Loyola Ramblers Preview – TBD

Saint Louis Stats and Intel - https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/sc ... /2025.html

Record: 14-11 (7-5, 3rd in A-10 MBB)
Coach: Josh Schertz
PS/G: 73.6 (206th of 364)
PA/G: 69.7 (119th of 364)
SRS: 3.36 (113th of 364)
SOS: 2.27 (102nd of 364)
ORtg: 106.6 (202nd of 364)
DRtg: 101.0 (107th of 364)


Saint Louis Billikens (14-11, 7-5) at Loyola Chicago Ramblers (15-9, 6-5) – 6:00pm CST Gentile Arena, Chicago, IL.

The Ramblers aim to extend a four-game home winning streak before a near-capacity crowd when they host the Saint Louis Billikens for an ESPN2 A-10 Friday night showcase game. This matchup and nationally televised broadcast are big time for Loyola, who today is tied for fifth in the standings while SLU is in a two-way tie for third with Dayton. A half-game separates us between our two archrivals. A victory Friday bumps us into third, for now, and getting us closer to the highly coveted A10 tournament double-bye.

Loyola and SLU met twice last season with the Ramblers winning both games. Saint Louis comes into town off an upsetting loss in overtime against George Mason, going down 76-74 as 1.5-point home favorites. Robbie Avila had a strong game with 27 points (11-18 FG, 5-10 3Pt, 0-2 FT), nine rebounds, two assists, one block and two steals over 42 minutes.

Loyola is coming off a perplexing road win over Richmond, winning 87-80 and covering as 4.5-point favorites. The Ramblers played into Richmond’s game plan of accepting open invitations to jack up threes – daring us to take them (18 for 44 from 3pt). When things were going in, we had multiple leads of 12 and 15 points. When things went cold, those leads evaporated which then led to overtime. The Ramblers erupted for 22 points in the extra frame against Richmond with 12 points (4-4 threes) from Sheldon Edwards Jr. in the five-minute stretch to propel the ‘Blers to W. Edwards Jr. finished with 21, while Jayden Dawson led all-scorers with a season-best 24. The duo combined for 13 made threes.

The Saint Louis Billikens have taken a recent slide in the Atlantic-10 standings, as they have lost three of their last four games. Two of the losses came at home against Dayton and George Mason and lost on the road against Saint Joseph's. Their lone win in the stretch was against UMass on the road.

Meanwhile, the Ramblers are slowly climbing up the A-10 standings and have won three of their last four coming into this important matchup with Saint Louis.

We are familiar with SLU and have several relationships with the current roster and their staff, which enhances an already fantastic matchup. Two days after falling in the NIT championship game with Indiana State, SLU welcomed new head coach Josh Schertz, who took over a team that was 5-13 in the A-10 and 13-20 overall in 2023-24. With him from Indiana State he brought standout center Robbie Avila and starting point guard Isaiah Swope. Coach Drew Valentine is friends with Coach Schertz. At one point, Avila was nearly a Loyola recruit but in 2022 could not be guaranteed immediate playing time with a clog of centers on the roster and the incoming (1 year later) Miles Rubin. Additionally, it was recently revealed that Swope was targeted by our staff in the transfer portal, but to no avail.

Between Rubin’s defense and Avila’s size and scoring abilities, this will be a juicy matchup of bigs to pay closely attention to – and is one of Rubin’s biggest tests to date.

The Saint Louis lineup features a definite big three - each of whom needs to be contained during this game for a chance of victory. SIX YEAR SENIOR Gibson Jimerson leads the Billikens in scoring (fifth in the A-10) at 17.0 ppg. A high-volume shooter who attempts over 8 three pointers per game, Jimerson is third all-time in scoring in A-10 history with a SLU school-record 2,251 career points and ranks eighth among active NCAA Division I players in career points. The last three years, we’ve seemed to shut him down nicely and limit his scoring from deep. Robbie Avila, whose game is centered around the high post where the SLU offense flows through, averages 16.2 ppg (sixth in A-10) and leads all D1 centers in assists (4.0) and 3s made per game (1.6). Avila has very good passing and handling skills as a 6'10, 240-pound junior, and can shoot from the outside where he has made 36 threes on the year. Senior PG Isaiah Swope paces the Billikens in assists (4.7 per game), and averages 16.3 points. Like Jimerson, Swope also launches nearly 9 three pointers per game but at a low FG % from deep and overall. Where the SLU matchup could get more interesting and challenging is with handling 6-8 starting forward, Kalu Anya, who leads SLU in rebounding (9 per game at 6 and a half defensively), and contributes 7.7 points and 2.5 assists.

Saint Louis is currently ranked 117th overall according to KenPom. They are 134th in offensive efficiency and 125th in defensive efficiency. They play at an average pace, ranking 183rd out of 364 Division I teams in pace of play.

Friday night is a massive test. If the Ramblers play tough menacing team defense like we saw the four games prior to this week’s road trip and do the additional things needed such as eliminating SLU’s offense running through Avila, protect the perimeter, shut down SLU’s big three, and play mistake free ball, the game is LUC’s. Importantly, we have more momentum coming into this matchup, winning three of our last four, while the Billikens have lost three of their last four. Two teams who are trending in opposite directions. Furthermore, the Ramblers are strong at home this season (12-1) where they have won their last four league games.

SLU Probable Starters – 6-8 F Kalu Anya, 6-10 C Robbie Avila, 6-5 G Gibson Jimerson, 6-3 G Kobe Johnson, 5-10 G Isaiah Swope.

