Eastern Illinois Preview

Saturday, November 11, 2023 7:00 p.m.
Gentile Arena, Chicago, Ill.

Loyola faces the Eastern Illinois Panthers at Gentile Arena for the 2023-24 home opener on Saturday night. The Ramblers will be seeking to get into the win column after Wednesday night’s 75-62 loss to #10 Florida Atlantic. EIU comes into the contest at 1-1, with an 80-52 loss at Illinois to open the season and a lop-sided 91-45 home win over Division III Monmouth (IL) on Wednesday night.

Former Evansville Coach Marty Simmons is in his third year at Eastern Illinois, and appears to be building a program in a similar style to his recruiting at Evansville. The Panthers were picked last in the OVC preseason poll after going 5-13 in the conference last year, but the team has a whole new look this season. There are five Chicago-area products on the roster, two 6’8″ foreign players (remember Coach Simmons’ success developing Lithuanian center Egidijus Mockevicius? and others), a couple of freshmen, and transfers from several D1 and juco programs.

The Panthers are likely to start 6’7″ sophomore forward Kooper Jacobi, 5’10” senior guard Jordan Booker, 6’10” forward Jermaine Hamlin, 6’5″ junior guard Dan Luers, and 6’8″ sophomore forward Sincere Malone. Jacobi is a very active redshirt sophomore transfer from Toledo who had a double-double against Illinois on Monday and dropped in 16 points against Monmouth on Wednesday. He did not play at all last season as a redshirt at Toledo.

Booker is a transfer point guard from Tarleton State who is originally from Chicago Bogan; he averaged 6.6 ppg last year at Tarleton and is a great free throw shooter at 85%. Malone is a Simeon product who averaged 6.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 1.4 assists last year as a freshman part-time starter. Luers hails from Lebanon, Ohio and is one of those guys who might be a better shooter from outside the arc than inside. Hamlin is the Illinois transfer originally from Lincoln, Ill. who played mop-up minutes in 24 games as a freshman and sophomore at Illinois before transferring to EIU. Hamlin is not a great shooter, but he’s a big body that can rebound and block some shots.

Coming off the bench are Nakyel Shelton, a 6’3” juco transfer guard out of Chicago Schurz; 6’4” junior guard Corey Sawyer, Jr.; Jaylin Gibson, a 6’3” guard from Evanston who played two years at Mount St. Mary’s; and Kyndall Davis is a 6’5” junior guard out of Chicago Bogan who started his career at Long Island. Freshman guard Isaiah Griffin might also get a few minutes.

Only five players on the 15-man roster return from last year, and only three of them (Malone, Luers and Hamlin) appeared in more than 10 games, so this is a very different team from last season. Jacobi and Booker have already developed some leadership on the court. Expect a good showing of EIU fans to attend, between local family members of the team and area alumni.

Loyola will be looking to find some rhythm and rotations against a team that isn’t nearly as imposing, experienced or unrelenting as FAU. Many of the slightly-fumbled, just-a-little-bit off passes went for points off turnovers against FAU, and Loyola’s younger players sometimes looked reluctant to even try a shot as FAU’s 7’1” center did a lot of work over the off-season. Returning to home and facing a team that is also trying to establish familiarity might be just what the Ramblers need to work out some bugs and establish a better game flow.

#10 Florida Atlantic Preview

Wednesday, November 8, 2023 6:00 p.m.

Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Ill.

Loyola opens the 2023-24 season on Wednesday night at Wintrust Arena in a neutral site battle with #10 Florida Atlantic in the 2nd Annual Barstool Invitational.  The Ramblers are riding an 11-game season opener win streak, dating back to a loss on 11-11-11 at Illinois, Porter Moser’s first game as Loyola’s head coach.

Florida Atlantic made the most of their second NCAA Tournament appearance in school history last year by going all the way to the Final Four– and coming just two points from the title game.  After bringing nearly everyone back from their 2022-23 team and moving from C-USA to the American Athletic Conference, they’re ranked #10 in the first AP Poll of 2023-24.

The rise of the Owls tracks somewhat similar to Loyola’s resurgence over the past decade-plus.  FAU Coach Dusty May was hired during Loyola’s Final Four run– in fact, his hiring was announced on the same day Loyola faced Nevada to reach the Elite Eight.  And May was on the opposing sidelines as a top assistant as the Ramblers got their signature out of conference win at Florida in that Final Four season.  Entering his sixth season guiding the Owls,  May has compiled a 101-60 record.  May was a student manager at Indiana under Bob Knight before assistant coaching gigs at Louisiana Tech and Florida.

FAU is picked to finish first in the American Athletic Conference in their preseason poll, and they’re also picked to finish 1st in the AAC by The Almanac.  KenPom ranks them at 37,  Bart Torvik at 19 , and Haslametrics at  46.

The FAU starting lineup is made up of four speedy guards and a 7’1″ center.  The guards are 6’2″ junior Alijah Martin, 6’4″ junior Johnell Davis, 6’0″ senior Bryan Greenlee, and 6’3″ sophomore Nick Boyd.  Davis and Martin led the team in scoring last season with 13.8 and 13.4 ppg respectively.  All four guards can pass well– they all average between 1.3 and 2.4 assists per game– and they all hit the three better than 36%.  Davis, Martin and Boyd are exceptional rebounders as well, averaging 5.4, 5.3, and 4.3 rebounds per game– pretty amazing for players that size.  FAU was 9th in the nation in defensive rebounding and 18th in total rebounds thanks to their quick guards.

Vlad Goldin is the big man, a gangly 7’1″ center with a surprisingly quick first step.  Last season he averaged 10.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, but having a 7-footer looming around the rim is more important than just the numbers he puts up.   Goldin shot 62.5% from the field and led the team in blocks with 1.2 per game. 

