Missouri State Preview — 2-3-2018

Posted on February 2, 2018 | By: John C. Thomas | Leave a comment

Saturday, February 3, 2018 1:00 p.m.
Gentile Arena, Chicago, Ill.

As everyone even mildly interested in the MVC this season knows, Missouri State, with their exceptional talent, experience, and depth – especially in the frontcourt— was expected to win the conference title this season. Northern Iowa was voted a close second, behind the promise of their experienced coach, experienced starting lineup, and some newcomers bringing more athleticism to Cedar Falls. And Loyola was voted third, thanks to some admired returning talent and potential from a few good-looing newcomers. Prognosticators can gauge the coaching and the past performance of returning players, but they can never know for certain how team chemistry or a couple of game-changing bounces can go. And there are always injuries, mishaps, and unexpected circumstances.

Many people will blame an adverse reaction to a cryotherapy treatment for the Bears not coming close to their potential and expectations this season. A treatment session on Jan. 22 resulted in two players, 6’5” junior forward Reggie Scurry and 6’7” Abdul Fofana, getting blisters on the bottom of their feet. At first the players were said to be out day to day, but later it was admitted that recovery will take “weeks.” Fofana rarely plays significant minutes, but Scurry has made a significant difference as the first or second player off the bench, including 18 points and seven rebounds in Missouri State’s five-point win over the Ramblers in December. Scurry averages 8.9 points and 4.2 rebounds on the season.

In spite of Scurry’s bizarre injury, the Bears were not living up to potential before the cryotherapy session. At 5-3 in conference and 15-6 overall against a snoozer of non-con schedule, Missouri State showed flashes of dominating athletic talent meted out in undersized and infrequent doses. A lot of random Saturday afternoon YMCA pickup squads have more chemistry, and too often the team plays like there has been zero game planning. An early home loss to North Dakota State featured Alize Johnson getting 23 points and 20 rebounds, but the team—the entire team—had only one (1) assist.

After a mystifying loss at Oral Roberts (a team that was 2-9 at the time and coming off a loss to a non-D1 team), MSU briefly played some exceptional basketball—a decisive win over a very good Wright State team and three straight conference wins to start their MVC campaign. But malaise or complacency or indifference again swept over the team.

The three games since losing Scurry have just tacked on more dread to what has become a numb fog of season. The Bears have now lost four in a row, and six of their last eight. As their lackluster performances have increased, their rotation off the bench has tightened, even without Scurry. In their loss at home last Saturday against SIU, they got only 26 minutes from their bench as all five starters played 31 minutes or more. In Tuesday night’s home loss to Illinois State, the starting backcourt was 1-for-16 from the field for two points and three assists.

Sixth man and outside shooting specialist Ryan Kreklow has struggled mightily in the past four games, averaging 2.8 points while shooting 21.4% from the field. Kreklow, a junior guard, came into the season with a 39.6% mark in career field goal percentage (including 44.9% last season), but is averaging only 28.9% this season. Even Preseason Conference Player of the Year Alize Johnson has struggled; in two key road conference games last week at Drake and at Bradley, he combined for only nine points on 2 of 14 shooting from the field. Last time out against Illinois State, Johnson got his double-double– 12 points and 10 rebounds—but it came on 4 of 14 shooting. Johnson continues to shoot three pointers with team-leading frequency despite connecting at less than 28%. Even with one of the best frontcourts in the league, rebounding—once the definitive strength of the Bears—has eroded of late; three of MSU’s last four opponents have won the rebounding battle, and despite the recent slump, MSU still leads the league on the season with a +6.2 rebounding margin.

In Loyola’s last outing, the Ramblers ended their second 7-game winning streak of the year at Bradley when a furious comeback came up short with a botched last possession. Loyola has had seven 7-game winning streaks in the past 12 seasons, but hasn’t won eight in a row since 1984-85. Loyola still has a chance to get a third streak of seven wins or more in the 2017-18 season if they win out the regular season.

Saturday’s game at 1 p.m. is the kick-off to a big day at Loyola. The game will be a “White-Out” at Gentile Arena, with fans asked to wear white to show support for the team. The Ramblers have a chance to set a new high in conference wins with a victory, Coach Porter Moser has a chance to achieve a new career season high in MVC conference wins, and a win would reduce Loyola’s magic number to 6 to win the conference. And at 7 p.m., the #7 Loyola men’s volleyball team hosts #13 USC at in Gentile Arena.

