Game Notes | Live Stats

ST. LOUIS (March 8, 2019) - For the second straight season, No. 1 seed Loyola will face Bradley in the semifinal round of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship. The Ramblers, who have won nine of their last 10 games in March, bring a three-game overall winning streak into Saturday's semifinal contest. A win over Bradley Saturday would catapult the Ramblers into their seventh conference tournament championship game in program history and second in as many seasons. 

By limiting Valparaiso to 54 points in Friday's quarterfinal round victory, Loyola set a Missouri Valley Conference Championship record. The Ramblers are the first team in Arch Madness history to hold four straight opponents to fewer than 54 points in the history of the event.

During that four-game stretch, Loyola is yielding just 51.8 ppg and holding foes to 36.5 percent (80-for-219) from the field and 25 percent (18-for-72) from three-point land. In its last five Arch Madness contests, dating back to 2017, Loyola has surrendered just 52.4 ppg and limited opponents to 37.3 percent (101-for-271) shooting from the field and a paltry 26.7 percent (23-for-86) from long distance.

Loyola – Bradley – The Series

Saturday's semifinal matchup will be the 63rd meeting in a long-running series between in-state rivals Loyola and Bradley. The Braves hold a 35-27 advantage in the all-time series, but the Ramblers have taken 10 of the last 13 meetings, including seven of the last nine. 

Since joining the Valley, Loyola is 10-5 versus Bradley.

This marks the fourth meeting between the teams in Arch Madness play and the Ramblers have captured each of the previous three encounters, winning 74-72 in the opening round in 2014 as Milton Doyle drained a three-pointer at the buzzer, then collected a 74-66 victory in the opening round in 2016, before picking up a 62-54 victory in last year's semifinal showdown.

The teams split the regular-season series this year with the home team coming out on top in each contest. Last weekend, Marques Townes scored a game-high 26 points, Cameron Krutwig pitched in 16, and Clayton Custer added 15, in Loyola's 81-68 victory at Gentile Arena.

In last year's Arch Madness semifinal, the Ramblers jumped out to a 14-point, first-half lead and held on for a 62-54 victory to reach their first conference championship game, regardless of league affiliation, since 2002. Marques Townes and Clayton Custer scored 12 points apiece to pace the Loyola attack.

Scouting Bradley

Bradley has won three of its last four games, with the only loss in that stretch coming at the hands of Loyola last Saturday (81-68) in the regular-season finale for both clubs. Since getting off to an 8-10 start to the year, the Braves have prevailed in 10 of their last 14 outings.

The Braves are 3-0 on neutral floors this season. They boast the top field goal percentage defense (.415) in The Valley while also ranking second in both three-point field goal percentage defense (.324) and scoring defense (65.8).

Second Team All-MVC guard Darrell Brown spearheads the Bradley offense, averaging 15.2 points per game, while adding 3.2 assists per outing and connecting on 45 percent (72-for-160) of his three-point attempts. Sophomore forward Elijah Childs adds 12.2 ppg to go with team bests of 7.8 rpg and 1.3 bpg.

Up Next

A Loyola victory would send it to the championship game Sunday at 1 p.m.