Coming off the bench are 6’4” senior guard Brandon Witherspoon, 6’3” senior guard Jalen Gaffney, and 6’8” junior forward Giancarlo Rosado.  The only significant player the Owls lost from last season is backup guard Michael Forrest, the team’s fourth-leading scorer who averaged 8.2 ppg off the bench.  Presumably, FAU will run similar rotations and combinations while mixing in some minutes for two freshmen:   Devin Vanterpool and Jakel Powell.

Loyola also has something to prove this season after an embarrassing introduction to the A-10.  The Ramblers’ newcomers—transfers Greg Dolan, Patrick Mwamba, Des Watson, and Dame Adelekun, plus freshman Miles Rubin—are highly touted and fill needs exposed in last season’s campaign. Sophomore guards Jalen Quinn and Jayden Dawson are primed for emergence, and will give senior playmaker Braden Norris some cover.  Fifth-year senior forward Tom Welch and senior forward Philip Alston have obviously spent serious time in the weight room in the off season.    

One thing is for certain: no one will be underestimating FAU this year, coming off a Final Four, ranked in the top 10 to start the season, and playing in the AAC rather than C-USA.  The Owls will get everyone’s best shot and have a lot of quality game tape to review, just like the Ramblers got in 2018-19. 

Want to discuss the game? Visit the Ramblermania Message Board.

Loyola game notes:  https://loyolaramblers.com/documents/2023/11/6/2023-24_MBB_Notes_-_FAU.pdf

Florida Atlantic game notes: https://fausports.com/news/2023/11/7/no-10-owls-begin-the-season-in-barstool-sports-invitational.aspx

TV/Streaming video:   Barstool.tv

Radio/Streaming audio: https://loyolaramblers.com/watch/?Live=150&type=Live

Live stats: https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/central.php?tid=993

Vegas odds: Pending

Ramblermania A-10 Preseason Predictions

Hey, guys and gals!  It’s time for Ramblermania’s 2023-24 A-10 pre-season preview and predictions.  It’s a lively mixture of gut feelings, hot takes, contrarianism and conventional wisdom served up with a side of cynicism and giddy insecurities.  Don’t let the jazz hands and the laser light show distract you, this is practically scientific….. ish….

1. Dayton

Dayton has the best individual player in the league and two more who rank in the top 12.  Anthony Grant will want to make up for last season’s mystifying underperformance.

2. Duquesne

I think Duquesne has a lot of momentum after last year’s huge improvement, and the talent and attitude appears to be really positive with this group.  They throttled Loyola and beat VCU, but lost to Fordham (twice), Davidson, and UMass.

3. St. Bonaventure

Seems like some great pieces have been put together, and Mark Schmidt knows how to conjure wins in this league.  The incoming transfers are really impressive, and they kept the best performers from last year’s 8-10 team.

4. VCU

New coach and almost an entirely new team with (perhaps?) a whole new philosophy.  There’s a lot of talent here, and the coach is top notch.  But I feel like there will be a rough patch or two in adjusting to the league.

5. St. Joseph’s

Billy Lange needs to break through with an experienced team in his fifth year.  Greer and Reynolds make an explosive backcourt, and the big men have another year of experience.

6. Loyola

The surest thing in the A-10 this year is Loyola will be considerably better than last year.  Really good transfers based on specific needs in a new conference, knowing the ropes a bit, a helpful schedule, and a demonstrably better attitude on the sidelines will make for probably 20-22 wins.  If things click well and go better than that, top three is in reach.

7. George Mason

Tony Skinn is a new coach with almost a totally new team, but his defensive schemes in the televised exhibition with Kentucky really impressed me.  He’s recruited a lot of players with skills and physicality fit for how this league plays.  Could be a big surprise team, and I’m betting they do.

8. Saint Louis

Just gonna say it:  I’ve never been particularly impressed by Travis Ford as a coach.  Saint Louis has so many resources and advantages— in seven seasons there, Ford has never done better than 12-6 in conference, has only 1 tournament appearance from an unexpected miracle conference tourney, and appears to be back at the drawing board after plowing through some program record-setting talent.

9. Fordham

Their best A-10 season (last year) was boosted by the weakest conference schedule in the league and the weakest non-con schedule of any team in all of college basketball.  Despite winning 25 games, they still didn’t get an NIT invite with a 137 KenPom—thanks to their abysmal schedule strength that helped drag the whole conference down.

10, UMass

I feel like Frank Martin is about to start getting some traction in his second year at UMass.  Can an old-school coach with strict discipline and high expectations succeed in the era of a transfer portal and NIL?  Got to root for his efforts, at least.

11. Richmond

Many people have Richmond higher, just based on Chris Mooney’s experience, likeability, and recent health challenges.  But I think they lost a whole lot to graduation and transfer.  Still rooting for Coach Mooney as an honorable guy.

12. Davidson

The Wildcats lost Foster Loyer and Sam Mennenga, two stellar individual players, plus starter Des Watson.  Even with those three, Davidson finished two games below .500 in conference.  It’s a rebuilding year at Davidson.

13. Rhode Island

Archie Miller got a late start on building his first-year team, and it showed in the standings.  This season he’s done another complete re-build with a little more prep time.

14. George Washington

GW had their third-best season in a decade last year, thanks to several seniors who have departed.  James Bishop and Maximus Edwards are good (and exciting) players, but the defense is going to struggle.

15. La Salle

The Explorers’ entire frontcourt and their best three-point shooter departed after last year’s 12-place finish, replaced by two freshmen and a juco.  There is only one player on the roster with D-1 experience over 6’5”.

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