2014-15 Schedule | Order Season Tickets

CHICAGO - Fifteen home dates plus trips to Michigan State and Las Vegas for the Las Vegas Invitational highlight the 2014-15 Loyola men's basketball scheduled released today. The 15 home dates are one more than last season and the road slate will certainly help the team prepare for its second season in the Missouri Valley Conference.

"Increasing the number of home games is always a focus when building a successful program and we were able to increase our number this year," said fourth-year head coach Porter Moser. "We also play four games against teams from top-10 RPI conferences in the non-conference season and I believe those will help get us ready for what promises to be one of the most competitive years in the Missouri Valley in years."

Loyola kicks off the 2014-15 season on Nov. 14 against Rockhurst and remains home to take on McKendree on Monday night (Nov. 17). Those two home games precede a tough, three-game road stretch to close out the month of November that begins with a trip to East Lansing, Mich. to battle Michigan State (Nov. 21). The Ramblers head south to the Alamo City to face UT-San Antonio out of Conference USA the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving (Nov. 25) and finish up with a Saturday clash at Kent State on Nov. 29.

December opens with a home game against Tulane from the American Athletic Conference (Dec. 3) before the Ramblers head to the west side of Chicago to renew their rivalry with UIC at the Pavilion (Dec. 6). A home matchup with Jackson State is all that remains before LU opens the Las Vegas Invitational with home games against Abilene Christian (Dec. 17) and Southern Utah (Dec. 19). The Ramblers then head west to Las Vegas to wrap up tournament play. They will take on Texas Tech in their opening game (Dec. 22) before facing either Boise State or Houston the following night at Orleans Arena.

After the Christmas holiday, Loyola begins its second journey through the Missouri Valley Conference, a league that welcomes back 36 of 50 starters from a season ago, its highest number since the 2006-07 season. The rigorous Valley slate begins on New Year's Eve when Loyola welcomes Bradley to Gentile Arena.

Difficult road games at UNI (Jan. 4) and upstart Evansville (Jan. 7) lead the Ramblers into their home date with Wichita State on Jan. 11. The Shockers return three starters from last year's 35-1 team, including Larry Bird Trophy winner Fred VanVleet, and remain the team to beat in the MVC. Loyola stays home to face Drake (Jan. 14) before playing three of its next four on the road, with a Jan. 21 home game against the Purple Aces wedged amongst road games at Southern Illinois (Jan. 18), Indiana State (Jan. 24) and Wichita State (Jan. 28).

The Ramblers get their first look at Illinois State on Jan. 31 and make a quick trip to Springfield, Mo. to battle Missouri State (Feb. 4) before hosting Indiana State (Feb. 7) and SIU (Feb. 11). Loyola then plays three of its last five games away from the Windy City, traveling to Bradley (Feb. 15), Illinois State (Feb. 21) and Drake (Feb. 25) while playing host to UNI (Feb. 18) and Missouri State for Senior Day on Feb. 28.

After nearly four months of competition, Loyola then heads to St. Louis for Arch Madness, where the Ramblers made a name for themselves in their first game last year, topping Bradley on a Milton Doyle buzzer-beater.

The Ramblers return their top five scorers from last year's squad, led by Doyle, the MVC Freshman and Newcomer of the Year.