65 College Basketball Teams In 65 Days: Loyola Chicago Ramblers
This is a little something I like to call preview season, which by my watch starts on September 1. From that date until the start of the season we have 65 days. In those 65 days I’ll give a team preview each day. There’s going to be no rhyme or reason for the order we go in these 65 days. It will just be 65 teams I think are worthy of a detailed preview. We’ll have other previews throughout the time leading up to the season as well – conference breakdowns, player rankings, team rankings, etc. But, these will just be team previews.
Loyola Chicago Ramblers
2017-18 Record: 32-6, 15-3 in MVC, 1st in MVC, lost to Michigan in Final Four
Top Returning Scorers: Clayton Custer (13.2), Marques Townes (11.1), Cameron Krutwig (10.5)
Notable Losses: Aundre Jackson, Donte Ingram, Ben Richardson (graduation)
Newcomers: Aher Ugak (New Mexico transfer), Franklin Agunanne (3-star), Cooper Kaifes (3-star), Isaiah Bujdoso (3-star), Will Alcock
Head Coach: Porter Moser, 8th season, 121-111
2018-19 Outlook
We’re coming off of a historic year for Loyola. I mean you don’t make a run to the Final Four the way Loyola did – seemingly winning every game but the Elite Eight in the last 30 seconds of the game – without winning over America. It was a huge run and for a conference like the MVC, great to see.
However, it’s going to set some people up to see failure for Loyola this year which is just wrong. You don’t judge this team on what happens in the NCAA Tournament. Actually, you shouldn’t really judge any team as a whole based on the NCAA Tournament. It’s based so much on matchups and getting hot at the right time. It’s an awesome way to determine a champion but in no way the best way to determine who are the best teams. With that in mind let’s get into this year.
It’s worth bringing up that Loyola is the favorite to win the MVC this year. That’s important. The goals for Loyola this year should be to win the MVC, improve its seed in the NCAA Tournament from a No. 11 seed and ideally win at least a game in the NCAA Tournament.
Good news for Loyola is that’s all possible. That’s because of the return of Clayton Custer. His stats aren’t going to blow you away, but he’s the reigning MVC Player of the Year. More importantly, what he does for Loyola is control the tempo of the game and help initiate the offense, which was beautiful to watch with their passing. Custer also helps keep the paint open for Cam Krutwig by shooting 46% from three – 22nd in the country. Custer is going to be the key again this year to take on more of a role offensively. He missed some time last year and if he’s there the entire year this year, he should be a bit more dominant.
Speaking of Krutwig, he’s a likely breakout candidate for most people. He did average over 10 per game last year. Krutwig is a big body in the MVC at 6’9″ and was incredibly polished as a freshman. As a sophomore look for Loyola to look for him in the post and if he draws a double team kick out. He also has the ability to step out a couple feet, face up and make a move into the post from there. He’s a unique matchup in the MVC and someone that Loyola can lean on if they need a bucket inside this year.
Now, what really made Loyola go last year was the fact that they were versatile all over the wing. That shouldn’t change this year as they bring back Marques Townes (6’4″), slide in Lucas Williamson (6’4″) and bring in Aher Uguak (6’7″) from New Mexico. More importantly this provides versatility on both sides of the ball. We saw Moser let his guys switch and defensively stay at home because of that. Offensively, he used that versatility to spread the floor. We saw them run a motion offense that was predicated on passing and getting defenses confused with screens and rotations. Williamson should slide into that role left behind by Richardson as a 3-point shooter.
What I want to see is the jump by Townes. He showed flashes during the NCAA Tournament of possibly being the best player on the team during games. He’s a guy who can attack off the bounce and draw fouls. He’s a decent shooter at 38% on over 75 attempts. He’s going to have to be the 2nd or 3rd option every game depending on what teams take away with Krutwig. I really like Townes game and think he’s going to be a main reason as to why Loyola hits those goals that were laid out.
Defensively, expect to see the same from Loyola. The Ramblers were 17th in the country defensively last season because of that versatility and Krutwig cleaning up the glass. They kept teams to one possession, which is just so important in college. Loyola was also crazy disciplined defensively. They didn’t foul. They didn’t bite on fakes. They stayed home and rotated correctly. It’s something that Moser preaches.
I like this Loyola team. I think they are a top-40 team in the country, which is a great starting point for a mid-major. Despite Illinois State returning some guys and Bradley getting some help, I think Loyola is the clear favorite to win the MVC. Custer has a legit chance to go back to back MVC Player of the Year. Just don’t expect to see this team in the Final Four again and know that’s okay.