Saturday, January 21, 2017 3:00 p.m.
Gentile Arena, Chicago, Ill.
Last year, Evansville’s season ended in the Arch Madness title game on a shooter’s bounce at the buzzer. For the 25-9 Purple Aces and their two senior stars, D.J. Balentine and Egidijus Mockevicius, the contested shot just inside the top of the arc– that cursed shot that hit the back of the rim, bounced five feet straight up in the air while the buzzer sounded and slightly grazed the inside of the rim as it dropped through the basket– was the end of their season. With only one win against a team with an RPI better than 115, and only two wins against teams with an RPI better than 135, the Aces were also on the outside of the NIT bubble with an RPI of 92. It was also the last play in the college careers of Balentine and Mockevicius, who combined for 3968 points, 1635 rebounds, 515 assists, and 323 blocks in their four years together at Evansville.
Losing that level of talent and consistency has to be tough, but Coach Marty Simmons has adjusted by placing the focus on defense. Despite being pegged for 9th in the MVC preseason poll, the Aces have strung together a seven-game winning streak and notched wins over Boise State and Murray State. But as their new defensive approach has been scouted and studied by the opposition, its effectiveness has diminished. A win in their home conference opener over struggling UNI is their only W in conference.
The two definite starters are 6’0” senior guard Jaylon Brown and 6’6” sophomore guard Ryan Taylor. Brown leads the league in scoring with 21.2 points per game, and is the only Evansville player to start every game. Taylor is a transfer from Ohio University and not far behind Brown in playing time and scoring, averaging 15.8 per game—he’s started every game but one. Nobody else on the Aces’ roster averages more than 6.8 per game, and that player hasn’t scored more than four points in a game since early December. How reliant is the Purple Aces offense on Brown and Taylor? The two have combined to score 54.3% of all the points the team has scored this year. Balentine and Mockevicius, as excellent as they were, never topped 48.8% of their team’s points. The pair has 60 of Evansville’s 80 made three pointers on the season. Brown’s made free throws alone account for 9.3% of all the Evansville offense this season.
Only one time in 20 games this season has a player besides Brown and Taylor led or tied for the game lead in points, and that was Christian Benzon’s 17 points against UNI in Evansville’s only conference win. Benzon, a 6’4” senior guard from the Netherlands, averages 5.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He usually comes into the game off the bench, but he is third on the team in minutes and the only Ace besides Brown and Taylor to appear in every game this year.
The other players likely to see a start against Loyola are 6’8” senior forward David Howard, 6’3” junior guard Duane Gibson, and possibly 7’1” senior center Sergej Vucetic. Howard leads the team in blocks with 12 and rebounds with 4.8 per, and chips in 4.2 points per game. Gibson is a good defender who puts in 5.1 points and 3.5 rebounds on average while rivaling Jaylon Brown for the team lead in steals.
Bench contributors include 6’7” senior forward Willie Wiley (still recovering from a recent injury but averaging 6.8 points), 6’3” freshman guard Dru Smith, 6’6” junior forward Solomon Hainna, 6’2” guard Jaiveon Eaves, and 6’9” center Dalen Traore.
When Balentine and Mocevicius were lighting it up for Evansville, especially the past two seasons, they always had some supporting cast members to step up if either was caught in double teams. Often it would be Blake Simmons, the coach’s son, who would have been a big help in his senior season, if it weren’t for a season-ending knee injury in September. Another main contributor from last season, Mislav Brzoja, bailed on his final season of eligibility to go pro in Croatia.
Loyola is coming off a double-overtime loss to UNI, which may have taken some wind out of the team’s sails. It was an ugly game, a frustrating game, an infuriating game, and a tiring game. Double overtime road conference losses usually provoke some kind of reaction. Hopefully it will inspire a renewed determination to get to an above .500 record, which has eluded Loyola for nine seasons and counting. The windows of opportunity are closing, and after the UNI loss, it will take two consecutive wins to get back to positive territory. And if the Ramblers want to focus just on Evansville, they might want to remind themselves that Loyola is 1-5 against the Aces since joining the conference.
LINKS
- Ramblermania message board game thread
- Loyola game notes (PDF)
- Evansville game notes
- TV/Streaming video: CSN Chicago / ESPN3
- Radio: WLUW 88.7 FM (Get that WLUW app from Google Play or iTunes.)
- Vegas odds: Loyola by 8
