CHICAGO (September 22, 2020) – The Loyola University Chicago men's basketball team will open league play on December 30 when it hosts Drake according to the schedule of conference games announced today by the Missouri Valley Conference. 
 
Following the Valley opener versus Drake, the Ramblers will hit the road for back-to-back contests to open the new calendar year, traveling to Valparaiso (Jan. 2) and Missouri State (Jan. 7) before returning home for showdowns with in-state rivals Bradley (Jan. 10) and Illinois State (Jan. 13). 
 
Loyola will then play three of its next four games away from home, visiting Evansville (Jan. 16) Indiana State (Jan. 23) and Southern Illinois (Jan. 27) with a home game versus Missouri State (Jan. 19) squeezed in that stretch to complete the season series with the Bears. Head coach Porter Moser's veteran-laden squad closes out the month of January when Valparaiso pays a visit to Gentile Arena on January 30.
 
To kick off the month of February, the Ramblers will host both Evansville (Feb. 3) and Southern Illinois (Feb. 9), sandwiched around a trek to Northern Iowa (Feb. 6). Three of Loyola's next four contests will be played on the road – at Bradley (Feb. 13), at Illinois State (Feb. 16) and at Drake (Feb. 24) – with the lone outing at Gentile Arena in that stretch being a February 20 tilt with Indiana State. 
 
A potentially big matchup closes out the conference slate when Loyola hosts defending Valley regular-season champion Northern Iowa on February 27.
 
The Missouri Valley Conference Championship is scheduled for March 4 through 7 in St. Louis. 
 
Loyola's 2020-21 non-conference schedule and a decision on fan attendance at games will come at a later date. While there is still uncertainty regarding fan attendance for this season, any tickets for games at Gentile Arena during the 2020-21 campaign will only be available on a single-game basis. There will not be season ticket options for this year, but existing season ticket holders will have priority in purchasing tickets on a game-by-game basis if attendance is permitted. 
 
Loyola Men's Basketball 2020-21 Conference Schedule
Dec. 30 – Drake
Jan. 2 – at Valparaiso
Jan. 7 – at Missouri State
Jan. 10 – Bradley
Jan. 13 – Illinois State
Jan. 16 – at Evansville
Jan. 19 – Missouri State
Jan. 23 – at Indiana State
Jan. 27 – at Southern Illinois
Jan. 30 – Valparaiso
Feb. 3 – Evansville
Feb. 6 – at Northern Iowa
Feb. 9 – Southern Illinois
Feb. 13 – at Bradley
Feb. 16 – at Illinois State
Feb. 20 – Indiana State
Feb. 24 – at Drake
Feb. 27 – Northern Iowa
March 4-7 – at MVC Championship (St. Louis)
All dates are subject to change