesting to know what to look for. If the ice stays away, The Calculator Lady and I will be down there taking in the game. With ISU on a roll at home, it looks like a real challenge for our boys, especially if Toe Leary cannot play.

NICE PREVIEW.....
ALSO INTERESTING.....LU is 10 in field goal percentage and ISU is 324.....but they get off 8 more shots and make 6 more free throws...there is that tempo thing...... So turnovers and fouls like usual could be a factor and will require some improvement over the SIU game..
63 does ISU man or zone??
GO RAMBLERS

The games I watched were mostly very early in the year. I watched the whole games against VCU and Drexel, and I've checked in to see chunks of games since. In the early games they had a talented kid, Michael Middlebrooks, who has since been suspended for violation of team rules. So I don't know if they're mixing it up more now, but they were playing a lot of 2-3 zone, with a lot of pressing and helter-skelter pressure on the ball. Lately they've been packing the zone and forcing teams to shoot a lot of outside shots.

So something's gotta give in this game. Either Loyola is better at doing what they do (working for good shots, making the defense labor) and takes care of the ball, or ISU will romp. If Loyola gets an advantage in turnovers, rebounds well, makes ISU work hard on defense, and hits some threes, the Ramblers have a chance to pull out a road win. It may come down to Devon Turk. If he's hot, plays defense, and doesn't make turnovers, I think Loyola has a chance.

Pull Cody out to the top of the key and let him fire away. When he starts to hit, we can then drive to the lane with White or Doyle or dish out to Turk. or dump it down to Thomas. You can't leave a 6'10" man who can hit the three unguarded. Cody is the key to victory. He shot a lot early against the Bears. From what I heard on the computer radio broadcast, he did not take an outside shot.

63 you probably have some pretty good ideas for food in Bloomington but i was always a fan of Avantis

When is the last time we've had two consecutive games televised on cable? Tonight's game is again on Fox Sports Midwest, and CSN Chicago Plus (Bulls game is on regular CSN Chicago)

This is probably a stupid question but are LU games able to be streamed? I would like to watch some if possible.

_________________
Don't confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. -- F. Scott Fitzgerald

The TV exposure is a great thing for Loyola... Thank you MVC. Problem: Does anyone know what channel that's on Directv? Thanks!

All home games are on a free feed which you can find at www.loyolaramblers.com. I find that the road games are all on feeds too, but some of them require you to pay.