CHICAGO (January 26, 2022) - Loyola will play its third game in six days when it opens a two-game road trip Thursday at Southern Illinois. The Ramblers have won 11 of their last 12 contests overall and are unbeaten in four true road games this season. In fact, Loyola has won 11 of its last 12 true road games dating back to the 2020-21 campaign, with the lone setback being a 51-50 overtime loss at Drake on February 14, 2021.

The Ramblers have won 21 straight games versus teams from the state of Illinois since a 68-63 loss at Southern Illinois on January 29, 2020. Included in that stretch are 10 consecutive wins versus Valley foes from the Land of Lincoln.

Thursday's game is a matchup of former Loyola assistant coaches from the Ramblers' NCAA Final Four team in 2018, who are now running their own programs. Drew Valentine is in his first season as head coach at Loyola and Bryan Mullins is in his third year at his alma mater, Southern Illinois. Both coaches served under current University of Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser, at Loyola. At 30 years of age, Valentine is the youngest head coach in NCAA Division I basketball, while Mullins (34 years old) is the fourth-youngest coach in the country.

This is the third straight year the Ramblers have opened up Valley play by winning six of their first seven games. It is also the second consecutive campaign that Loyola has won 15 of its first 18 games overall.

Loyola – Southern Illinois – The Series

Loyola and Southern Illinois are meeting for the 22nd time in a series that traces its roots back to 1981. The Ramblers have claimed eight of the last 10 matchups between the teams, including each of the last four.

The road hasn't been kind to Loyola in the series. The Ramblers are just 2-5 against Southern Illinois in Carbondale and have dropped three of the last four contests at Banterra Center, including each of the last two.

Last season, Loyola swept the regular-season series, winning both contests at Gentile Arena. Tuesday night, Lucas Williamson scored a team-high 20 points to lead Loyola, which limited the Salukis to just 33.3 percent (16-for-48) shooting from the field and held Marcus Domask to six points (2-for-8 FG).

Scouting Southern Illinois

In the middle of a brutal stretch of six games in 13 days, Southern Illinois has dropped five of its last six contests, including a pair of one-point heartbreakers. In MVC action this season, four of the Salukis' eight games have been decided by three or fewer points and seven have been settled by eight or fewer points.

The Salukis are 7-2 overall at Banterra Center this season but have won just one of their three Valley contests at home in 2021-22.

Junior forward Marcus Domask, the 2020 MVC Freshman and Newcomer of the Year, leads SIU with 15.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg and 4.0 apg this season, while junior guard Lance Jones, an Evanston native, adds 13.8 ppg.

Southern Illinois' coaching staff also features a pair of former Loyola directors of basketball operations - Jevon Mamon (2017-19) and Pat Monaghan (2010-11).

Up Next

Loyola gets its first look at preseason Missouri Valley Conference favorite, Drake, when the Ramblers travel to Des Moines on Sunday, Jan. 30. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT and the game will be televised live on ESPN2.