Wednesday, February 23, 2022 7:00 p.m.
Gentile Arena, Chicago, Illinois
It doesn't matter how good or bad the team is in any particular year, and it doesn't matter if the team is stocked with players who've set memorable records or those who just tried their best. Senior night always sneaks up on you, and it's especially sudden when you're in a tight race with a likely winner-take-all showdown game still to come. Senior Night has arrived-- suddenly, and bit solemnly-- as Evansville makes the trip to Rogers Park for a Wednesday night tipoff.
After 144 games played, 1251 points, 538 rebounds, and 213 made three-pointers over 5 seasons (all of them 20+ win seasons for the Ramblers), Lucas Williamson is about to step onto the Gentile Arena court for the last time. The Ramblers have compiled a 120-42 record over the five seasons since Williamson stepped on the Gentile Arena court as a freshman for the first time in an official D-I game on Nov. 10, 2017 against Wright State. His ignoble debut stat line: 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, and 2 fouls in 2 minutes played. The Ramblers had never finished above .500 in the MVC, and were picked to finish third in Williamson's freshman year. An NCAA Final Four, a Sweet 16, three regular season MVC titles, two conference tournament championships, and one NIT bid later, the Loyola men's basketball program is one of the most admired in college basketball.
Loyola's six other seniors each had a huge role and starring moments in their careers. Aher Uguak, who was sitting out a transfer year when the Ramblers went to the Final Four, has become one of the best defenders in the league and a potent threat on offense. Aher went for a career high 26 points against North Texas in 2020-21, helping vault the Ramblers into at large territory. Tate Hall has played numerous roles for the Ramblers: the team's second leading scorer in 2019-20, a three-point assassin in his sophomore and senior seasons, coming off the bench or starting when needed, improving his defense and free throw shooting each season, and making some enormous plays in crunch time. Keith Clemons has battled hard against injuries in his career, but still managed to collect 530 points, nearly 100 made threes and over 100 assists. Chris Knight and Ryan Schwieger are newcomers to Loyola in their senior seasons of eligibility, but they have combined for 457 points, 181 rebounds, and one or the other Ivy League transfer has led the team in scoring or rebounding 15 times this year. Fan favorite Will Alcock is about to top his most minutes in a season after already exceeding all has prior year numbers-- all while pulling off the popular Bears. Blers. Belgium. podcast.
As for the game itself, the Aces are suffering through one of their worst seasons in memory. If the season ended today, they would have their worst KenPom ranking (310) since the metric was created. Even when the Aces fired Walter McCarty before a disastrous 0-18 conference season in 2019-20, Evansville managed to win nine games (including the upset at Kentucky) and finish with a KenPom at 289.
Coach Todd Lickliter is trying to build a defense- and fundamentals-first team using the philosophy he helped instill at Butler. In fact, two of his former Butler players, Thomas Jackson and Brandon Crone, are assistants at UE. But it hasn't been an easy year for UE-- only six wins (one of them against D-III DePauw), and their two conference wins coming in splits of home/road back-to-backs.
The Aces are likely to start 5'10" senior guard Shamar Givance, 6'3" senior guard Jawaun Newton, 6'4" senior guard Noah Frederking, 6'8" freshman Blake Sisley, and 6'8" senior forward Evan Kuhlman. Givance and Newton are a really dynamic pair in the backcourt, averaging 14.0 and 13.3 points respectively. They communicate and complement each other very well, using speed and energy to give opponents fits on both ends of the court. At 6'3", Newton pulls down a team-leading 5.6 rebounds per game and an impressive 1.6 offensive rebounds per game. Yet another senior, Frederking, chips in 6.7 points and ranks tied for second on the team in steals. Kuhlman averages 6.9 points per game, can make some nifty passes in the paint, and is tied for the team lead in blocks, but he doesn't do much on the boards.
Six-three sophomore guard Blaise Beauchamp averages 7.9 ppg as the top player off the bench, 6'8" freshman forward Preston Phillips averages 2.6 points and 4.3 boards, 6'2" junior guard Emette Page gives Givance and Newton a few minutes rest, and 6'7" junior forward Antione Smith Jr. adds 4.8 points per contest. Lately, Coach Lickliter has been playing only 7-9 players in a game depending on game situations and who is healthy. Only two Aces have played in all 27 games this season, and only five have played in 25 or more.
Loyola is coming off a 9-point road win, but the game was not very reassuring for Rambler fans. The 59-50 win at Illinois State featured way too many unforced turnovers, low shooting percentages, and some air balls on open shots-- symptoms that might be associated with accumulated fatigue. It's probably what you'd expect when a team is playing a stretch of five games in 11 days.
Wednesday's game against Evansville will be the third game in 100 hours by the time it's over. Hopefully the Ramblers starters can accumulate a huge lead early so they can play fewer minutes leading up to the season finale at UNI that will likely determine the regular season title. Take care of business on Senior Night, but don't overlook Evansville, who last year upset Missouri State on the final day of the season. The Purple Aces lead the all-time series 28-26.
Loyola game notes: https://loyolaramblers.com/documents/20 ... _23_22.pdf Evansville game notes: https://gopurpleaces.com/documents/2022 ... f?id=10196TV/Streaming video: NBC Sports Chicago, ESPN+
https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=fe ... cago-US-EN Radio/Streaming audio: https://loyolaramblers.com/watch/?Live=109&type=Live Live stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=369452 Vegas odds: Loyola by 21
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