Loyola game notes: http://www.loyolaramblers.com/documents … df?id=5831

Missouri State game notes: https://missouristate_ftp.sidearmsports … s%2025.pdf

TV/Streaming video: CBS Sports Network / http://www.cbssports.com/watch/cbssportsnetwork

Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=189602

Vegas odds: Loyola by 7

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Bradley Preview — 1-31-2018

Posted on January 30, 2018 | By: John C. Thomas | Leave a comment

Wednesday, January 31, 2018 7:00 p.m.
Carver Arena, Peoria, Ill.

Bradley is simply a different team at home than they are on the road. The Braves are 11-0 in the friendly confines of Carver Arena, and the only remaining MVC team that’s undefeated at home. The Braves average 71 points on offense at home, but only 64.6 on the road. That’s a significant difference, but the major difference between the “home” Bradley and the “road” Bradley is on defense—the Braves give up an average of 71.1 points to opponents on the road, but only 54.8 points on average at home. To illustrate the difference, on Jan. 6 Bradley was demolished at Evansville by a score of 68-44. Two weeks later at Carver Arena, the Braves beat the same team by a score of 66-53.

Bradley Braves

Loyola handled Bradley fairly easily in their first matchup of the season, winning 81-65 on Jan. 13 at Gentile Arena in Chicago. Cam Krutwig had a monster game, leading the Ramblers in points (21) and rebounds (13) for the first double-double of his career, and career highs in both categories.

After the Loyola game, Coach Brian Wardle removed 6’11” sophomore Koch Bar from the starting lineup and replaced him with 6’7” freshman forward Elijah Childs. The rest of the starters are the same: 5’10” sophomore point guard Darrell Brown, 6’4” junior guard Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye, 6’3” sophomore guard Jayden Hodgson, and 6’7” senior forward Donte Thomas. The new starters have won three of their last four games, including three in a row, and their first road conference game last time out.

Donte Thomas is the lone senior on the Bradley roster, and averages 10.3 points and a team-leading 6.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. He’s really picked up his game since playing Loyola, averaging 11.8 points and recording two double-doubles. Elijah Childs has thrived since joining the starting lineup; he went for 12 points and 12 boards against Missouri State last Wednesday, and now averages 8.5 points and 6.2 rebounds. The defense of Childs and Thomas helped to hold MSU’s Alize Johnson to only seven points and five rebounds in Bradley’s 72-52 win.

Darrell Brown is the sparkplug for Bradley; the 5’11” guard leads the team in minutes, field goal attempts, free throw attempts, assists, turnovers, and points per game (13.4). He is a dangerous three-point shooter (39.4%), and he adds some energy and emotion to a Bradley team that is often reserved. Joining him in the backcourt are Hodgson, a three-point threat who averages 4.7 points per game, and one of the original Wardle recruits Lautier-Ogunleye, a tenacious defender who averages 6.3 points and 4.9 rebounds.

Coming off the bench, Koch Bar is a good rim protector—he averages 5.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He contributes some blocks, but is prone to fouls. Six-six sophomore guard Nate Kinnell is from nearby Metamora, Ill., and leads the team in made threes while averaging 9.3 points per game. Kinnell was 7 for 9 behind the arc and had a game-high 25 points in Bradley’s last outing, an 81-73 win at Indiana State. Luuk van Bree, the 6’9” junior forward, adds 5.3 points and shoots 46.5% from behind the arc.

At 16-7 overall and 6-3 in conference with eight regular-season games to go, Bradley is on pace for their best season since at least 2008-09. Fans are starting to make their way back to Carver Arena, where Bradley leads the league in home attendance with an average of 5126 per game. There were 6285 at BU’s game against Evansville, the third largest home crowd in the league this year after the Illinois State home game against the nearby Braves and 6355 when UNI hosted #8 Xavier.

The Ramblers have also surged since they last faced the Braves. Loyola has won all four games since their meeting with Bradley, winning the last four games by an average of 19 points. Four different players have led the team in scoring in the last five games as Loyola’s win streak has stretched to seven—the longest conference winning streak for the Ramblers since 1984-85. Loyola’s 6’1” junior point guard Clayton Custer, the MVC’s reigning Player of the Week, has surged to the forefront of MVC Player of the Year conversation during that stretch.

With Loyola in first place and Bradley tied for second, expect the Peoria media to call erstwhile Bradley fans out to Carver Arena. The Braves and Ramblers have a long history, beginning in the 1927-28 season and including 58 contests over 91 seasons, with Bradley holding a 33-25 advantage. The Ramblers are 8-3 against the Braves since joining the MVC, and 3-1 at Carver Arena, including the last three trips to Peoria. On Nov. 27, 1982, Bradley beat Loyola 90-82 in the inaugural game in Carver Arena. Loyola freshman guard Lucas Williamson won a state title on that floor last March, and Donte Ingram was a junior on the 2013 Simeon state title won there.

