Sunday, December 13, 2020 1:00 p.m.
Credit Union 1 Arena, Chicago, IL
Last season was the first men's basketball season in 26 years that Loyola did not play UIC. It turned out to be the last season for Head Coach Steve McClain, even as McClain parlayed his 4th place team into the HL Tournament Final. Northern Kentucky defeated UIC in the conference tournament final, 71-62, and instead of going to the NCAA Tournament, McClain went home and found out he was fired three days later.
Less than two weeks after the firing of McClain, UIC announced the hiring of 44-year old University of Michigan Assistant Luke Yaklich (pronounced YOCK-litch)-- which was widely hailed as a coup. Yaklich was the basketball manager at Illinois State for two years (1996-98) when ISU won both the MVC regular season and tournament championships. Along the way, he became good friends with Dan Muller, and the two stayed in touch as Yaklich moved from teaching history to coaching his alma mater LaSalle-Peru HS, then Joliet West, and some area AAU teams.
Yaklich has some pretty uncanny Loyola parallels, too. Muller added him to the Illinois State coaching staff as an assistant the same year Loyola joined the MVC (2013), and he left to become an assistant under John Beilein at Michigan the year Loyola met Michigan in the Final Four. As an assistant, Yaklich has an 8-1 record against Loyola (7-1 at ISU and 1-0 at Michigan). Beating Loyola has always been a prime focus at UIC, and Yaklich has seen firsthand the rise of Loyola from newcomer in the MVC to the Final Four. Not entirely coincidentally, the Flames and Ramblers just signed a four year home-and-home contract.
UIC was picked to finish 5th (among 12 teams) in this year's Horizon League Men's Basketball Preseason Poll. The Flames are 3-1 on the season, with wins over Northern Illinois (65-61), Central Michigan (74-72), and Valparaiso (66-50). Their one loss came last time out at Ball State, 68-66. What distinguishes this UIC team is defense. After four games, UIC ranks 19th in D1 in defensive effective FG%, and they're even more stingy on three point defense, ranking 5th nationally. After allowing Northern Illinois to shoot 30% (3 of 10) from behind the arc in their opener, they've allowed 11% from Central Michigan, 7% from Valpo, and 11% from Ball State.
Two transfer newcomers power the UIC starting lineup, and another transfer newcomer is the top player off the bench. Six-five junior guard RayQuawndis Mitchell transferred to UIC from Idaho and sat out last season, and leads the Flames in scoring at 14.0 per game. Mitchell has takes an average of 6.5 shots from behind the arc per game. He connects on 46% of his threes and 82% of his free throws, yet curiously he's only 3 of 13 on two point attempts.
Six-four junior point guard Teyvion Kirk, who played his first two seasons at Ohio before sitting out last season while waiting to transfer to Colorado State, averages 10.5 points per game while leading the team in assists (8.8 per game) and rebounds (7.5 rpg). Kirk is a high-energy point guard who plays like he's 5'11" and got a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, a little reminiscent of Bradley's Darrell Brown but more energy and a little less scoring. Kirk played prep ball at Joliet West, coming into that system just as Yaklich departed for ISU-- and bailed out of his transfer to Nico Medved's Colorado State when Yaklich was hired. Rounding out the starting lineup are 6'8" senior forward Michael Diggins (9.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg), 6'10 junior forward Braelen Bridges (13.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg), and 6'6" sophomore guard Brian Taylor (5.3 ppg).
Six foot six junior forward Zion Griffin-- a highly recruited football prospect from Hinsdale South-- transferred into UIC this year with a waiver from Iowa State; he averages 9.0 points and 3.5 boards per game. The other players of note are 6'5" senior guard Jaime Ahale (3.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, primarily an outside shooter) and 6'0" junior guard Maurice Commander from Curie HS who just transferred back to Chicago from Chattanooga.
Give some credit for UIC's great field goal and three point defense to their guards, each of whom is quick, 6'4" or taller, and blessed with a long wingspan. They are able to play a little further out past the three point line than other teams and close out quickly. According to KenPom.com, UIC ranks 33rd in average height, which is pretty impressive for a non-P6 school.
UIC goes eight players deep now that Commander has joined the lineup after missing the first three games. Mitchell and Griffin both shoot over 46% from behind the arc, and together they've taken almost half the team's three point shots. Taylor doesn't take a lot of shots, but shoots for high percentage anywhere on the floor. The two big men, Bridges and Diggins, each have a nice hook shot from 5-6 feet out. The team is one of the more vocal Covid-era teams I've seen, loudly cheering each other on at home games and dishing out a lot of positive enforcement.
The Ramblers have won seven straight against the Flames, eight of the last nine, and three straight at Credit Union 1 Arena. Loyola defeated Chicago State 88-51 on Wednesday afternoon behind 22 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks from Cameron Krutwig. Tate Hall added 15 points, and 12 (!!?!!) different Ramblers scored three points or more.
UIC has some qualities that sometimes tend to stymie the Ramblers. They are very physical, play with a lot of energy, and their defensive style is aggressive. They close out very hard on threes and like to make a few strong incidental contact touches. It's likely going to be a Bradley-like game, especially if the Flames can hold Loyola's outside shooters under 30%.
Loyola game notes: https://loyolaramblers.com/documents/20 ... _13_20.pdfUIC game notes: https://uicflames.com/documents/2020/12 ... Loyola.pdfTV/Streaming video: ESPN
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/ ... 22f73a98d3Internet audio feed: https://loyolaramblers.com/watch/?Live=42&type=LiveLive stats: https://uicflames.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summaryVegas odds: Loyola by 5
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