CHICAGO (January 5, 2020) - Loyola has captured seven of its last eight contests and heads to Des Moines for a midweek battle of the two teams that shared the 2018-19 Missouri Valley Conference regular-season crown. The Ramblers have won each of their last two true road games and four straight away from home, including neutral site contests.

Winning on the road has been key to Loyola's back-to-back MVC regular-season titles. Since the start of the 2017-18 campaign, the Ramblers are 12-7 (.632) on the road in league play. 

Loyola has captured its last four games played in Iowa and has claimed its last 10 contests versus opponents from that state. In its last three trips to Knapp Center to face Drake, Loyola has put up 87.7 points per game, connecting on an efficient 56.4 percent (101-for-179) of its field goal attempts, including 46.6 percent (34-for-73) from beyond the arc. A year ago, the Ramblers managed 85.5 ppg in a season sweep of the Bulldogs, while shooting 59 percent (62-for-105) from the field and 57.9 percent (22-for-38) from three-point land, with only 15 total turnovers.

Loyola – Drake – The Series

The Ramblers and Bulldogs are squaring off for the 32nd time in a series that dates back to 1934. Loyola has taken eight of the last 10 meetings between the clubs, including each of the last five. Since joining The Missouri Valley Conference, Loyola is 9-3 against Drake.

Against the Bulldogs in Des Moines, the Ramblers are 7-8 all time but have won each of the last two outings at Knapp Center.

When the teams last met, on February 5, 2019, Marques Townes scored a career-high 32 points to power Loyola to a convincing 86-64 victory in Chicago. As a team, the Ramblers finished the night 10-for-14 (.714) from three-point territory.

Scouting Drake

Drake has prevailed in three of its last four outings and is coming off an 80-76 decision over Indiana State Saturday.  The Bulldogs have won 12 straight games on their home floor at Knapp Center and are a perfect 8-0 there this season.

Sophomore forward Liam Robbins leads Drake with 12.6 points per game and corrals 5.6 rebounds and adds 2.3 blocks per game. In Valley action, those numbers balloon to 18.0 ppg and 3.0 rpg, and he is shooting a blistering 72.7 percent (16-for-22) from the field in MVC contests. Redshirt sophomore guard Roman Penn leads the conference with 5.7 assists per contest and also contributes 12.1 ppg.

Up Next

Loyola opens a mini, two-game homestand January 11 when it hosts Evansville at 3 p.m.