Loyola Probable Starters – Watson, Dawson, Edwards Jr., Houinsou, Rubin


LAST 10 GAMES FOR BOTH SQUADS

Billikens – 5-5, averaging 67.4 points, 31.4 rebounds, 13.0 assists, 6.3 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.7 points.

Ramblers - 6-4, averaging 69.9 points, 30.6 rebounds, 14.7 assists, 6.0 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.2 points per game.


Watch / Listen – Friday night’s game is nationally televised on ESPN2 with Mike Corey and Dalen Cuff on the call, and can be listened to Rambler Sports Network with our friends Sudikoff and CT.

Postgame Show - Tune in to Sudikoff on RSN, followed by TalkinBlers Spaces on the X: https://x.com/blerstalking?s=21


Odds: Loyola -2.5

so how center vs center plays out tonight will be a big factor I believe. Avila likes to get up high and can hit the 3 and also fake it and go to the hoop....kinda multi dimensional. I always like believe that if Cam Krutwig had put his mind to it he could have been a decent 3 point shooter...anyone remember the corner 3 he hit at the end of the UNI game?

Great win! Limited the turnovers to just 7. Dawson was on fire. Sheldon hit som massive 3's, including those two from the corner when we surged ahead by 8 points with around 2 min left.

Also loved the resilient effort. We fell behind a couple times by 4, 6, 8 points. And we continually fought back.

Huge win for seeding too. Good stuff all around. Can enjoy a stress-free weekend now.

Edit: Forgot to mention, a big time double-double from Miles with 10 points and 11 boards. He also had 6 assists and 4 blocks (including a few massive ones down the stretch). Needed that effort because Deloach was, once again, a non-factor.

This was a good game.
We took care of the ball and capped out at 14 fouls, not bad.

Miles was a blocking machine tonight. 4 blocks but it seemed like 10. Miles recouped and made his free throws at the end of the game as the team finished at 76%.

I think Sheldon just keeps getting better. And he is running and dribbling unlike prior years. Authority.

Much talk on this board about us throwing up threes. With the team finishing at 50% on threes, tonight it worked.

Thought SLU had zero issues with fouling us late for easy dunks or layups, assuming we would falter at the line. But if so, it backfired tonight.

Valentines Day, so maybe many of the students didn't make it but there were enough and the crowd was loud when needed. Even with all of the SLU fans in attendance.

Looks like were tied now with Dayton for third place in the A10.

Miles Rubin was a monster tonight. My first time watching Avila live, and, honestly, he seemed like a statue with not much stamina. If you left him open to shoot a 3, or let a guy cut where he could pass, it was a problem, but he wasn’t what I was expecting based on the hype. Jimerson hurt us a lot more…you can’t leave that kid even an inch of space to move.

Overall, just a fun night and another glimpse of what these kids can do. SLU’s best player’s went off, and we still found a way to respond.

Stat of the Game: 7 Turnovers.

Imagine what this team could have been and could be if we took better care of the basketball.

I have no issue with the shooting of the 3's. We don't have a Cam, Chris, or Dame in the low box. Also, last few games Jayden and Sheldon starting to get into great rhythm and Des has been better as well. We, like just about every team, need to make 3s to win. It's very difficult to win shooting only 2s.

I haven't been able to watch every game, but Miles looks like he is becoming more aggressive on offense. Am I right?

Truly an elite game and one of the best wins of the year. We did not dominate other than after the U4 timeout when we went on the 14-4 run to end the game, but as we’ve shown if we play ourselves into these tight, close, lower scoring games that feature numerous lead changes we do know how to win these games. At half being down only 2, and midway thru second half never letting the deficit exceed 6/7 gave us a chance.

I was greatly looking forward to the Miles and Robbie matchup. Avila appears to have mobility/weight issues but was still a factor for SLU. I didn’t like the 7 or 8 assists he had and the several nice passes in the first half Avila beat us with but in the second half Miles shut him down. And the offense flowed thru Miles - 6 assists there too. Refs did a poor job of cracking down on Avila’s foot shuffling. Obvious travels. Really nice game Miles. Was a rebounding machine. If he could finish those 4-5 baby hook attempts he tried on Avila then we’re looking at a potential 20-point game last night.

On the twitters there’s been some recent discussion about the lack of player development. Bla bla bla. Jayden Dawson is the best case study that ends that topic. We’ve got a stud guard here now in his junior year who has exploded for multiple 20+ point games this winter, has scored 50 the last 2 games, and who’s found his form in the most important league games. We saw great minutes his freshman year before arm injury. Last year he took the leap becoming starter and contributing some good ballgames before and after the leg injury. This year there’s been an even larger leap, doubling his scoring numbers from sophomore year. Big time scorer. Dawson now leads us in scoring at over 13ppg. Wow last night was something. 6-9 from three, but his attacking of the rim and explosiveness is something to watch.

Teddy Valentine has officiated some real brutal games with us. Last night was his better one with us. Drew and Teddy seem to have a pretty good relationship. Meanwhile the tall bald guy who called the phantom tech on Des was awful. Seemed like when bald guy made very bad choices, Teddy maybe kind of bailed us out.

What I will remember most from this game is when all hell broke loose after the U4 timeout. Sheldon’s corner threes right in front of the bench and my corner and Houinsou’s dunk. That was as impressive and dominating as I’ve ever seen to win over a game.

Stating the obvious here, but I really, really hope everyone comes back next year. It’s a big wish these days, but man we could be special. Because of the couple of seniors who are major contributors, it’s easy to overlook just how young this team is overall. Imagine everyone coming back who can, then add in a consensus top 100 recruit….man. A boy can dream.

That's no kid!

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