Game 2 Preview – University Of Illinois Chicago (UIC)
Intro/History Between Teams:
This series has history dating back to the 1986 season but in recent years Loyola has seen a winning streak starting back in 2013 vs UIC. UIC though actually holds the all time lead so lets not joke about this UIC team. Each year is a battle with them but over the last nine outings we have found to get an average win of +11. So lets hope Loyola can keep with the trends and find a way to win across town.
Main Storyline For This Game:
It’s a tale as old as time, UIC vs Loyola intracity rivalry that we are happy to see keep getting renewed each year. Being able to have a solid in the same city is so beneficial to the program. Big questions for tonight are can the squad find a way to separate themselves from their opponent? Find ways to get to the basket, when threes are not falling. Last time out against UIC, we struggled in the first half but opened up to win by 17 points. So hopefully we won’t have to call on Sheldon Edwards for a buzzer-beating shot to send us to overtime, something Donte Ingram had to do back in 2016. Mainly we hope for a quick and smooth start, slow the ball down and find the open man. We are known for controlling the ball tempo and I think after a sloppy turnover game this past Monday, we could use a different pace. 2nd game of the year lots of questions still, and plenty of opportunities to answer them.
Hot or Not and Whom to Watch:
Hot: TOM WELCH!! Yes indeed, the man had a career game going for a double-double in the home opener against Fairleigh Dickinson. Welch collected 15 rebounds and went for 15 points, even adding in 2 blocks for a very complete box score. As well, one of the most important stats was Tom’s goalie inspired assist to Sheldon for the buzzer beater bucket. A big outing for Welch, hopefully something we can see consistently but who knows, that was game 1 and a lot more season to come.
Not: Shooting and Turnovers. Coming off a very back and forth home opener on Monday Drew and the crew need to find their magic from behind the arc. The Ramblers had 46% FG but 22% from 3PT just is not formula for them. The hope is that more ball movement can lead to an emphasis on driving which could open up the floor more for wide open shots. Naturally, first game jitters might have been a factor in the ball movement leading to 18 turnovers, so a slower pace could keep the turnovers down.
Game Info
- Friday,…
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