Ramblermania

Saturday, January 28, 2017 1:00 p.m.
Hulman Center, Terre Haute, Ind.

Indiana State is probably the best team in the country to go 1-8 to start off their conference season. The Sycamores were picked to finish sixth in the MVC Preseason Poll, with three returning starters from last year. In early December, they upset #15 Butler 72-71 at the Hulman Center. The win over the Big East co-leader came just two weeks after a two-point loss to #21 Iowa State and a three-point loss to Stanford. The Sycamores also won on the road at Mid-American West co-leader Ball State, and at Utah State.

And yet, Indiana State is tied for last in the league at 1-8. Four of ISU’s MVC losses have come in overtime or by five points or less, including their last game at the MVC front-runner, Illinois State. The Sycamores led for most of the second half of their 71-66 loss at Illinois State and were tied with less than a minute to play. And through the first nine games of the conference season, ISUb has already played both of its home and road games against three of the top four teams from the conference preseason poll. So this is a dangerous team, most likely angry and seeking retribution after their dismal first half performance in conference play.

The Trees are led in scoring by super-quick 6’1” junior guard Brenton Scott, a 2nd team MVC performer last season, who averages 17.0 points per game—second in the league. Although he puts up gaudy numbers, he usually takes a lot of shots to get there. Scott leads the MVC in three point attempts by a wide margin and also leads the league in total field goal attempts. He’s taken just about 25% of his team’s total field goal attempts on the season, and both his two-point and three-point field goal percentage is down from last year. Joining Scott in the backcourt is another 6’1” guard Everett Clemons. Both Scott and Clemons are listed at 6’1”, yet they each average 5.6 rebounds per game, leading their team and ranking 12th and 13th respectively in the league. Clemons scores an average of 9.4 points per game, leads the team with 38 steals and 5.1 assists per game, and rarely shoots from three-point territory.

In the frontcourt are 6’6” senior forward Matt Van Scyoc, 6’9” senior forward Niels Bunschoten, and 6’8” center T.J. Bell. Bunschoten and Bell started against Illinois State, but sometimes the Sycs will start 6’4” sophomore guard Laquarious Page and 6’7” center Brandon Murphy. Van Scyoc leads the league in made threes with 50, ranks second on the team in points per game at 9.7, and doesn’t take many shots from inside the arc. Bell quit the team after ten games, and then asked to be—and was– reinstated two weeks ago; he averages 6.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Bunschoten averages 5.2 points, but is one of those 6’9” guys that prefers to shoot from distance—he takes more than half his shots behind the arc and only averages 1.3 rebounds per game. Murphy leads the team in blocks (15), and averages 4.6 points and 4.0 rebounds. Page has improved since his freshman season and averages 5.6 points and 2.2 boards.

Coming off the bench are 5’11” freshman Jordan Barnes (6.7 points, 2.7 rebounds), 6’5” sophomore guard Donovan Franklin, 6’9” sophomore forward Emondre Rickman (15 blocks), and 6’8” freshman forward Bronson Kessinger.

Loyola is 9-14 all-time against the Sycamores, but the Hulman Center has been a tough venue for the Ramblers, losing their last four in the building. Loyola’s last win in Terre Haute was in 1995, and their first loss there was in February 1924, the longest running rivalry with a current MVC team.

LINKS

• Loyola game notes (PDF)
• Indiana State game notes: Pending
• TV/Streaming video: ESPN3
• Vegas odds: Pending

Wednesday, January 25, 2017, 7:00 p.m.
Gentile Arena, Chicago, Ill.

Since Loyola and Bradley last met 18 days ago at Carver Arena, both teams have run into the mire of the MVC season. The Braves started the conference campaign with a somewhat unexpected 3-2 record after beating Southern Illinois, Evansville, and Northern Iowa. Injury, improved scouting, and a rough patch of the schedule have conspired to saddle the Braves with a three-game losing streak and more realistic expectations coming into their game at Loyola. The Ramblers have been treading water since their trip to Peoria, with a 2-2 record in some close games. A double overtime loss at Northern Iowa was especially frustrating, and last weekend’s game against Evansville was more stressful than a home game against an under .500 team should be.

The middle of the conference schedule is a place where a lot of teams start to show what they’re really made of, for both good and ill. Sometimes fatigue sets in. Sometimes weaknesses begin to get exposed or strengths are met with new counteractions. Last year around this time, a Northern Iowa team that started 2-6 in conference went on to win 13 out of their next 14 games. Also last year about this time, an 18-3 Southern Illinois team which was cruising through the conference at 7-1 started a four game losing streak and lost six of their next nine. SIU finished the year with a quarterfinal loss and a 22-10 record.

But for the time being, on Wednesday night, Loyola should be favored to beat Bradley handily. The Ramblers beat the Braves easily on Jan. 7 in Peoria, racing out to a 44-31 halftime lead and beginning the second half on a 10-0 run. Most of the damage was done by Milton Doyle, who scored a career high 35 points to go with a career high 11 rebounds. Doyle’s biggest moment in his freshman year was the buzzer-beating game against Bradley at Arch Madness, and since that shot the Ramblers have won 6 of 7 games from Bradley.

Since the last game against Loyola, junior Donte Thomas has been playing extremely well, upping his rebound and scoring averages considerably. Darrell Brown continues to make a case for Freshman of the Year with a team leading 12.3 ppg, and fellow freshman Koch Bar is still a force in the paint but tailing off a bit on the boards. Luuk van Bree had a 20-point game vs. Northern Iowa. Nate Kennell played well against Loyola, scoring 17 points, but has not seen nearly as much game time in the past few outings. Antoine Pittman is regarded as Bradley’s best defender, and he is back from his ankle injury which caused him to miss the last game against the Ramblers. Pittman will most likely be assigned to Milton Doyle, who will enter the game 23 points away from passing Les Hunter for 12th on Loyola’s all-time scoring list.

LINKS

• Ramblermania discussion
• Loyola game notes (PDF)
• Bradley game notes: Pending
• TV/Streaming video: CSN Chicago / ESPN3
• Radio: WLUW 88.7 FM (Get that WLUW app from Google Play or iTunes.)
• Vegas odds: Pending

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