Loyola game notes: http://www.loyolaramblers.com/documents … df?id=5827

Bradley game notes: Pending

TV/Streaming video: NBC Sports Chicago / http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3245467/ … basketball

Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/bradley/mbball/

Vegas odds: Pending

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UNI Preview — 1-28-2018

Posted on January 27, 2018 | By: John C. Thomas | Leave a comment

Sunday, January 28, 2018 3:00 p.m.
Gentile Arena, Chicago, Ill.

How things have changed since UNI and Loyola last met on Jan. 7. Three weeks ago, the Ramblers were reeling from a 1-2 start in conference play, and the Panthers were working on a five-game losing streak that included their first three conference games. The Ramblers haven’t lost since their 56-50 win that day, and the Panthers dropped to 0-5 in conference before recovering to win three of their last four. On Sunday, the second half of the conference season begins with the resurgent Panthers looking to stop the conference leaders in Chicago.

UNI Panthers

You had the feeling Coach Ben Jacobsen could find an answer to a seven-game losing streak, especially since many of the games in UNI’s 0-5 conference start were by close margins. UNI lost to Missouri State on the road by only seven points, they lost to Loyola at home by six, they lost to SIU by three points, and they lost at Indiana State by two.

As it turns out, the answer was to bench their best player– 6’10” preseason First Team senior big man Bennett Koch, and replace him with a freshman. In UNI’s game at Valpo, with both the Panthers and the Crusaders suffering an 0-5 conference start, Jacobsen inserted 6’9” freshman forward/center Austin Phyfe into the starting lineup. Phyfe responded with a 20-point game and UNI had their first conference win of the season.

The new UNI starting five consists of Phyfe and Klint Carlson in the frontcourt; guards Isaiah Brown, Tywhon Pickford, and Juwan McCloud are in the backcourt. Since being added to the starting lineup, Phyfe is averaging 8.0 points and 4.3 rebound playing about 16 minutes per game, but for some reason, having Bennett Koch coming off the bench provides a very different mindset for the team. Koch is still playing the majority of the time at the center/forward position, but without him as a commanding focal point of the offense and interior defense, rebounding has improved substantially, and the offense is more widely shared. Coming off the bench, Koch is not trying to do everything by himself. Klint Carlson, the 6’6” senior forward, provides some leadership next to Phyfe and averages 9.2 points and 5.6 rebounds.

Six-four freshman guard Tywhon Pickford has kept up his impressive play for UNI since the last meeting between these teams. He’s now averaging 10.6 points per game, and he’s still second in the league in rebounding at 8.6 per game. Isaiah Brown, a 6’7” sophomore guard, averages 7.4 points and is tied with Pickford for second on the team in made threes (28). Sophomore Juwan McCloud is 5’10” and averages 7.2 points per game as the Panthers’ quick playmaker; he leads UNI in assists and steals, but his low-percentage shooting is a major negative. Along with Koch, who has averaged 10.5 ppg since leaving the starting lineup, outside shooting specialists Spencer Haldeman and Wyatt Lohaus get significant time from the bench. Lohaus averages 9.4 points per game and Haldeman averages 6.8.

UNI has only played five true road games this season, but they’re 0-5 in those contests (at North Carolina, Bradley, Missouri State, Indiana State, and Southern Illinois). The game at Bradley was a blowout, but they lost by only two points at Indiana State and by only seven points at Missouri State. They’re 2-2 in neutral site games, but their two wins are against SMU and NC State, and their two losses are from Villanova and Iowa State. Loyola has won 3 of 4 games against UNI at Gentile Arena since joining the MVC, and overall, the Ramblers are 4-3 against UNI in Chicago.

This Sunday will be the first time since 1986-87 that Loyola has been in sole possession of first place in their conference with more than half the games played. Specifically, the last day was Saturday, February 21, 1987, when Evansville (led by top scorer Marty Simmons, now Evansville’s head coach) beat the Ramblers 86-83 in Chicago. Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” was the #1 song on Billboard’s Hot 100 that day. Phil Niekro (born 1939) was still playing in the majors, and Charlie Joiner (born in 1947) was still playing in the NFL. There have been five Presidential administrations since then, including three Presidents elected to two four-year terms. Gas was $1.07 a gallon. Harold Washington was Mayor of Chicago. “Moonlighting” was one of the top 10 TV shows, and the Fox television network did not yet exist. So it has been a while.

Loyola game notes: http://www.loyolaramblers.com/documents … df?id=5820

UNI game notes: http://unipanthers.com/documents/2018/1 … df?id=3721

TV/Streaming video: ESPNU / http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3245498/ … vs–loyola (must have ESPNU as part of your cable package, but you can watch the event on replay later)

Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=189601

Vegas odds: Loyola by 7.5

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